Mr. van Winkel is a widely regarded expert in the international arena of retail bank payment systems including in-depth knowledge of SEPA, regulatory environments, and strategic growth opportunities for international banks, issuing/acquiring value chains, payment business models and new product development. His expertise in retail bank payment systems spans all key European markets, US, Canada, Brazil, South Africa, the Middle East and Australia.

"Erik's wealth of expertise in payments from differing systems around the world reinforces EDC's ability to service multi-national bank and merchant clients across international, local and regional markets," said David A. Poe, CEO, Edgar, Dunn & Company. "The international scope of his payments expertise reflects our commitment to providing clients borderless consulting capabilities that deliver actionable strategies and measurable results."

Prior to joining EDC, Mr. van Winkel served in a variety of management positions at MasterCard Worldwide including Senior Business Leader, Retail Bank Solutions and Vice President, Global Debit Product Management and Director of Profitability Analysis.

Most recently, Erik was responsible for the strategic debit initiatives with MasterCard's key global and regional customers in Europe. As such, he led a major payment project in the direct banking area and the development of innovative e-commerce solutions.

Before this, he had overall responsibility for MasterCard's SEPA opportunities and projects in Benelux countries where he led cross-functional SEPA Debit card projects with several Dutch and Belgian banks, managing joint customer/MasterCard teams involving product, technical, operational analysis and commercial negotiations. He also played a leading role developing public policy plans to support the replacement of cash by debit cards, culminating with a presentation at MasterCard's Debit Conference in Monaco, March 2006 and in subsequent MasterCard SEPA communications efforts.

As Director of Profitability Analysis, Mr. van Winkel led a joint initiative on debit and other payment instruments with over 40 key MasterCard banks from all Regions around the globe, an in-depth merchant study on debit vs. cash in Germany and Argentina, and supported the development of a new, global debit interchange methodology. He started his career with MasterCard Worldwide in the company's Middle East/Africa Region, where he worked with the Regional Board on a re-pricing strategy and introduced the concept of Customer Business Agreements with key banks.

A Belgian national, Mr. van Winkel holds a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering and an MBA from K.U. Leuven. He is multi-lingual and proficient in Dutch, French and English, as well as possessing a good working knowledge of Spanish and German. A frequent speaker at financial services industry conferences, Mr. van Winkel has written several white papers and contributed to policy articles on key payment industry issues and topics.