A wayward Canadian transplanted to America. I’m an armchair futurist and part time McLuhanist with a preponderance to technology punditry.

In my work I design and build payment networks and other new products for companies ranging from small tech startups to some of the world’s largest financial institutions. I have a disturbingly long experience (13+ years) as a designer of leading, network-centric products for Canada’s online banking, e-commerce, and m-commerce industries.

I was among the designers of a few well-known services in Canada including Interac Email Money Transfers, Interac Online and TD Bank’s first-generation online banking and brokerage sites. Currently I lead various new product and channel innovations initiatives at Visa Inc. in the fields of P2P money transfer, mobile money, and bill payments.

These days I am a senior business leader of product innovation for Visa Inc. This means I work on enabling new types of commerce in emerging platforms and channels and I’m helping to build Visa’s next generation digital wallet.

In addition to my professional work, I am also somewhat well known conference organizer and speaker. Over the years, I have presented or moderated at conferences in Canada, the US and in Europe. My 2008 Ignite presentation on the state of Canada’s wireless industry at Toronto’s DemoCamp17 earned the only standing ovation in that event’s longstanding history. A recurring talk I’ve given at FITC Mobile was the highest rated session at that conference. My commentary and advocacy on issues surrounding the tech and wireless industries have been quoted in publications including: The National Post, The Globe & Mail, Wired.com, the Ottawa Citizen, IT World, Mobile World Congress Newspaper, Hamilton spectator among others.

In my other, other spare time I serve chief Frisbee tosser for an endlessly enthusiastic dingo/cattle-dog named Silver.

If you enjoy this blog, you might also enjoy my twitter stream. I like to think my twitter fairly entertaining and/or insightful. One of my twitter claims to fame back home was being retweeted or commented at by no less than two different federal cabinet ministers. But that’s Canada for you.

Please note: All opinions expressed on this blog are expressly entirely my own and do not represent any of the views of any employers, associations, unconferences, clubs, charities, cabals, cadres, yuntas or other organizations I may be affiliated with past or present or future.

Tom Purves twitter.com/home www.linkedin.com/in/thomaspurves www.flickr.com/photos/thomaspurves/ www.last.fm/user/tom_purves/ www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=506667670 gmail/gtalk: thomas.purves at gmail . com skype: tom_purves email my gmail for linkedin