Buypass Hires Away a First Data Executive

Buypass Corp. has grabbed Ronald G. Carter away from First Data Corp. to take responsibility for the petroleum and convenience store business.

Buypass, the Atlanta-based point of sale processing subsidiary of Electronic Payment Services Inc., said it plans to use Mr. Carter's more than 20 years of industry experience to fortify its position in the petroleum and convenience store segment.

"Buypass has a good foundation that we've been building" in this market, said Mr. Carter, who nevertheless thinks the company may have become complacent recently about "getting our name out in front of prospective clients."

Mr. Carter, armed with the title of director of petroleum/convenience stores, is primed to change that. He says that, effective immediately, he will meet with current and prospective customers to find out what they want and make sure Buypass is delivering the goods.

"I'll spend the first 30 days meeting the existing clients," he said. "We have to develop and maintain partnerships with clients, so that will be the initial thrust."

Some of the clients with which Mr. Carter will meet are: Texaco, Sunoco, Diamond Shamrock, Exxon, Citgo, and British Petroleum.

After the first month, Mr. Carter will meet with other companies in the business segment.

Although he has experience in both the marketing and operational sides of the merchant processing business, he considers himself more a marketer than a technologist. He says that that bias can potentially serve his assigned market well.

"To be truthful, a gallon of gas is a gallon of gas," he said. "So they have to do things to pull people into the store and keep them as customers. That's why we've seen the recent surge in petroleum co-branding deals, to give just one example."

Mr. Carter plans to track EPS's smart card initiatives closely, hoping that these cards will become one more way for his clients to differentiate themselves from competitors.

"That's where it's good to have the backing of EPS as the parent company," he said, citing the concern's vast resources and penchant for experimentation.

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