Advisory Board Nominees 2021

Kamran Hedjri

Group CEO
PXP Financial

Area of Expertise:

Payments I Marketing

Why do you want to become a member of The Payments Association Advisory Board?

Together with PXP Financial, I have been involved with the Payments Association for many years and have observed your fantastic journey as a part of the PA community and the awards judge. The contribution the PA makes to the whole industry is massive and I would like to support its ever-growing success with my knowledge, expertise, and dedication to growing payments community and helping it thrive. Together we are stronger and can help create an easier to access, safe and fair environment to operate in and innovate. What I appreciate the most about PA is the real impact the organisation makes on the way this industry is evolving, and the common, powerful voice it helps create. I would like to collaborate with peers who share the same passion for developing the industry even further and making a real, tangible difference. In the last 2 years, the world has evolved more rapidly than ever before and considering all the political, regulatory, and behavioural changes, as a community we need to make sure we stay on top of the trends and innovate. Being part of the advisory board would give me an opportunity to be very close to all the developments and contribute in the best possible way.

What do you see as the main challenges The Payments Association should focus on in the year ahead?

Firstly, the blockchain technology and crypto space. Over the last couple of years, significant strides were made in the adoption of the technology and next years will bring even more developments in the space. It is time to prepare for a revolution that will impact the way we process transactions or manage data, among others. We should jointly focus on making sure that our community is well equipped, understands and can operate safely and successfully in this new environment. Secondly, open banking with a goal to improve the customer experience. Ensuring maximum transparency and security whilst increasing competition are some key aspects to be looked at. Open Banking will revolutionise the way customers engage with financial products and services and will be fuelled even further by the behavioural changes triggered or accelerated by the pandemic. And thirdly, ensuring a fair and safe regulatory environment for the members and the whole payments community.

What will you bring to the Advisory Board?

For the last 25+ years I have successfully built and grown payment companies spanning across the entire value chain. I have an in-depth payments / fintech expertise and understand the challenges and needs of different players across the industry, in various geographies. For the last 4 years I have been a judge for the PA Awards, working closely with my PA colleagues to make it a successful and well recognised accolade. I am flexible with the time required and accommodating various requests, especially when it means contributing to the right cause. 1-2 days per month sound reasonable at this stage.

Steven Marshall

Chief Product & Network Officer
Crown Agents Bank

Area of Expertise:

Emerging and frontier market foreign exchange and payments

Why do you want to become a member of The Payments Association Advisory Board?

The Payment Association has proven to be an engaging and innovative body with a pragmatic focus on the opportunities and challenges within the payment industry. The chance to join the advisory board is therefore a great privilege. Furthermore, the landscape of this industry is morphing at an ever increasing pace with participation no longer restricted to large banks but increasingly diversified across fintechs, neo banks, challenger banks etc. In addition, innovation is no longer limited to developed countries. Instead, the industry is adapting at its fastest across the huge number of emerging and frontier market economies where technology is being used to increase financial inclusion and hasten economic development. I have spent 20 years focused on emerging and frontier markets and believe I add a different viewpoint to the discussions within The Payment Association. Across those 20 years I have also engaged with a large number of central banks and regulators and can therefore understand the tightrope that must be walked by our industry as it navigates the creation of ever more streamlined and fast paced products within a regulatory environment that is supportive of innovation and equally determined to ensure consumers protection. I hope my combination of skills and experiences make me an interesting candidate for the advisory board and represent an opportunity to broaden The Payments Association’s knowledge base at a time when the industry is more global than ever.  

What do you see as the main challenges The Payments Association should focus on in the year ahead?

A significant challenge faced by our industry relates to cryptocurrencies. Many industry participants have concerns related to AML/CFT/KYC issues but also do not wish to miss what could be a substantial business opportunity. With the extended low interest rate conditions, increasing cost of compliance and vastly increased levels of competition for customers; it is unsurprising that market participants look to crypto as being both alluring and concerning in equal measure. The advent of CBDCs adds another layer of complexity; especially, in countries such as Nigeria who have recently launched the eNaira. The Payment Association has the opportunity to be a guiding light across the industry to help participants navigate these complexities and to truly represent the industry participants as they engage with regulatory bodies.

What will you bring to the Advisory Board?

I bring detailed knowledge of emerging and frontier markets, a strong grasp of the rapidly evolving payment ecosystem and a passion for the industry. Whilst the two latter points will be shared by many advisory board nominees, I believe my geographic expertise will be in fairly short supply and I therefore hope this will be viewed as a significant positive by the nomination committee. Timewise, I should be able to dedicate 2 or 3 days per month to The Payment Association. I have a exceptional team within Crown Agents Bank and don’t doubt that I could scale up participation in TPA activities as and when required.

Satish Chander

CEO
CFS-Zipp Limited

Area of Expertise:

EMI Management & Operations

Why do you want to become a member of The Payments Association Advisory Board?

Having been a part of the payments industry and also being associated with the erstwhile EPA and current The payment Association for the last 3 years, I have had the opportunity to interact with the advisory board and the members. I sincerely feel there is an opportunity to learn and grow in the payments space that is constantly evolving and in turn contribute back to the association and the industry. Our CFS-Zipp business model has an unique platform for the payment industry  that supports and assists companies in the payment services to be regulated, compliant and also independent in their services that they can offer in the market within an established parameters of payment & E-money business. Can assist in adding members too!

What do you see as the main challenges The Payments Association should focus on in the year ahead?

