The appointment takes effect from 18th January 2016. Tim is currently HSBC’s Global Payments and Cash Management COO and Group Head of Payment Services.

Tim has over 24 years of banking experience. He started his career at Price Waterhouse, joining HSBC in 1991. During his career he has held a number of senior roles in trade services, transaction banking and latterly in payment services.

Commenting on Tim’s appointment, CHAPS Co Independent Chair, Dr Herta von Stiegel said: “I am delighted that Tim has agreed to become the new Chief Executive of CHAPS Co. He brings a wealth of experience to the role which will help the UK’s international and wholesale payment system to safely navigate the challenges ahead. Last year CHAPS processed a staggering £68 trillion, which is the equivalent of the UK’s GDP every six days.

“I would like to thank Mark Hale who has done an outstanding job as Interim CEO, the company is in good shape for Tim to take over the reins. I’m also delighted that Mark in his continuing capacity as CEO of UK Payments will continue to work closely with Tim and CHAPS Co. There’s no doubt that the industry will be enriched by the close collaboration of these two senior leaders.”

Commenting on his appointment, new CHAPS Co Chief Executive, Tim Fitzpatrick said: “It is a very exciting time to be joining CHAPS Co. The most important user requirement is of course resilience and stability, but I am looking forward to listening to all of CHAPS’ users to see how we can work with them to further enhance the service to meet their evolving needs.”

CHAPS performs a fundamental role in the UK economy, settling high-value, time-dependent sterling payments securely in real-time. CHAPS processes 92% of all sterling value payments, with the vast majority (78%) being wholesale financial payments, both domestic and international. It settles an average of £269 billion on behalf of more than 5,000 institutions and individuals every day.

Tim will take over from Mark Hale who has been acting as Interim CEO since June this year. Mark continues in his role as Chief Executive of UK Payments Administration – the service company for the payments and financial sector.