As an existing non-executive Director of Ixaris with more than 20 years' experience at the forefront of the payment card industry, Chaplin has a wealth of knowledge that he will bring to the role.

Chaplin has previously worked in senior positions at First Data Corporation and Visa, where he was Executive Vice President in charge of its processing business in Europe. He is also a member of the Payments Market Expert Group that advises the European Commission. Chaplin has been brought on board with the aim of further expanding the organisation and its partnerships in the payment industry. He said: "Ixaris uses multiple routes to market for its electronic payment and transaction-based financial services. I will lead the company's strategic alliances in the payment industry to ensure that we capitalise on the surge in demand for innovative solutions that enable organisations to derive greater revenue online."

The company has also made two new senior management hires to take advantage of the buoyant prepaid market and add to the team's electronic payments expertise. As a signal of its commitment to innovation, Ixaris has created a new Product Director role for Patrick Abela and Kenneth Bonnici joins the company as Operations Director.

Abela has eight years' tenure with Ixaris, most recently as the Operations Director. Abela will work closely with the Marketing, Sales and Research & Development teams to lead product development for the entire range of Ixaris' payment services.

Kenneth Bonnici joins the team as Ixaris Operations Director, bringing 15 years' experience. He most recently held the role of Director at Grant Thornton in Malta where he led the growth of its business advisory practice.

Commenting on Ixaris' growth, Alex Mifsud, Ixaris CEO, said: "In the last three years, Ixaris' turnover through our virtual prepaid solution has grown more than 500 per cent. By diversifying our payment products and with an imminent announcement about our long term strategy, Ixaris has forecast even bigger results for the end of 2010, as well as almost doubling its staff. With a strong senior management team in place, Ixaris is poised to grow its partnerships with financial institutions and corporations that want to gain a valuable revenue stream through new online channels and prepaid products."