About Us

Primax was founded as T.K. Keith Company, Inc. in 1981 to provide credit card and merchant processing services. Today, we provide payment card (credit, debit, and gift) services to more than 140 community financial institutions throughout the United States and the Caribbean. For financial institutions, Primax provides numerous options for owning or outsourcing the back-office functions of their card and/or merchant programs.

Primax also services over 5,000 businesses enabling them to accept credit, debit, and gift cards for payment at retail establishments, online, by phone or even on the road. With offices throughout the U.S., and expertise servicing international companies, our team is ready to create customized solutions for you.


Message from the President

We've been providing payment system services to financial institutions and businesses since 1981, with ongoing expansion in the U.S. and globally, with more than 5,000 clients in five countries.

Development of extensive client relationships and a steadfast commitment to service excellence are our hallmarks; we pride ourselves on being close to the client at every level of the organization.

We strive throughout every working hour to provide a secure and nurturing environment for our employees, outstanding products and services for our clients, and a profitable bottom-line for our shareholders.

If you are a current client, thank you for your continued business! If you are considering Primax for your credit card, debit card, private label card or merchant card acceptance and processing needs, please explore our site. If you like what you see, send us an email or give us a call. We promise to follow up quickly with customized ideas on how we at Primax can help you achieve your business goals.

Thank you.

Ted Keith, Jr.
President & CEO

Board of Directors

Ted Keith, Sr.

Ted was a founder and is a major stockholder in Primax/T.K.Keith Company. He spent his first 27 years in senior operations positions for several financial institutions. He was a frequent speaker at banking meetings and served on ABA committees on the payment systems, as well as acting as a founding member of BancSystems in Cleveland, Ohio. In 1979, he left banking employment and, as a consultant, joined NEBA in 1980 as its CEO, serving in this capacity until 1997. In 1982, he acquired a pilot merchant terminal system from NEBA, forming The Amherst Group (AGI). In 1990, AGI was sold to CoreStates and Primax/T.K.Keith Company was formed to carry on his business activities. Although not active in the company on a daily basis, Ted is readily available to the management team and actively participates in strategic and major policy decisions. He is a graduate of M.I.T., Cambridge, MA and the Tuck School at Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH.

Mary B. Keith

Mary was a founder and is a major stockholder in Primax/T.K.Keith Company. In 1979, she joined in the new venture, supporting Ted Keith, Sr. in a variety of functions necessary in a start-up company. As the company grew, Mary filled a number of needs, primarily in the administrative and human resources areas. Throughout her tenure, Mary promoted a culture based on the concept that high quality service can best be achieved by motivated, happy people. In a technical, growth, action-oriented company, she has always been a strong advocate of maintaining a family environment where individuals are treated in a fair, but personal, basis. Although she is no longer active in the company on a daily basis, she is available to management and actively participates in strategic and major policy decisions. Mary is a graduate of Becker College.

Blair Shick

Blair has been on the Primax/TK Keith Board since its inception in 1981. Shick is a retired member of the Cambridge, MA consulting firm of Arthur D. Little, Inc. (ADL), where he contributed for several years (1974-1981) to a group focused on financial industries, information technologies and regulatory issues. The position involved working with differing financial industry groups including NEBA, ASBA, WSBA and Master Card International. As a lawyer, he was admitted to practice in Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Florida. Prior to joining ADL, Shick served on the faculty at Boston College Law School and served on the Consumer Advisory Council of the Federal Reserve Board.

Leo F. McManus McManus is President of L. F. McManus Company, Inc., a national Management Research and Development organization with offices in Worcester, Massachusetts. Mr. McManus has been consulting for the past twenty-five years, working with large and small firms in the fields of Manufacturing, Accounting, Banking, Insurance, Investment Management, Research, Education, and Health Care. He has worked as a consultant to a number of federal government agencies and U.S. Military organizations as well as Military Academies. His corporate directorships have included Consumers Savings Bank, Amherst Group International, Knapp Shoe, McCue Corporation, and Wolf Coach, Inc. McManus is currently a director of the Higgins Armory Museum, as well as Primax/T.K. Keith Company.


Executive Team

Theodore Keith, Jr., President & Chief Executive Officer

Heading the executive team, Ted has been President & CEO since 1997. Since he assumed this role, the company has tripled revenues and more than doubled employees. Ted's background prior to joining the company in 1989 was managing law enforcement information systems for the state of Tennessee. Under his direction, significant quality assurance initiatives were launched, he was named as the state's representative to the National Law Enforcement Telecommunications System, and was named the state contact for Interpol. Ted's leadership philosophy centers on collaboration, open lines of communication and goal-driven management. Ted makes a special effort to be highly accessible to clients and employees. Ted graduated from Middle Tennessee State University with a B.S. in Biology.

Emanuel Pansa, Senior Vice President & Chief Operating Officer

Manny joined the company in 2007 as Sr. Vice President and COO. Prior to joining Primax, Manny was Sr. Vice President of Operations at Applied Communications Inc. (ACI) Worldwide, where he was responsible for maintaining/supporting the Application Service Provider (ASP) environment. His area of responsibility included: Technical Support, Operations, Implementations, Systems Engineering, and MIS. Prior to joining ACI, Manny was Senior Vice President of Operations at Interpay, Inc. His group delivered payroll processing services to over 34,000 small business clients in 12 U.S. locations. Before that, he held a number of senior positions at Metavante and ADP, including roles as Vice President of Product Management, General Manager, and Director of Account Management. Manny holds an MBA degree from Bentley College and a B.S.B.A degree from Boston University. He is a member of Beta Gamma Sigma.

Stanley M. Linkous, Senior Vice President - Corporate Business Development

Stan Linkous joined the company in October of 1993 as a Regional Sales Executive. Today Stan is responsible for sales, marketing and business development. Prior to joining Primax he worked for Atlantic States Bankcard Association as Director of Sales and The Flat Top National Bank as AVP of the credit card operation. Stan has more than 30 years experience in the card industry and is a graduate of the ABA Stonier Graduate School of Banking, from the American Bankers Association and earned a B. S. in Management from Concord University, Athens, West Virginia.

Jeanne Zaccagnini, Senior Vice President - Administrative Services

Jeanne has been with the company since 1987. With more than 37 years in the industry and a background managing a large authorization call center, she is responsible for our human capital and for insuring that our corporate culture remains focused on insuring a high degree of client satisfaction and that every employee has the opportunity to grow and prosper within the company. Jeanne has been a member of the Society for Human Resource Management for more than seven years.

Paul Roberts, Senior Vice President & Chief Financial Officer

Paul has been the company's Chief Financial Officer since 1997. Previously he worked for public accounting firms in Boston and Portsmouth, NH for twenty years. Paul is a Certified Public Accountant registered in New Hampshire and a member of the Massachusetts Society of Certified Public Accountants. He has a B.S. in Business Administration from Merrimack College in North Andover, Massachusetts. Paul is active as a board member and Treasurer of several not-for-profit organizations.

Career Opportunities

Below are the current job openings at Primax. Please contact us with a cover letter and your resume, for consideration.