The New Payment System Operator (NPSO) has today announced the appointment of two C-Suite Executives as it moves closer to taking responsibility for the UK’s retail payment systems.
Matthew Hunt, currently COO for the Monetary Policy area at the Bank of England, will take on the role of the NPSO’s Chief Operating Officer (COO), while Jenny Crawford, currently Deputy CEO of UK Payments Administration Ltd (UKPA), has been appointed as Chief People Officer (CPO).
Paul Horlock, CEO of the NPSO, said: “Jenny has been instrumental preparing the transition of UKPA into the NPSO as well as leading our People workstream, making her a strong competitor for the role of Chief People Officer. Matthew has a wealth of knowledge and expertise and we are delighted that he is joining us as our COO at this key stage in our organisation’s development.
“Matthew and Jenny will be invaluable as we work to ensure that this country’s payments infrastructure remains world-class whilst also having the capability to develop and advance the NPSO for the benefit of the UK as a whole”.
Matthew Hunt has worked at the Bank of England since 2006, covering a variety of operational and payments leadership roles. Matthew is currently COO for the Monetary Policy area and until recently was Head of Customer Banking Division, with responsibility for banking, securities and gold custody services provided to the UK Government and other central banks. Matthew has also performed senior management roles running the RTGS payment system and banknote distribution. Prior to working at the Bank, Matthew was a business manager for UBS Investment Bank and a consultant with Accenture.
Matthew Hunt said: “The payment schemes perform a vital function for everyone in the UK and, from my roles within the Bank, I have followed closely the changes happening in the industry. I am looking forward to working with colleagues, participants, users and regulators to maximise improvements, whilst staying focussed on the strong operational performance that the schemes have demonstrated to date.”
Jenny Crawford joined UKPA eight years ago as the Head of HR and has more recently worked as Director of Operations and Deputy CEO. Since August of last year she has been leading UKPA in its transition into the NPSO. Jenny has over 20 years’ HR experience and holds both a professional HR qualification and a Masters in Human Resource Management. She is also a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. Her previous HR experience has been gained both in organisations going through periods of significant change and those in their relative infancy, helping them to develop and implement new systems and to deliver cultural change.
Jenny Crawford said: “The UK’s payment schemes lead the world because of the talented people that work within them who continually demonstrate an unparalleled dedication to delivering the services that enable a vibrant UK economy. Colleagues from the payment schemes and UKPA will be vital for the NPSO to deliver collaborative and globally competitive retail payments services that benefit all users, now and in the future.”
The NPSO will consolidate Bacs Payment Schemes Limited (Bacs), Faster Payments Scheme Limited (FPSL), and the Cheque & Credit Clearing Company Limited (C&CCC) which incorporates the Image Clearing System (ICS) that will replace the paper processing system for cheques currently managed by C&CCC. These retail payment systems will be joined by UK Payments Administration Ltd (UKPA) which provides business services support to the payment system operators.
In addition, the NPSO will lead the delivery of the New Payments Architecture (NPA) having received the blueprint for the NPA in December 2017 from the Payments Strategy Forum (PSF), the body set up by the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) to bring the payments industry and users together.