Pay.UK, the independent, not-for-profit operator of the UK’s national retail payments systems, including Faster Payments, Bacs and Direct Debit, has announced the appointment of David Morris to the newly created role of Chief Operating Officer (COO). Morris previously held the role of Chief Technology Officer at Pay.UK and today assume the new position.

The addition of this role to the Executive Leadership team is designed to further enhance Pay.UK’s operational excellence and drive innovation, with particular focus on fraud prevention and security. The strategic alignment of operations and technology will foster greater collaboration and efficiency, ensuring Pay.UK remains robust, resilient, and responsive to the evolving threat of fraud while operating the critical national infrastructure and giving people choices in the way they pay.

As COO, Morris will oversee Payment Operations, Technology, Standards and Rules, and First Line Risk, and will be supported by a dedicated COO Office. Within the new structure, Pay.UK will recruit two senior executives to join Morris’ leadership team: Director of Payments and Director of Technology. Pay.UK is also seeking to appoint a Chief Transformation Officer to join the Executive Leadership team.

David Pitt, CEO of Pay.UK said: “These changes reflect our commitment to continuous improvement and our focus on delivering the safest and most efficient payment system for the UK economy. 

“David Morris is a highly experienced leader with a deep understanding of our operations and the payments industry. Under David’s direction, this new function will drive operational excellence, particularly in our fight against fraud.”

Commenting on his appointment, David Morris said: “I am delighted to be taking on this new role, which will underpin Pay.UK’s continued focus on safety and security of our payments systems, and also ensure we can be the smartest way to pay now, and in the future.”

These leadership changes have received the full support of Pay.UK’s Board and regulators.