Industry veteran Joe Kaplan dies

Industry veteran Joe Kaplan unexpectedly passed away this morning. Kaplan, CEO of Paya, had been vacationing in Bermuda with his family at the time of his passing, according to Paya President Greg Cohen.

"The entire Paya family mourns this loss," Cohen said in a statement emailed to colleagues and partners. "Joe made an incredible mark on the payments industry and his energy, passion, innovation and leadership will be greatly missed."

Kaplan had been active in the merchant services and finance markets for more than two decades. Among his accomplishments, Kaplan founded Innovative Merchant Solutions, a firm he sold to Intuit in 2003 and continued to lead for several years after. He also founded Superior Financial Group, a leading Small Business Administration lender, and Consumer Fraud Protection, a credit monitoring service.

Kaplan also served as CEO of Superior Bankcard Service and as CEO for Total Merchant Services Inc. Last year, he was tapped by the private equity firm GTCR to lead Sage Payment Solutions, which GTCR had purchased from The Sage Group plc a few months earlier. In January of this year, Sage was rebranded as Paya (pronounced pie-a).

Honored business leader

Kaplan was the recipient of numerous awards during his career, including the Arthur Andersen Award for Best Business Practices in Customer Satisfaction, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Blue Chip Enterprise Award, and the 1998 Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award.

Kaplan was active in the Electronic Transactions Association, including stints on the board of directors; he served as ETA's president from 2006 to 2007.

"Joey was a passionate advocate for the ETA," Jason Oxman, ETA's CEO, said in a statement. "As recently as this week, at the most recent ETA Board meeting, Joey was contributing his expertise to the betterment of our industry. He leaves a strong legacy in the industry he loved, where his passion was apparent to all," Oxman added.

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