  1. Working with regulators and enabling Tier 1 / high street banks more receptible to EMIs and payment service providers…. can we aim for a cultural shift!!
  2. Innovation and trust in industry. How can the industry innovate and also build trust given the current overly regulated landscape and increasing  frauds in the pandemic.
  3. How do we go back and Start trading in Europe like pre Brexit days!!! A tall ask!!!!

What will you bring to the Advisory Board?

  1. EMI subject knowledge
  2. Commitment & time – happy to lead projects
  3. Influence new members for The Payments Association

Jairo Riveros

Chief Strategy Officer
Paysend

Area of Expertise:

My role is to drive and shape the strategy of our next-generation digital money platform, focusing on financial innovation and inclusion by helping deliver expert and reliable digital money solutions that work to integrate and connect people across borders the world over. We were the first Fintech to introduce global card-to-card transfers and connect 12 billion cards globally across Mastercard, Visa, China UnionPay, Alipay and local card schemes. In June 2021, we officially acquired $125 Million in a Series B funding round led by One Peak, in partnership with Infravia Growth Capital, Hermes GPE Innovation Fund, and existing investors, including Plug and Play. Now, in November 2021, we have officially achieved upwards of 5 million customers registered around the world within just five years as a result of our exponential growth and elevation. Paysend is a digital end-to-end money platform that enables users all over the globe to move and manage their finances quickly and affordably at the click of a button. We allow our customers to save, spend and send funds anywhere and at any time in multiple currencies. Having built a wealth of experience within the world of Fintech, I have previously worked with the likes of Mastercard, Deloitte and Artemis Worldwide. I have contributed enormously to the advancement of these payment platforms, devising new initiatives to encourage growth and diversification across business models, formulating a great understanding of the digital payment landscape and its evolution over the past ten to fifteen years.

Why do you want to become a member of The Payments Association Advisory Board?

My passion for Fintech stems from an ambition to create a financially inclusive landscape, believing undoubtedly, that it can have an unprecedented impact on communities all over the globe. I believe that people all over the planet would benefit tremendously from one regulated process that enables free money movement and access, using digital technology, rather than being restricted to opportunities domestically. By allowing users to manage their finances across borders without the need to open new accounts or register with local banks, I conceive that we would have the potential to elevate people and businesses to new heights. With the wealth of resources that the Payments Association has to offer, as well as the networking opportunities with enterprise firms and SME’s that it presents, I have the ambition to make a change. I want to contribute my ideas, collaborating to harness financial technology as a vehicle for change, doing away with fragmented systems, saving time, saving money and connecting communities no matter race, creed or culture.  

What do you see as the main challenges The Payments Association should focus on in the year ahead?

I have been conscious of the gap between the payment ecosystems across the US and North America and the United Kingdom and Europe. Despite the constraints put upon us all in the aftermath of a pandemic, lines of communication and visibility of affairs has never been more open. However, it is our payment ecosystem that is yet to be synchronised. I believe here there is an opportunity for these international sectors and schemes to join together and imagine an overall better-connected landscape.

What will you bring to the Advisory Board?

I would not only dedicate my expertise but that of my phenomenal team. Leveraging our talented internal organisation that works hard to fix important monetary issues every day. Drawing from their diverse perspectives and multitude of different experiences, to think outside the box for our customers and ask ourselves how best to solve any given issue at hand. I would pledge my time and effort to contribute to all board meetings and enter into purposeful discussions to achieve a harmonious, cross border project that leads to a positive impact for millions around the globe.

Ray Brash

CEO and Chairman
PPS

Area of Expertise:

I am an experienced Chief Executive Officer with a demonstrated history of working in the financial services industry. I am skilled in Electronic Payments, E-commerce, Retail, E-payments, and Mergers & Acquisitions. I also have strong business development professional with a ACA from PWC and a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) focused in Business Studies with Finance from University of Greenwich. As a bit of background, I am a co-founder of PPS joining in 2004, and took on the role of CEO in June 2012. Since then I have overseen a period of 20X sustained growth driven by market leading positions in Fintech, Retail, Employee Benefits and Corporate Payments to the point where in 2021 PPS served over 220 client programmes across 30 + countries worldwide and processed in excess of 2.5 billion transactions. Prior to joining PPS in 2004, I was the finance director at The Economist, and previously held leadership roles at United News & Media, Telstar Electronic Studios, Kingfisher and PwC

Why do you want to become a member of The Payments Association Advisory Board?

I believe that the best way to empower payment companies and therefore the industry is by working together as a community to represent and work on the thoughts, ideas and issues that the community is facing.   Whilst we compete in a business sense, by collaborating together we ensure that across a number of factors our industry is best represented, and the best outcome for companies, consumers and regulators is achieved. I wish to become a member of the Payments Association Advisory Board so that PPS and its knowledge/experience can be used to benefit that community, and also for PPS to benefit in turn.  I wish to actively engage in discussions and be a significant contributor to the thought leadership, helping to understand and respond to future challenges driven by regulations or the continually changing industry landscape. Payments never sits still – it is a continually evolving and innovative sector with a collaborative and intertwined ecosystem like no other industry.  By working together with the members, other Advisory Board members, our regulators and other key industry stakeholders I want to help Payments remain at the forefront by driving continued innovation and collaboration – the Payments Association is key to the whole process, essentially the glue that keeps the industry in sync and driving forward the relevant topics of the day for the benefit of all.  I am excited about the opportunity and hope to make significant contributions to the Payments Association Advisory Board and its members.

