The Payment Systems Regulator has appointed Ruth Evans, an industry outsider and chairman of the The Authority for Television on Demand (ATVOD), to guide discussions over the future of payments in the UK.
Evans will take over as chair of the Payments Strategy Forum later this month. The Forum will bring together payments industry stakeholders to work in partnership and drive collaborative innovation in payments.
Speaking about the appointment, Evans says: “The Forum will establish which areas require collective action on innovation, then develop and agree strategies to take them forward and bring to market. It’s a big ask, and I can’t wait to get started.”
Evans has a thirty-year track record representing the consumer and public interest across a wide range of industries, serving as chair and deputy chair of four regulatory boards (Authority for Television on Demand, Bar Standards Board, Ofcom Consumer Panel and the General Medical Council’s Standards Committee) and working with leading charities.
Alongside the appointment of Evans, the PSR has also issued a call to the industry to help find 20 people within senior positions to sit on the panel. "These people will have the ability to shape and make decisions on strategy or policy within their organisations and the sector more broadly," says the watchdog.
The Forum will lead an on-going process to identify, prioritise and develop initiatives where industry can work together to promote innovation. Issues around account switching and account number portability have already been identified as fruitful areas for further development.
The Forum will meet up to six times a year and will set up expert working groups to examine specific issues, such as analysis, design and specification of prospective initiatives. It will also hold the industry to account by transparently reporting on progress.
Hannah Nixon, managing director of the PSR, says: “The Forum is the melting pot where problems can be discussed and solutions are created. We want it to be a place where all corners of the payments industry can come together and have an equal say, working as one body to boost innovation."