Federal Reserve Names New Payments Strategy Director

The U.S. Federal Reserve has named a new payments strategy director tasked with heading the agency’s payment system improvement initiatives. The Fed first announced Dave Sapenaro as the successor to the role on Thursday (Aug. 24).

As first vice president and chief operating officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, Sapenaro will take up the post previously held by Gordon Wekema, who is retiring. Sapenaro will retain his position at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis as well, the Federal Reserve said in its official statement.

The position means Sapenaro will lead the Fed’s efforts as outlined in a paper titled Strategies for Improving the U.S. Payment System published in early 2015. According to Esther George, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City president and chief executive officer, Sapenaro played a prominent role in developing those strategies.

“Three years ago, Dave led the development of the strategies paper and our initial plans for pursuing the desired outcomes for payment system improvement,” George said. “Dave’s leadership experience in many facets of our payments responsibilities and his commitment to the work are exceptional, and I am delighted to have him lead the next phase of our improvement efforts.”

Sapenaro’s role means helping the Federal Reserve establish and execute its faster payments strategy, as well as initiatives around payments security and stakeholder engagement. As part of the position, he will collaborate with financial services business leaders already working with the Fed on these efforts.

“I’m honored to carry these efforts forward and excited to work closely with the many Federal Reserve and industry leaders who have generated very significant momentum toward achieving the desired outcomes,” Sapenaro said in the statement. “The Federal Reserve remains committed to collaborating with stakeholders on improvements that deliver safe, ubiquitous, faster payments to American consumers and businesses.”