What do you see as the main challenges The Payments Association should focus on in the year ahead?

There are several challenges and opportunities that the payments industry will experience, in order to provide the most value and insight to its membership I believe the Association should focus on the following:   Regulatory – thought insight into and lobbying to affect regulation
  • Especially post Brexit, how to help payment providers and their clients keep safe in a busines friendly manner across the UK and Europe
  • How to address potential regulation in associated industries that affect payments i.e. increased regulation in credit for BNPL providers and how that affects the payment industry (payout of loans etc.)
  Challenge of new digital currencies
  • Thought leadership on the future of digital currencies, and how to work with them today and adopt them as they become more mainstream
  • Discussion on how as an industry we are setting up to ensure the use cases (technical and monetary) are utilized
  Digitisation of payments
  • How to ensure as the digitization of payments does not lead to less financial inclusion – how to help the wider population across Europe
  • How to remove the pain points of payments – i.e. how to make those back office processes like KYC simpler/more efficient
  Membership relevance:
  • As more and more members join from diverse industries (as embedded finance grows for example) how to ensure relevance to all parties
  I do believe also that the Payments Association should start to focus on activities across Europe, as more and more companies look for pan-European solutions, help and advice.

What will you bring to the Advisory Board?

  I will bring my experience over the last 20 years to both the Payments Association and its members, and will help the Association remain at the forefront of the industry.  Having run and grown a business across the UK and Europe, I feel I can help members with a number of needs from guidance, providing advice and strategic help, through to introducing members to other industry players to help foster business growth.   I commit to attending all Advisory Board meetings, and also to be a Project Mentor.  I would along with the PPS team provide content and be involved in the Payment Association deliverables and workstreams.  I personally will commit the time necessary to ensure that all the Advisory Board aims are met.

Noyan Nihat

Chief Operating Officer
Privat3 Money Ltd

Area of Expertise:

Fintech start up, real time payment rails, EMI

Why do you want to become a member of The Payments Association Advisory Board?

The industry has been very good to me and feel that I need to contribute back . I am a strong believer in the ever evolving world of payments, and we must be seen to provide innovation and be seen to lead  the way . The PA plays an important part of the evolution and we must strive to ensure our members , our industry performs at the highest level in innovation, compliance and cooperation. I have board level experience from an early age, and this also includes a current postion as a Governor of a well known Public School . I feel my experience and passion for the payments industry would be a benefit and be very committed to help in everyway possible.

What do you see as the main challenges The Payments Association should focus on in the year ahead?

There are many challenges ahead and believe we must unite as an industry to adapt. Brexit was always something on the horizon, many unsure of the implications and feel this is still a challenge for many with regards to cross border marketing and licencing. Regulations also may become stricter since events such as Wirecard unfolded. This may in some way improve our processes by adhering to new regulations but at the same time it puts additional workload and expense on smaller fintechs. This may also address increase fraud issues across the payments industry, some of which is associated with the expansion of cryto currencies in our sector. This is an area that certainly needs focus as regulators and the central banks across UK and EU will be watching. Also like many other industries the pandemic has hit many, although feel as a sector we have responded well, but still a challenge to be aware of for the future.

What will you bring to the Advisory Board?

In any voluntary work , from position on boards as a NE or a Trustee on a charity or governor at a School, I will always be committed 100% to attending every meeting. The work of the Advisory Board are to a degree, unsung heroes, who quietly give up their valuable time to help the industry we admire , and I feel this is the time to provide whatever help in expertise, knowledge and commitment to the cause.  Privat3Money would support my role if elected , as we all here believe in the work that the PA provides and will continue to support it as we grow too. I endeavour to being solutions to problems, nothing is impossible and there is always a way!

Mitch Trehan

UK Head of Compliance and MLRO
Banking Circle

Area of Expertise:

Mitch has broad experience in payments products – ranging from customer delivery through to the correspondent banking network / Nostros – from a legal, compliance, thought leadership and regulatory perspective.

Why do you want to become a member of The Payments Association Advisory Board?

Mitch has been involved with the Payments Association for several years and has been directly involved in the Project Regulator working group as well as leading the Banking Access project, and is also now linked to the Project Fin Crime group following a conversation with Jane Jee who has asked for his involvement.  Helping to shape the future of payments is important to Mitch – he believes that payments are the lifeblood of the global economy and that without effective payments, both trade and industry cannot function properly.

What do you see as the main challenges The Payments Association should focus on in the year ahead?

Mitch believes the key challenges that The Payments Association should address in 2022 are:
  • Changing regulation: The Payments Association should be at the forefront of thought leadership and advising its members on the new UK Money Laundering Regulations, and increased regulation and supervision of operational resilience and wind-down plans.
  • Additional post-Brexit requirements and how to work with Europe effectively: There is an excellent opportunity to cross-share information between The Payments Association and The Payments Association EU, to assist the wider industry with best practices. This could also be useful in promoting innovation and helping the industry to evolve by monitoring trends across the EU and helping to ensure the UK maintains its position in the FinTech ecosystem.
  • The expansion of the industry and the capacity of the FCA to review applications: While The Payments Association works with the regulator already, the industry needs support from the FCA and the FCA in turn needs the industry to appreciate the application process. The Payments Association is well positioned to support this.
  • The FCA approach and review of trade finance: The FCA is focusing more and more on trade-based money laundering. Bringing together project financial crime, project international trade and project regulator from a board perspective could have cross-project benefits.
  • De-risking and financial inclusion: The more de-risking happens, the more that certain areas of society have fewer options when it comes to accessing financial services. The Payments Association should use its voice to keep the focus on this important matter, and to help the industry avoid another payments lockdown, as happened with Wirecard.

