Colm Lyon awarded Industry Achievement of the Year at the London Card and Payments Awards
Colm Lyon, the CEO and Founder of Fire Financial Services has been awarded the prestigious Industry Achievement of the Year Award at the Card and Payments Awards. In its eight year, this is the industry’s premier awards event. The Awards were held in London on Thursday 4th February at the Grosvenor House Hotel, Park Lane with over 1,600 industry representatives attending. In presenting Colm with the award, the judges commented that “Colm Lyon is a passionate leader who continues to inspire and really helped to push the industry forward.”
Colm Lyon founded Realex Payments in 2000, an online payments business that was sold in March 2015 to Global Payments Inc. in a deal valued at €115m. As CEO. Colm led the organisation, building a talented team and business that developed a superb reputation. His latest venture, Fire Financial Services is now providing payment accounts to personal and business users in the UK and Ireland. His mission is that Fire will transform the way people and businesses pay and are paid.
As well as acknowledging his business success the judges highlighted Colm’s committed contribution to the industry — chairing the Irish Internet Association, founding the Internet Growth Alliance, Payments Ireland and the Fintech and Payments Association of Ireland. “He strongly deserves the award.”
In accepting the award, Colm acknowledged the support and help he had received over the years. He added that “the payments industry is at the heart of commerce, it is an industry that enables trade and commerce across the globe. I have been very fortunate to meet great people in the past and I look forward to the future of payments, with great optimism.”
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About the Card & Payments Awards — www.cardandpaymentsawards.com
The Card & Payments Awards recognise customer service, excellence and innovation in the UK and Irish card and payments industry. Very well established and now in its eleventh year, each year, many eligible organisations compete for one of these prestigious Awards which are judged by an independent panel of industry experts.
The Card & Payments Awards are open in different categories to credit, debit, prepaid and charge card issuers, co-brands, merchant acquirers and other payment service organisations in the UK and Republic of Ireland. There is a range of categories allowing covering key disciplines and offering organisations the opportunity to showcase achievements. Ultimately success at the Awards can be leveraged on consumer facing communications.
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About Fire Financial Services & Colm Lyon — www.paywithfire.com
Colm Lyon is the founder and CEO of Fire Financial Services Limited and also founder and former CEO of Realex Payments. Colm started Realex Payments in in 2000 and led the business to a leading position as a one of Europe’s largest and most successful online payments businesses, processing in excess of €28 Billion per annum for 12,500 online retailers. In March 2015 Realex Payments was acquired by Global Payments in a deal valued at €115m.
In 2009, Colm founded Fire Financial Services Limited — regulated as a European Payments Institution — with a mission to transform banking services by launching a new payment account. Fire provides business and personal customers with accounts that are easy and quick to open. It supports credit transfers in/out in euro and sterling. Business customers and partners have access to an API to provide a deeply integrated experience. Fire is regarded as highly innovative and one of the new generation fintech providers.
Colm is actively involved in industry, chairing the Irish Internet Association for several years, a board member of the Dublin Chamber and founder of the Internet Growth Alliance and Payments Ireland and he is chairman of the Fintech and Payments Association of Ireland.
Colm has won numerous awards over the year for his contribution to business and was recently appointed to the Irish Government’s International Financial Services Industry Advisory Group.
