PSR announces departure of MD Chris Hemsley

Chris Hemsley is standing down as managing director of the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) with effect from 7 June, having led the organisation for five years.

Hemsley is leaving to take up a new role as a director at strategic regulatory advisory firm Fingleton later this year, the PSR confirmed.

Outgoing PSR managing director Chris Hemsley

Prior to joining the PSR in 2018, Hemsley was deputy director and chief economist at the Office of Rail and Road, and had also held roles at Ofgem, the Department of Energy and Climate Change, and the Civil Aviation Authority.

Hemsley is the co-chair of the Joint Regulatory Oversight Committee which, in April this year, published its recommendations for the next phase of Open Banking in the UK.

Aidene Walsh, chair of the PSR, said: “I’d like to thank Chris for leading the PSR over the last five years. UK payments have seen significant changes during this period and throughout, Chris has led the PSR into driving effective change to make payments better for everyone.

“He has also transformed the organisation, increasing its impact, and leaves it in a strong position.”

The PSR will only be able to begin the recruitment process for a new managing director after the general election, which will take place on 4 July.

In the meantime, it is awaiting final approval for the appointment of an interim managing director who, it is expected, will lead the PSR for a period of between nine and 12 months.

The PSR’s Authorised Push Payment (APP) fraud reimbursement requirement scheme is due to come into force on 7 October, under which the maximum level of reimbursement per claim will be £415,000.

In December last year, Hemsley said: “Our approach incentivises banks and other payment firms to prevent APP fraud from happening in the first place while ensuring victims are protected in a consistent way.”

However, the new reimbursement scheme has received mixed responses from the industry.

Last month, Ben Donaldson, managing director of economic crime at UK Finance, warned of the “unintended consequences” of the reimbursement requirement, “particularly where a likely increase in complicit fraud is concerned” and said that UK Finance would like to see the reimbursement cap reduced to £85,000.