Payments Canada appoints Susan Hawkins as President and CEO

With deep industry expertise in payment innovation Susan Hawkins will lead Payments Canada through its continued modernization journey in partnership with the payment ecosystem, effective August 12, 2024

OTTAWA, ON, June 26, 2024 /CNW/ - The Payments Canada Board of Directors today announced the appointment of Susan Hawkins to President and CEO of Payments Canada, effective August 12, 2024.

"We are thrilled to appoint Susan Hawkins to lead Payments Canada as President and CEO," said Garry Foster, Chair of the Payments Canada Board of Directors. "Susan is an expert in the industry and her experience spans domestic and international retail and commercial payment leadership. Her passion for payment innovation and proven collaborative leadership will support our drive forward as we modernize Canada's payment systems."

For over five years, Hawkins was the Global Head of Enterprise Payments and Executive Vice President of US Payments at TD Bank Group, where she led the modernization and governance of payment infrastructure and payment products working with teams in the US and Canada. In her position, Hawkins also played a pivotal role in building and commercializing a real-time payments solution. Throughout her career, Hawkins also held executive roles with Fidelity Global Information Services and Metavante Payment Solutions. Hawkins served as a board member for Payments Canada from 2020 to 2023, and has been on the board of The Clearing House Payments Corporation since 2019.

"I look forward to leading the Payments Canada team and working collaboratively with our members and stakeholders to continue to build on the momentum of Canada's payment innovation journey," said Susan Hawkins, incoming President and CEO of Payments Canada. "It's a pivotal time for Payments Canada and the industry with advances to broaden access to Canada's payment systems through the recent Royal Assent of The Canadian Payments Act changes, which will expand Payments Canada's membership, and as Payments Canada leads the final phase of a 'made for Canada' Real-Time Rail (RTR) payment system. I am excited to support Payments Canada to build the future of payments for Canada in partnership with the payment ecosystem."

Upon Susan's commencement of her new role, interim co-CEO Kristina Logue will resume her full role as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and interim co-CEO Jude Pinto will resume his full role as Chief Delivery Officer (CDO).

"On behalf of the board of directors, we extend our deepest gratitude to Kristina and Jude for their exceptional leadership during this transition period," said Foster. "Payments Canada has an excellent leadership team that will work closely with Susan to align its critical work of safely and securely operating Canada's national payment systems and the delivery of the Real-Time Rail (RTR) with the vision she brings. Susan's appointment marks the beginning of an exciting next chapter for Payments Canada."

Payments Canada makes payments easier, smarter and safer for all people living in Canada by providing the infrastructure where payments are cleared and settled between financial institutions. We are a public purpose organization that owns and operates Canada's payment systems, Lynx and the Automated Clearing Settlement System (ACSS), and are responsible for the bylaws, rules and standards that support these systems. In 2023, our systems cleared and settled over $112 trillion ? more than $450 billion every business day. Some of the transactions that pass through our systems include debit card payments, pre-authorized debits, direct deposits, bill payments, wire payments and cheques. Payments are an essential part of our economy and way of life. From a down payment on a home, an invoice paid to a local business or a first paycheque?payments keep Canadians and the economy moving forward.

For media inquiries, please visit Payments Canada's media centre.

SOURCE Payments Canada