What will you bring to the Advisory Board?

Mitch brings the following experience and expertise to The Payments Association’s Advisory Board:
  • He has 19 years of financial services experience, spanning both large and smaller firms (Citi, Barclays, JP Morgan, Ebury, Currency Solutions and Banking Circle).
  • He brings banking and payments experience, specifically senior management oversight of Legal, Risk and Compliance teams and Regulatory relationships.
  • He has a platform within the industry and is active in many forums and speaking events. This year, he was selected as a Money2020 ‘One to Watch’ (and received a special commendation from the EPA Awards ‘Industry Contributor of the Year’ award).
  • He brings an excellent knowledge of other industry bodies and their activities, as he is part of the Association of Foreign Exchange and Payment Companies (AFEP) and the Prepaid International Forum (PIF), and also has good contacts at the Electronic Money Association (EMA).
  • He has experience of dealing directly with regulators and supervisors globally.
  • With a background in banking and payments, and specifically providing banking to payments firms, he can provide advice on how the payments industry can and should work with its bankers. De-risking is a key issue facing the payments industry currently, and without working closely with correspondent banking partners this can be a real threat to the future of the industry and its innovation potential.
  • He can offer advisory services, looking at problems from a practitioners perspective as an in-house compliance officer.
  • He is regularly approached for contribution to media requests for opinions on industry issues and to provide thought leadership on the current and future state of the payments industry, and can also provide The Payments Association with this support.
In terms of time commitment, he will happily take time from his evenings and weekends to meet the requirements of this role, as has been proven in his contributions to the banking access work.

Manish Garg

Founder & CEO
Banksly

Area of Expertise:

Open Banking & Open Finance expert and thought leader | Fintech & Payment innovator/advisor/investor | Serial entrepreneur, Product leader, Strategist & Speaker

Why do you want to become a member of The Payments Association Advisory Board?

Manish is passionate about building products that customers love. It becomes ever important to collaborate when life is changed beyond recognition due to Coronavirus. New innovation together with the current regulatory environment will shift payment services across markets and sectors. I would like to work with the and board and member community to shape the future of the payment services market and regulations.  

What do you see as the main challenges The Payments Association should focus on in the year ahead?

1. Shaping Post-Brexit landscape: Shaping the agenda for the UK to follow EU regulation standards and at the same time allowing tailored approach for the domestic market. 2. Regulatory alignment and divergence – Alignment between UK regulators (e.g. PSR and FCA) – Post-Brexit divergence from the EU – Opportunities for cooperation and alignment with other jurisdictions (e.g. Asia and US) 3. Promoting innovation: Leading the conversation on Stablecoins, CBDCs and Cryptocurrencies to drive the agenda. Providing a platform for members to connect with regulators at a global level. 4. Expending support systems and collaboration platforms across geographies and jurisdictions to create a truly global community.  

What will you bring to the Advisory Board?

Manish will be able to commit between 20 to 30 hours per month. He will bring in the community commitment to drive and shape the agenda for the future as have done by evangelising Open Banking from the beginning and working with legislators and regulators across UK and EU to drive Open Banking and PSD2 for positive disruption in the banking industry. As such, Manish has a rounded perspective on our open future and the smart, open and accessible payments required to fuel it. Manish will also be able to commit time for projects such as Open Banking and Cross-border payments, also lead projects as and when required. Other current involvements – MIT Digital Currencies Panel Member – MIT Technology Global Panel Member – W3C – Web Payments Group Member – Berlin Group (Open Finance) Advisory Board Member – Angel Investment Networks such as UKBAA

Kaushik Sthankiya

Chief Commercial Officer & Global Head of Partnerships
Sokin

Area of Expertise:

Payments, Mobile Commerce, Fintech Start-Ups, Blockchain, Partnerships, Marketing, Technology

Why do you want to become a member of The Payments Association Advisory Board?

Joining the Payments Association as an Advisory Board member for me is the ideal place where I can make a significant impact to share my skills, experience and deep knowledge of the Payments Industry gained over the past 20 years by working with companies such as Visa Inc, Mastercard and more recently at Sokin, a new Global Payments Fintech start-up. I have thoroughly enjoyed being part of the Payments Association over many years and the opportunity to help shape the future of this industry, that I am very passionate about, to me would be both an honour and a privilege. I very much look forward to giving back to the Payments community, by using my experience and expertise, to help grow community, create a great new product and services, expand into new geographic markets, and help guide promising new businesses who can thrive in this exciting space.

What do you see as the main challenges The Payments Association should focus on in the year ahead?

The main challenges that I think the The Payments Association should focus on are:
  1. Managing the changing regulatory landscape and it’s impact on the growth of the payments community:
    1. Balancing both the relationship and needs of the payments community with the regulators to promote continued growth and innovation
    2. Creating a healthy relationship between all stakeholders
 
  1. The rise of new innovative technologies (e.g. Blockchain) disrupting the status quo:
    1. The future of payments depends on it’s ability to continually innovate and bring new capabilities, use cases, and efficiencies to society as a whole
    2. In my view The Payments Association will play a key enabler role to ensure we capitalise on new technologies as they develop.
 
