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Chrissy Ahern joined ICBA Payments in August 2021 and was recently promoted to Senior Vice President, Relationship Management, where she leads the team in delivering exceptional client service and driving strategic growth for both ICBA Payments and TCM Bank. She partners closely with executive leadership and teams across both organizations to align strategies and ensure a seamless, consistent experience for clients while helping both organizations – and the banks they serve – grow and succeed.
Below, Chrissy offers some insight into how she supports community banks and their payment needs.
What are you excited about in your new role as Senior Vice President, Relationship Management at ICBA Payments?
I’m excited for the opportunity to leverage the power of relationships in advancing the mission of community banking. I cherish the daily interaction with our exceptional team and the community banks we serve. These relationships are the cornerstone of everything we do, allowing us to navigate a rapidly changing payments industry and ensure our community banks remain competitive and their communities flourish.
Tell me a little bit about your experience in the payments industry.
My entire career of more than 20 years has been immersed in the payments industry. I started on the front lines in credit card services, which led to a 16-year tenure with one of the largest processors in the US. There, I held diverse roles across account management, system development, operations, and product management, gaining invaluable, end-to-end insight into processing for credit, debit, and ATM platforms.
Critically, the latter part of that time focused exclusively on supporting community banks. This experience underscored their essential, pivotal role in main street communities. I am incredibly proud to now be part of a mission-driven organization dedicated to supporting their success.
How would you define your career in 50 words or so?
My career has been defined by constant evolution and deep immersion in the payments space. From pioneering credit products and building processing platforms to mastering the shift from plastic cards to mobile wallets and tokenization. I have consistently focused on translating industry complexity into competitive advantages for community banks.
What is a noteworthy story that has occurred during your career?
The most significant shift I witnessed was the rapid evolution from magnetic stripe to secure mobile and contactless payments. Seeing the industry change—from the launch of Google Wallet in 2011 to Apple Pay in 2014—and then successfully implementing tokenized technology was fascinating. It has fundamentally changed how consumers transact and raised the bar for security and convenience across the globe.
Is there anything else you’d like our banks to know about you, the Relationship Management team, and/or how ICBA Payments support them?
Our Relationship Management team is an exceptional group with a wealth of industry experience and deep payments expertise. What sets us apart is our commitment to being strategic partners, not just points of contact. We leverage our collective knowledge of technology and operations to translate industry complexities into clear, actionable support, ensuring our community banks have the tools and insights needed to compete and thrive.