The Canadian Prepaid Providers Organization (CPPO), the collective voice of the $10 billion open-loop prepaid payments industry in Canada, is proud to announce leaders from Mastercard and EQ Bank have been appointed to the organization’s board of directors as the Board Chair and Vice Chair, respectively.
Maria Riesenberg, Vice President of Market Development for Mastercard—who previously served as Vice Chair—was appointed as the CPPO's Board Chair. Kartik Kamat, Vice President of Payments and Digital Banking Analytics for EQ Bank, was appointed as Vice Chair.
Two CPPO General Members have also been selected to the board for one year: Arvind Agarwal, Head of Payments and Platform at Mydoh, and Ed Woodson, Chief Legal Officer at Onbe. The CPPO board also includes Visa, Peoples Group, KOHO, Blackhawk Network, InComm Payments, and Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP.
“The CPPO is proud to have longstanding support from top Canadian payments and Fintech players,” said Jennifer Tramontana, Co-Founder and Executive Director at CPPO. “As members of the CPPO Board of Directors, the companies uphold the CPPO and board’s mission to drive a positive environment in which prepaid payments can responsibly grow and flourish in Canada.”
Prepaid is the technology platform for many of the significant improvements in payments convenience and inclusivity. Canadians are using prepaid to shop online, manage their money in our digital economy and even get paid faster. These user-friendly innovations are driving its continued growth. The Canadian open loop prepaid market is expected to grow to CA$17.2 billion by 2025, with the number of accounts expected to grow to 81 million, according to estimates from Aite-Novarica Group.
The CPPO supports the prepaid industry by providing the tools and resources needed to assist all Canadian firms who are operating in or exploring the prepaid ecosystem. The CPPO gives its members the intelligence, education, access and network to tap into this innovative payments community.
This vision and mission will be on display at the CPPO’s signature annual event, the 2024 CPPO Prepaid Symposium, on Thursday, April 18, 2024 at the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto, with presenting sponsor Mastercard. The event will focus on The Promise of Payments Innovation and will examine if we have lived up to this vision through the lens of retailers and merchants, neo and traditional banks, tech partners and fintechs and consumers.
To learn more about the 2024 CPPO Prepaid Symposium or inquire about speaking or sponsorship opportunities, visit here.