  1. Open Banking levelling the playing competitive field for new fintech entrants:
    1. Unleashing payments potential to bring safe, secure and a fair ecosystem for all participants
 
  1. Enabling greater access to Financial Inclusion to help serve society better:
    1. Using trusted and secure payments to promote an inclusive and diverse society
    2. Promote equal opportunities for all

What will you bring to the Advisory Board?

Through my current role at Sokin and my existing network, I have extensive global experience across the USA, Latin America, Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific. I want to help grow and promote The Payments Association across these countries and introduce new members to the Payments Association. Sokin are an existing member of the PA, and with our plans to expand into over 100 countries in the next 2 years – this is an ideal opportunity for me to help expand the PA’s network and grow the brand. In addition, I am able to bring strong expertise in partnerships building, extensive cross-functional relationship building skills within Financial Services, Start-Up FinTech’s, Banking, Telco’s (Carriers), Merchants (retailers), Payment Processor PSP’s, Acquirers, Digital (eCommerce) Merchants and global tech companies. I am skilled at creating new business and partnerships globally from the start, developing, launching, and commercialising products and services into new markets, with the ability to build and foster profitable business partnerships and relationships. I bring exceptional leadership, interpersonal, communication, negotiation, analytical, and cross-functional skills whilst working in a global environment. I am able devote time and attend all advisory board meetings throughout the year and want to actively contribute new ideas to help make positive changes within the payments industry.

Mandy Lamb

Managing Director UK & Ireland
Visa

Area of Expertise:

Strategic Market and Client Development

Why do you want to become a member of The Payments Association Advisory Board?

It would be an honour to serve on the Advisory Board at this critical time for our industry and a pivotal moment in the Payment Association’s evolution, helping to shape direction and key priorities over the medium to long term. I have recently moved to the UK to become the Managing Director for UK and Ireland at Visa and bring with me over 20 years of experience in the payments industry, working across multiple markets in 3 continents.  Being an active member on the Advisory Board will allow me to share my experiences from other markets and provide a global context to decision making. Visa supports a large number of The Payment Association members across the ecosystem, both large financial institutions and emerging Fintechs.  Joining the Advisory Board will be provide an opportunity to ensure that we collaborate across the ecosystem to best support the industry, especially newer and smaller organisations, to deliver innovation and added value to the consumers and business we ultimately serve.

What do you see as the main challenges The Payments Association should focus on in the year ahead?

I believe the following should be major focus areas over the next 12 months:
  • Whilst more and more people are making digital payments, there are still some consumers who can’t pay digitally or are not confident to do so. As more payments go digital, how do we ensure that vulnerable customers are not left behind and their needs are still catered for?
  • Once SCA goes live, what are the next steps in developing innovative security and authentication capabilities?
  • After COP26, what should the payments industry focus on delivering that supports a more sustainable future?
  • How do we continue to support the development of blockchain technologies such as central bank digital currencies?
  • How does The Payments Association continue its evolution, expanding its member base across business types and into new geographies?

What will you bring to the Advisory Board?

Visa supports over 15,000 financial and works with over 70 million merchants in more than 200 countries globally.  As the Managing Director for UK and Ireland, I am responsible for setting and delivering the strategy in this critical market for global payments. I have been a driver of change in payments for over 20 years.  I am used to setting direction and managing priorities across multiple markets and bring a network of contacts from across the World. Because I am new to the UK, I also think I will bring a fresh perspective to your decision making.  I am not tied to any previous priorities and will bring a completely objective and balanced viewpoint to discussions. Outside of the Advisory Board, I am happy to support working group activities where I can add value, will speak at industry events and conferences and will look to connect The Payments Association with my global network of contacts.

Markus Rieker

Managing Director
Gain The Lead GbR

Area of Expertise:

15 years in payments with both acquiring & issuing, trans border payments both eCom & POS

Why do you want to become a member of The Payments Association Advisory Board?

The Payments Association provides great value to its members and the industry by establishing connections, providing knowledge/experience and assisting the Payments Association with its way through the payments landscape. As payments already is international and will continue to develop internationally I believe bringing a non UK background into the advisory board can help to generate even more benefits to its members and the industry. With my knowledge and experience as well as global contacts both to payments as well as to retail I believe to be able to add valuable input and connections.

What do you see as the main challenges The Payments Association should focus on in the year ahead?

There are lots of practical areas that the Payments Association is currently focusing on – and rightly so. This provides immediate value to its members. Two topics which I would love to discuss as potential focus areas are the development towards open finance & following on to open data. These two points next to the currently discussed topics are going to be the cornerstone for the development of the payments industry over the nexts 5 years.

What will you bring to the Advisory Board?

Payments is my passion. It is an incredible growth that lies before us all and we need to do whatever it takes to ensure that this growth not only can be achieved but is sustainable. For this I am able to take whatever time is needed and bring any connections / experience to the table that I have to achieve it – fully knowing that this is not a destination but a road that we will continue to travel on.

Mark Nalder

Head of Payment Strategy & Service
Nationwide Building Society

Area of Expertise:

I have been involved in the Payments industry (including various previous & current Board/Executive roles) for over 30 years with experience in Operational, Service, Delivery/Change & Strategic roles over this period.

Why do you want to become a member of The Payments Association Advisory Board?

There has never been a more exciting but challenging time to be involved in payments.  The Payments Association have an important voice and role in the industry and with an increasing membership, have a real opportunity to shape the future Payments landscape and drive what our customers needs. The opportunity to work on the Advisory Board and help shape the future of payments is an incredible one.  Working with the membership helping to empower them to shape the future as well as  working with the Bank of England and the Regulators to drive the changes that are required to meet the changing consumer behaviour and demands for payments would be great.  

