Payments Canada appoints new president and CEO

Payments Canada’s board of directors has named Susan Hawkins of TD Bank as its new president and CEO, following the departure of Tracey Black at the end of March.

Hawkins, who has served as Global Head of Enterprise Payments and Executive Vice President of US Payments at TD Bank Group for the past five years, will assume her new role on August 12 of this year.

Susan Hawkins, the new president and CEO of Payments Canada

At TD Bank, Hawkins led the modernization and management of the payments infrastructure and products, working with teams in the US and Canada.

She served as a board member of Payments Canada from 2020 to 2023 and has been on the board of The Clearing House Payments Corporation since 2019.

Garry Foster, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Payments Canadasaid: “Susan is an industry expert and her experience includes national and international leadership in retail and commercial payments.

“Her passion for payments innovation and proven collaborative leadership will support our progress in modernizing Canada’s payment systems.”

“I look forward to leading the Payments Canada team and working with our members and stakeholders to continue to build on the momentum of Canada’s payments innovation journey,” said Hawkins, incoming president and CEO of Payments Canada.

“It is a pivotal time for Payments Canada and the claims industry to broaden access to Canada’s payment systems through the recent Royal Assent of the Canadian Payments Act changes, which will expand Payments Canada 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 as we build the future of payments for Canada in partnership with the payments ecosystem.”

Black decided not to renew her term as president and CEO after five years with the organization and resigned on March 31, 2024.

Interim co-chief executive managers Kristina Logue and Jude Pinto will resume their roles as Chief Financial Officer and Chief Delivery Officer, respectively, once Hawkins begins.

Hawkins participated in a panel debate at the Open Banking Expo Canada, titled “Payments Modernization: Forging Ahead with Canada’s Pathway,” to discuss the legislative changes and technological advances shaping payments.