The American Transaction Processors Coalition (ATPC) took a moment out of the December board meeting to recognize Bruce Lowthers (President, Banking Solutions at FIS Global) for his incredible leadership and effort as board of directors chair the past two years. The celebration included a proclamation from Georgia Governor Brian Kemp. And the staff signed and presented Bruce with a framed poster spelling out “ATPC” in nautical flags as an homage to the board chair’s love of sailing.
Bruce took over as ATPC Board of Directors Chairman from Scott Meyerhoff (Chief Financial Officer at InComm). Scott provided valuable service, and Bruce picked up the torch at a time of industry consolidation and resulting uncertainty in the payments and fintech trade association space. The ATPC was also in the midst of launching P20, the first global payments processing conference, with events rotating between London and Atlanta.
The ATPC received clear guidance from Bruce about his priorities: successfully launch and spin off P20 as a stand-alone nonprofit; manage industry consolidation by focusing on “ATPC First;” and honing offerings to become the indispensable voice of payments processors on Capitol Hill and in state capitols across America. The ATPC hosted a successful P20 Atlanta conference in 2018, supported the London 2019 version and transferred leadership to an independent board. The ATPC First approach led to deepened engagement in Washington and under Georgia’s Gold Dome, and the launch of the Future Leaders young professional program. The ATPC also became the only payments processing nonprofit to provide government relations support in multiple state capitols, with activities in Florida, North Carolina and Ohio (in addition to six years of work that continues today in Georgia).
Perhaps Bruce’s biggest contribution was the board adoption of a new measure at the 2019 Q4 meeting that welcomed credit card brands and traditional banks into the organization. The payments processing and FinTech landscape is shifting rapidly and the board believed that our success required including the voice and leadership of “brands and banks.” More information about this exciting development will be released at the start of 2020.
“Bruce Lowthers has been involved with the ATPC since our very first day,” said ATPC Executive Director H. West Richards. “But the impact he made as chairman the past two years is immeasurable and can certainly never be repaid. He selflessly offered his time and expertise, and provided major access to FIS Global people and resources that put us on a rocket ship to the next phase of our evolution.”
Royal Cole (Executive Vice President, Head of North America at Worldpay) took over as the new ATPC Board of Directors Chairman on December 31, 2019. He will set a new agenda for the organization and guide ATPC’s growth for the next two years. Jamie Walker (CEO of Elavon) rounds out the executive committee as Vice Chairman, and he will succeed Royal in 2022.