In his new role, Bradley, 44, will steer BB&T's fast growing payments services business lines, including automated clearinghouse and wire transfers; debit and prepaid cards; bill payment; treasury services; and BB&T subsidiaries Creative Payments Solutions, Mid-America Gift Certificate Company and BB&T Payroll Services Corporation. He will report to Operations Division Manager Leon Wilson.

Bradley, a former commercial lender at BB&T, most recently served as manager of the bank's Electronic Delivery Systems and Payments Strategy units.

"Bennett is an experienced leader and well qualified to head up this critically important new division for BB&T," Wilson said. "One of the great challenges in the financial services industry today is how to best generate revenue from payments-related products and services. We're confident our new division provides the kind of efficient operating structure we'll need to be a market leader in the payments area."

The evolving payments sector of the financial services industry continues to be driven by globalization, rapid advances in technology, and increasing competition from banks and other payments companies. Payments-related products and services are now viewed as key client acquisition and retention tools.

For example, BB&T created Creative Payments Solutions, a wholly owned subsidiary of BB&T Corporation, in 2003. CPS offers electronic payment products and services to financial institutions for re-sell to their clients under the financial institutions' brand and product requirements.

CPS introduced BB&T OnSite Deposit earlier this year, an electronic service for BB&T business clients that lets them make fast remote deposits from their computers. The service followed last year's Check 21 law allowing banks to convert paper checks into substitute checks.

"The creation of our CPS subsidiary is just one innovative step we've taken in the last few years involving multiple business lines, moves which have laid the groundwork for our integrated new Payments Services Division," Bradley said.

"This new division will give us the streamlined structure we need to more effectively deliver integrated payments solutions to our clients and thereby create faster revenue growth. And the new structure will allow us to enhance and leverage our product development, risk management and sales efforts."

BB&T veteran Lee Youngblood, former president of BB&T's Raleigh, N.C.- based Triangle community bank region, will succeed Bradley as manager of Electronic Delivery Systems.