In his new role Paul is responsible for corporate strategy, product development and identifying domestic/ international market opportunities for VocaLink. The division has been created in response to changing market conditions and Paul's team will work closely with the Commercial Division, led by Managing Director, Marc Terry to bring these propositions to market.

Paul joins VocaLink from Barclays Bank, where he was responsible for M&A and Asset Disposals for Barclaycard. Prior to this Paul was part of the leadership team and responsible for strategic development at RBS WorldPay, the global merchant acquiring and e-commerce business at Royal Bank of Scotland/NatWest, prior to the carve-out by Advent International & Bain Capital.

In his new role, Paul will lead the Strategy & Business Development team to build on VocaLink's world class payments infrastructure and continue to deliver groundbreaking payments innovations, such as the Faster Payments Service. Earlier this year it was announced that VocaLink will be providing the central database for the Payments Council's mobile payments platform and under Paul's stewardship, the team will continue this pattern of innovation, creating payments products and services that deliver revenue growth for our customers and commercial return for VocaLink's shareholders.

Commenting on the appointment, David Yates, Chief Executive Officer at VocaLink, said:
"We are extremely pleased to appoint Paul Stoddart and I am confident that he is the best person to lead our Strategy & Business Development team. VocaLink is uniquely positioned to drive payments innovation forward in the UK and internationally. With Paul's leadership and experience, the Strategy & Business Development team will be the driving force to ensure that VocaLink remains competitive and offers the best in class payment services to our customers. The current market demand and appetite for an evolution in payments makeskes this an exciting opportunity for VocaLink and we look forward to welcoming Paul."

Paul Stoddart, Managing Director for Strategy & Business Development at VocaLink, said:
"VocaLink is a true innovator in payments and I'm excited about the energy and commitment that the company has to continue to advance its core infrastructure to meet the current array of innovative emerging payment opportunities. There are great prospects here for VocaLink to truly define and drive new payment services across digital channels such as mobile, as the company has done with Immediate Payments, and I am delighted to be a part of that."