What do you see as the main challenges The Payments Association should focus on in the year ahead?

There are many challenges ahead in the Payments world – the challenge of meeting customer demand for real-time payments whilst balancing the need to introduce friction in certain payment journeys is not an easy one but reducing fraud and enabling customers to feel safe and secure when making payments is key.  A successful delivery of Strong Customer Authentication next March is critical for both Merchants & Issuers – we need to ensure that customers are not getting payment declined incorrectly and that both Merchants & Issuers are ready whilst also ensuring compliance and start to realise the benefit of reduced fraud losses.  The way Merchants react to ensuring minimal friction is critical – and the use and growth of Delegated Authority by Merchants will be an interesting development. Fraud losses in electronic payments through Authorised Push Payments (APP) scams continues to rise and is an increasing concern for both consumers and the industry.  Whilst the New Payments Architecture and the reshaping of Faster Payments and introduction of ISO20022 is important, we have to address the increasing concerns around APP losses now, not wait for when NPA delivers.   It is really important the industry works together bringing cards and electronic payments as one to drive down fraud losses and customer impact. The increasing use of inappropriate messages in electronic payments (similar to what we see in Social Media) is a major concern and one that needs to be addressed now.  We need to stop these messages at source but also ensure we have the protective opportunity to remove them if they are sent to our customers. The other challenge will be to find a way of ensuring we still have an opportunity to innovate and compete and not only be able to respond to regulatory change over the next 12 months.  

What will you bring to the Advisory Board?

I have over 30 years working in the Payments industry – working in various roles ranging from Operational (both working in and leading Operational functions), Service Management (including Incident & Supplier management), Delivery (delivering major payment programmes including large scale outsourcing programmes) and Strategy helping shape the future payments strategy for the society. I am currently responsible for running the Payment Service Management function for Nationwide – which covers all payment services ranging from cash to Faster Payments to cheques to card transactions.  This includes engagement with the Payment Schemes (including Pay.UK, LINK, Visa, Mastercard &  UK F) and engagement with various Banks & Building Societies in the UK. I have worked in the Payments Industry for over 25 years representing Nationwide (as well as chairing various industry committees) as well as playing an independent role as Bacs & C&CCC Board director and continuing to represent in this role as PayM Board director and Account Switching Executive committee. The Advisory Board already contains excellent coverage and vast knowledge across the industry.  I would look to compliment the team already in place by bringing a view from a Building Society that doesn’t have shareholders like many of our peers as well as a view from the industry with my key roles in Pay.UK (including NPA), LINK & the Post Office (and involvement in the Access to Cash work) and Visa. I would be delighted to be considered for this role and help shape the future payments landscape.

Andy Turner

Director of Product Management for Financial Messaging
Bottomline

Area of Expertise:

Senior Business leader and Director; responsible for driving a Product Team accountable for Revenue of £65M (of which £56M is subscription and transaction) across the Financial Messaging market, consisting of 620+ customers in 92 countries, across 6 continents, delivering secure hosted & SaaS-enabled services for payments, securities, connectivity, messaging, Fraud Management and Data & Analytics.

Why do you want to become a member of The Payments Association Advisory Board?

I consider myself a dynamic Fintech Executive with a passion for Product and SaaS Innovation with over 25 years commercial and business acumen in digital banking, payments, ecommerce and digital services; gained across product, marketing and sales disciplines. I believe I am evangelist and market focused leader with outstanding motivation and people management skills, proven ability to build and inspire teams to achieve exceptional results. I have a strong track record of innovation, product development and transformation, successfully launching Value Propositions into new market segments and verticals with a strong emphasis on multi-channel solutions. For the last 8 year I have built functional strengths in Cloud Technology, SaaS, product transformation & growth, business development, product ownership, P&L management and business generation/closure; ensuring efficient and successful delivery of new services into established FI’s, Corporates, FinTech’s and start-up organisations. With this background and experience, I would like to think I am transitioning my latest company from the old world of demployed software & hosted applications to the new world of an intelligent SaaS/Cloud technology. I believe I have made a difference at Bottomline for the last 3 years delivering this strategy and when fully delivered by 2025 it will have transition the organization from a £65M business,  to a £100M SaaS Organization. It is for this reason that I believe I can bring a wide perspective to the payments Association of the Industry, not only from the experience I have gained in multiple sectors over the years, but also from a vision for the future gained in the Financial Industry where change is prevalent on everyone’s agenda.

What do you see as the main challenges The Payments Association should focus on in the year ahead?

