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ePayResources™ presented three awards at its 26th annual conference, ePayConnect 2022, held March 6 - 8 at Disney's Swan and Dolphin Resort in Orlando.

German Vargas was presented the Richard R. Oliver Leadership in Payments Award for his exemplary leadership in the advancement, implementation, and promotion of electronic payments. Vargas, AVP and ePayments Supervisor for Ocean Bank, was recognized for implementing cross-payment fraud monitoring and emerging payment solutions and enhancements, including RTP^®, Same Day ACH, real-time posting for deposit products, and other cash management solutions. 

"I am deeply honored to receive this recognition and I am grateful to ePay for the ongoing support and guidance they provide through their conferences, education events, and Payments Answerline," said Vargas. "I'm also grateful to my employer, Ocean Bank, for making payments a priority in the Bank's digital transformation strategy."

The Innovation in Payments Award was presented to Corporate One FCU and Sherpa Technologies for their joint effort to enable emerging payments solutions and products for credit unions, including enablement of RTP^® and the ability to connect with an open-platform, core-agnostic solution. Corporate One and its credit union service organization (CUSO), Sherpa Technologies, have earned participant certifications on the RTP^® network and together built a real-time payment suite of services to empower credit unions to take advantage of all the benefits offered by instant payments. 

"We are grateful for this award and for all that ePay does to support and amplify the efforts of payments industry innovators," said Melissa Ashely, President/CEO, Corporate One. "Corporate One and Sherpa are proud to receive recognition of our work developing solutions that make real-time payments more widely accessible to credit unions and we look forward to helping all credit unions realize the benefits they offer." 

ePay also presented its first-ever Lifetime Achievement Award to Joe Proto, a payments industry leader, collaborator, and influencer who has founded many successful companies, including Financial Telesis/CashFlex, Remitco, and Transactis, that have helped the banking and payments industries thrive. Proto's work has led to growth of transactions on the ACH Network and greater access to payments systems for middle market and small businesses.  He has been a tireless payments industry supporter, providing his expertise as a conference speaker and board advisor for numerous organizations. In retirement he continues to help companies grow and invest in the payments and fintech space.

"I am honored to be the first recipient of ePay's Lifetime Achievement Award," said Proto. "It is thrilling to be part of this dynamic industry in partnership with ePay and other stakeholders, and I am proud to have played a role in facilitating its exponential growth and its accessibility to a broad range of businesses."

About ePayResources: ePayResources has been empowering financial institutions and businesses to be informed, compliant, and competitive in payments for 48 years. As an innovative Payments Association and a founding sponsor of the Center for Payments, we provide emerging and legacy payments expertise, professional development, and industry leadership through education, publications, compliance support, risk management, and advocacy. Our staff of nationally accredited payments and risk professionals provides situational analysis and response guidance on our Payments Answerline™ and keeps you informed of industry developments that impact operational processing, fraud detection, and your bottom line. Our subsidiary, ePayAdvisors, provides payments audits and risk assessments and customized payments strategy consulting. Visit epayresources.org and follow us on Twitter (@ePayResources_), LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram. 

CONTACT:
Anne-Marie J. Leake
Vice President, Communications
ePayResources
1-800-475-0585, ext. 1401