The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has appointed David Geale as the permanent executive director for payments and digital finance and managing director of the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR).

The appointment follows the Government’s decision in March to consolidate the PSR into the FCA.

While the PSR was a fully independent subsidiary of the FCA, it did share some operational services with the broader financial services body. The Government’s decision to consolidate the PSR into the FCA followed complaints from businesses that the regulatory environment was too complex – with payment system firms having to engage with three different regulators, costing them time, money and resource.

In his new role, the FCA said Geale would play a key role in overseeing the consolidation, as well as for supervising payments and crypto firms under the recently announced regime and driving the regulator’s work on open banking and digital finance.

Geale was previously director of retail banking at the FCA and has worked at the regulator and its predecessor, the FSA, for more than 20 years, in several roles in policy and supervision. He has been acting as the managing director of the PSR since June last year.

“I’m delighted to be taking on this new role at such an important and exciting time for both organisations, and the payments sector as a whole,” Geale said. “I look forward to working with colleagues, consumer groups and the wider industry as we take the next steps in our work.”

Chair of the PSR, Aidene Walsh, added: “David has played a key role in fostering greater alignment and strengthening the relationship between the FCA and the PSR. This will be increasingly important as we move towards consolidation while at the same time continuing to deliver the important work that the PSR does, including on APP fraud and card processing fees.”

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