The payment industry is facing an unprecedented change on a global scale. This development is occurring throughout the payment’s ecosystem from domestic and instant rails, to cross-borders payments. Driven by new technologies and new customer expectations, the future payments landscape will be friction-less and real-time. However, although the various payments initiatives are moving in the same direction, their lack of synchronicity makes the process fragmented, hybrid, and often difficult to predict.   Moreover, payments transformation relies on complex new technologies and sophisticated customer expectations – all contributing to the creation of further hurdles in understanding what the impact will be on the payments ecosystem and sub components of connectivity, messaging, existing infrastructure and core systems. The payments industry like most others has been rapidly digitizing. The increase in the use of cloud technology and applications is giving the general public more accessibility to all things in their lives. As a result, consumers expect to have instant access to everything, including financial services. The broader financial services landscape is thus transforming. FinTech’s, or financial technology companies, are flooding the market, determined to disrupt the former financial industry by capitalizing on the increased accessibility to all things digital. As customers have grown accustomed to increased access to faster and more convenient payments on the retail side, they are now demanding similar conveniences and service levels in B2B payments and transaction banking. Traditional lending platforms like banks just aren’t meeting the expectations that today’s consumers have around ease and speed of payments. This will open even more doors to consumers and continue to reconstruct the payment ecosystem to incorporate customers’ increasing demands for personalization, customization, and speed. Innovations are reshaping the payments landscape, boosting customer expectations, and intensifying competition globally.   Bosted and driven by rapid changes across the industry, the new world is seeking recognised, trusted, expert for payments, securities, connectivity and messaging with a track record of success to help them steer through this storm of change.  Instead of providing technology with functional components that deliver a service, the Industry is now starting to see the shift, driven by the consumers and is looking for more to ensure it retains its ability to grow and extended access to global markets & services through multiple clearing, networks and gateways that are compliance and secure.  The industry needs to transition away from old tech, on prem, heavy and expensive infrastructures to operate and maintain services in the new Digital Transformation world of micro-services and APIs, underpinning the need to Lower the TCO with limited IT & infrastructure cost. With a mixed adoption pace this has create a fragmented landscape where managing interoperability and country specific requirements will be key. It is for this reason that organisations such as the Payments Association, should focus on key initiates that will help set the agenda for the next 2-3 years. Therefore, it is my recommendation that the Payment Association should offer a platform for greater thought leadership and address such topics as:
  • Providing seamless and secure payments and removing the barriers to entry
  • Fraud-prevention
  • Make data your most valuable asset
  • Driving a global seamless economy
  • Improving the mobile commerce experience
  • Transition of cross boarder payments to real time
  • Changing Legacy systems to SaaS
  • Integrating artificial intelligence and machine learning to drive better business decision making
As we know many organisations are struggling to make this change so one of the functions of the Payment Association is to give people a platform to understand these topics better and to work with fellow professional and like-minded people to help improve our industry and to accelerate the pace of change through better collaboration and partnerships.

What will you bring to the Advisory Board?

Pasion and a desire to make a difference.

Silvia Mensdorff-Pouilly

SVP & Head of Europe Banking & Payments solutions
FIS

Area of Expertise:

Banking and Payments

Why do you want to become a member of The Payments Association Advisory Board?

Silvia is passionate about Payments and also leverages any opportunity to discuss, evangelize and challenge the way payments influence world. Being part of the Payment Association Advisory Board is an opportunity for her to develop adoption of changes and innovations in payments, as well as their social and environmental impacts, and help the ecosystem of payments players understand, innovate and build the future of our complex industry.

What do you see as the main challenges The Payments Association should focus on in the year ahead?

For the Payments Association, it is key in 2022 to finalise brand transition from EPA to The Payment Association and therefore develop visibility of the brand. In terms of our industry, the acceleration of the digital journey becomes a strategic priority and the key trends and topics should be around: 1. Putting the customer digital journey central to make it frictionright (not frictionless).  2. How can we work at making now open banking a reality for core banking services, but also in terms of payments integration. 3. Related to the future of payments with crypto currency, coming to real world. 4. What will be the new normal of payments and how this impacts all players in the ecosystem.

What will you bring to the Advisory Board?

Silvia has a strong banking & payments experience, having worked in the industry for more than 20 years. She wants to improve the way we pay, always looking at future trends, and anticipating how the banking industry can help shape the future of our society. In addition to being an inspiring leader, she is a great speaker that talks to press, at events, and is often interviewed to give her opinion and analysis on new trends and how they impact our day-to-day life, bringing payments and banking evolution into the real world and looking one step ahead. She is also an executive board member of the European Women Payments Network and is very active to promote diversity and inclusion, and the social and environmental impact of the banking industry, ensuring that the evolution of our banking industry is all inclusive. This results in a great understanding of complex, enterprise payment and banking solutions from fraud to immediate payments, PSD2 and open banking. As a member of The Payment Association Advisory Board, she will contribute actively to the group ideas and views, be a spoke person for the association and support all activities from the association. Also she would be available to exchange with members.

Michalis Charalambides

CEO
ECOMMBX

Area of Expertise:

Governance

Why do you want to become a member of The Payments Association Advisory Board?

I believe that with the knowledge in the payments industry, Michalis will add value to the advisory board. I have known him for 3 years and i can say that he is the most knowledgeable and enthusiastic person in this industry. He has managed to grow a start-up in to one of the main players in Cyprus and Europe.

What do you see as the main challenges The Payments Association should focus on in the year ahead?

AI and Machine learning Governance Digital currencies  

What will you bring to the Advisory Board?

Michalis will bring knowledge, enthusiasm, collaboration skills and vision for the next day.

Chip Mahan

Global Commercial Head Payments & Banking
Sage

Area of Expertise:

All things Payments & Banking

Why do you want to become a member of The Payments Association Advisory Board?

I am an Executive in one of the largest technology companies globally.  I run a global organization that is responsible for delivering industry-leading fintech applications in the Payments area.  My team consists of the brightest subject matter experts in this space.  I know that I can elevate the Association through my thought leadership and expertise.

What do you see as the main challenges The Payments Association should focus on in the year ahead?

Industry-leading thought leadership for not what is available today but for the chart of course for where we need to be tomorrow.   We need to forecast and understand the needs of the industry 5 years from now and deliver the progressive ideation of what that can and should be delivered.   Innovation and change are what everyone will look for from this group.

