Ace in cards

In recognition of his outstanding contribution to the advancement and success of the card and payments industry, Rohinton Kalifa, chief executive officer of WorldPay was named the "Industry Personality of the Year” at The Card and Payments Awards 2011, held at The Grosvenor House Hotel in London on February 3, 2011.

An introduction to Kalifa in the Awards booklet mentions, "This year saw WorldPay being carved out of The Royal Bank of Scotland Group and sold to Bain Capital and Advent International in a unique auction triggered by the European Commission. Ron (as Rohin­ton is better known) led the management team which sold the business for in excess of two billion pounds. This was the largest private equity transaction in Europe since 2008 across any industry and demonstrated the value attached to such a prized asset by the ultimate arbiter – the market…” Valuing Kalifa’s critical role in managing the sale, the buyers appointed him the new CEO. Having led the organization for seven years, Kalifa has been given credit for "his vision for integrating a series of separate businesses from across ecommerce, risk management and acquiring to form a single provider of services to the merchant community.”

He was lauded by many judges for his warm, friendly nature and ability to appreciate others’ achievements, with judge Sandra Quinn, director of communications for UK Payments commenting, "Ron has always been able to view industry developments in a non-partisan way with his focus always on what is best for the industry. He has remained committed to working proactively with the Payments Council even throughout the last year when his attention was diverted by the WorldPay sale.”

Giving credit to the "unfaltering commitment and professionalism of the team” Kalifa acknowledged, "We have an incredibly talented, committed and innovative collection of people who share a vision of bringing high reliability coupled with the most innovative products to our customers and shaping the card industry for the benefit of merchants as well as card holders.”

The Card and Payments Awards recognize customer service, excellence and innovation in the UK and Irish card and payments industry. In the categories of credit, debit, prepaid and charge card issuers, co-brands, merchant acquirers and other payment service organizations there were 21 awards conferred this year, states their website www.cardand paymentsawards.com Organized by Card Partnerships Limited the main focus is on raising the image of this vital market segment at a time when card and payments organizations are often the target of criticism from media and consumer groups.

Rohinton Kalifa (center) receiving Industry Personality of the Year award sponsored by American Express

WorldPay has gained reputation for providing a globally connected, locally coordinated payment processing service for all sorts of businesses, big and small. Online, face-to-face and over the phone, their customers can accept every major card as well as bank transfers, direct debits and a wide range of local cards. Having pioneered online payments for small and medium sized businesses and recognized as a global leader WorldPay’s ecommerce products are also aimed at larger corporates. Equipped with the necessary wherewithal to support nearly 10 percent of the world’s ecommerce, they operate in 40 countries and can process in 120 transaction currencies. WorldPay is the unification of seven leading retail payment solution brands – Streamline, Streamline International, Bibit, WorldPay, RiskGuardian, World­Pay US and Payment Trust. This has enabled WorldPay to establish close ties with large UK retailers and ecommerce titans such as Google, Skype and PayPal.

Headquartered in London, WorldPay employs more than 2,600 people in 30 markets throughout Europe, the US and Asia, reported the June issue of Banking Technology. In 2009 the business processed a total of 6.8 billion transactions worldwide with a value of £ 243 billion.

Prior to the WorldPay sale the dynamic 50-year-old CEO had a varied international career in NatWest and The Royal Bank of Scotland Group with postings in Greece and the US. For the last 10 years he has been focusing on the online and internet banking side of the business. Constantly seeking to innovate, under his stewardship WorldPay twice qualified for the Queen’s Awards for Enterprise. Whilst bridging the gap between merchants and the card industry he has interacted with representatives from the British Retail Consortium, the Federation of Small Businesses and other industry organizations whilst retaining his membership of the Visa UK board and the Payments Council to influence developments for the common good of the industry.

Bombay born Kalifa completed his primary education from St Mary’s School after which he migrated to the UK with his parents Minoo Maneckshaw and Nargis Ratan Kalifa when he was nine years old. He subsequently pursued his education in the UK and had an opportunity to study at the Harvard Business School too. Married to Gillian with a 15-year-old son Ryan, the avid cricket enthusiast cherishes his membership of the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) in London.