Pay.UK, the operator of the UK’s national retail payment systems including Faster Payments, Bacs and Direct Debit, has appointed David Morris from Network International to the new role of chief technology officer (CTO).
Morris will be responsible for critical technology projects that underpin Pay.UK’s long-term strategy, including supporting the delivery of the New Payments Architecture that will replace the UK’s existing national infrastructure in the coming years. He will also play a role in leading Pay.UK’s internal IT and architecture teams, to strengthen the business’s core functions
His appointment comes after the UK's Payment Systems Regulator narrowed the scope for the delivery of NPA after finding "unacceptably high risks" that the procurement process for the NPA central infrastructures services contract would not provide value for money and could "delay or prevent the delivery of the benefits of the NPA".
The watchdog determined that Pay.UK must, as a minimum, buy services needed to support single-push payments - which will allow most Faster Payments transactions to migrate to the NPA - and may buy additional services and system functionality only if the PSR does not object.
David Pitt, chief executive of Pay.UK, says: “We are at a crucial time in our evolution as a business and David’s sector and transformation knowledge, alongside his extensive IT and technology delivery experience, will be invaluable for us as we focus on delivering on our strategy.”
Morris brings over 20 years’ experience in digital delivery and transformational change within the financial services and payments sectors, most recently as CTO for Payments at Network International in Dubai, and formerly as the UK and mainland Europe CIO of Fleetcor and executive director for digital services at Visa Europe.