What will you bring to the Advisory Board?

20+ years of industry-leading experience and expertise.  I am recognized as a subject matter expert in the field of Payments & Banking. The value I bring to the table is an energetic balance of strong leadership and excellent business and financial acumen. I have a differentiated ability to think about business analytically and to develop new opportunities and drive innovation.  Thought leadership is at my core.  

Ian Benn

Global Head of Strategy
Ingenico ( Worldline brand)

Area of Expertise:

Leadership in the payments and fintech sector

Why do you want to become a member of The Payments Association Advisory Board?

During the pandemic lockdown it became apparent to all of us just how critical effective retail payment acceptance is to a working society.  We touch every life every day, yet our impact is easy to take for granted. As an industry we have the opportunity to include, empower and enable access for everyone. The Payments Association has a role to play in identifying the ways our industry can impact society – both positively and negatively and to encourage the best outcomes for all of its stakeholders through education, persuasion and knowledge sharing.  It can be alert to the horrors of unintended consequences and champion to the true game-changing ideas. In the last 10 years I have had the privilege to lead some large businesses, firstly within FIS (including heading up the payments portfolio in EMEA – a credit, debit and prepaid issuing platform, a portfolio of card switching platforms and a small ISO/cheque guarantee business. A team of over 700 payments professionals). I then joined Ingenico to lead their business in the UK before moving to launch an international direct-to-retail sales organisation and then leading the indirect business across all of Western Europe. In my current role, I’ve been watching the innovation compass shifting far more to the East and I am currently leading strategy with a focus on learning and sharing lessons from each region with our leadership team, our sales and R&D teams and our clients. During the last 10 years, I have also had the good fortune to work with the Pennies Foundation, The Fairbanking Foundation and the East End Community Foundation , in each case, looking to use my resources to try to positively impact society. A Henley College of Management qualified executive coach, I am a mentor (and angel investor) for three technology startup founders and I coach a small number of leaders in the public and charitable sectors. I think I bring an unusual combination of practical experience in what organisations can, and cannot, achieve operationally, with a philanthropic commitment and a set of formal skills to help me to help others. Whilst in my own head, I feel like a twenty-something most of the time, I also recognise that I am approaching the last phase of my career. I therefore see myself focusing more of my time outside of the  corporate world in the coming years and this could be a route to capitalise on, and share, the things I’ve been lucky enough to learn along the way.

What do you see as the main challenges The Payments Association should focus on in the year ahead?

One of the biggest challenges we face in the payments sector is that we have a well-established set of processes which, largely, work well. There are inefficiencies, of course. There are some questions about concentration of commercial power, and a host of anomalies, but overall, the system is very robust and has evolved to be stable and effective.

At the same time, there are a number of innovations that offer genuine improvements in efficiency, levelling the field and flexibility. Yet, in challenging the status quo, they also bring new risks and challenges. To me, the Payments Association must be alert to these challenges and help the industry steer a safe path to positive innovation without unintended consequences. As an example, the principle of central bank digital currencies seems tremendously encouraging as a means of moving value. Yet if funds are no longer moving between entities (albeit electronically), there is potentially no role for the retail bank as a holder of the nation’s deposits. Under current regulations, deposits underpin lending capacity for the banks and, without them, the impact on liquidity could be profound. At the same time, if the operation of a central ledger becomes the domain of the central bank, then overnight the bank becomes a consumer service. This is not intrinsically bad, but it is very challenging given the construct and original purpose of the facility.  Crypto has a vital role to play in the economy but its impact is complex and facts are often obscured by passions (Whether positive or otherwise). The Payments Association can and must help clarify thinking. New technologies bring new flexibility and new consumer opportunity – but only if everyone has access to the appropriate technologies. Financial inclusion will become a growing challenge for the entire industry over the coming year. All electronic payments bring a level of audit trail and, relative to cash, an erosion of anonymity. What is the right balance to strike? And finally, Covid has challenged the world’s thinking about supply chains. With world shortages of components, skills and freight capacity, there will be a considerable rebalancing of the way business run and this could lead to a significant repatriation of investment and growing political localism. The danger is that with localism there often comes regulatory fragmentation. Many controls are driven by government and governments are not always good at balancing urgency with importance. Hasty regulations can cause real damage. The Payments Association must be in a position to bring realism and balance to the debate.

What will you bring to the Advisory Board?

I think I can bring six useful qualities: 1: I have been leading retail payment businesses for many years and have had the opportunity to work in sales, marketing, operations and technology which gives me an unusually wide perspective 2: My work has been in the very small startup world as well as the large corporate domain so I think I can keep a balanced view 3: As a member of the Pennies Foundation advisory board, I have some experience in an advisory capacity 4: I am very happy to get involved hands-on if (and only if) it is asked and I have the curiosity to ask questions and find out more about new trends and ideas 5: I can write and present. Having published two books and been an active blogger for many years, I am comfortable in generating content and helping to marshal complex ideas into coherent words 6: I am London-based with a grown up family, so I am at a point in life when  I have time to commit to helping the Payments Association and the flexibility to act at short notice. The final question about my availability is a difficult one to quantify. Ingenico sees the value in my playing this role with the Payments Association and will give me space and time to contribute to standard activities. Outside of normal working hours, I can be a lot more flexible. I can’t quantify the number of hours I can give, but I am confident that I time will not be a constraint. I hope we can make this happen – I’ve enjoyed working with the association through several iterations and I would be proud and delighted to play a bigger part.  

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