EFTA EBT Industry Council Presents its First Annual EBT Pioneer Award to Tim O'Connor; Veteran USDA Official Receives Lifetime Service Recognition

Business Wire, Nov 11, 2003

Business Editors

HERNDON, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 11, 2003

The Electronic Funds Transfer Association's EBT Industry Council today presented its first annual Pioneer Award to Tim O'Connor of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food and Nutrition Service.

The award was made at the Council's annual conference, EBT--The Next Generation, being held in Tucson, AZ.

O'Connor, director of the Food and Nutrition Service's Benefits Redemption Division within the Food Stamp Program, received the honor for distinguished lifetime service in the promotion, planning and support of electronic benefits transfer technology.

Electronic benefits transfer, or EBT, is the use of electronic funds transfer, ATM, and point-of-sale technology for the delivery and control of publicly funded payments and services.

"Few people have had as large an impact on EBT as Tim O'Connor," said EBT Industry Council Chairman Bob Bucceri in making the award. "His work on policy, retail operations and program oversight have helped make EBT an accepted form of electronic payment throughout the nation."

"Through the many challenges that faced the states and the federal government as they attempted to implement EBT technology, Tim never wavered," said H. Kurt Helwig, executive director of EFTA. "Because of his dedication and passion, today all 50 states are enjoying the efficiencies of EBT, millions of people have secure and safe access to their food stamp benefits, and government has saved millions of dollars over its previous paper-based system."

O'Connor has worked in the national office of the Food Stamp Program since 1975. As head of the program's Benefit Redemption Division and is responsible for oversight of the Food Stamp Program's EBT operations, policy formulation, fraud detection, and oversight of retail operations.

About the Electronic Funds Transfer Association

For more than 25 years, EFTA (www.efta.org) has championed the development of the electronic payment systems and commerce industry and provided a unique forum for the exchange of ideas and information across disciplines. EFTA members include financial institutions, government agencies, hardware/software providers, information processors and switches, ATM owners, networks, manufacturers, consultants, Internet and e-commerce technology firms, and retailers. Membership is open to all individuals, government agencies and firms operating in the payments sectors.

About the EBT Industry Council

The EBT Industry Council (http://www.efta.org/ma_ebtic.htm) is the nation's oldest trade group for organizations involved in the design and operation of government benefits delivery systems, including electronic benefits transfer. Its members include all EBT transaction-processing companies, as well as virtually all manufacturers, third party processors, government agencies and technology companies involved in EBT.