Biography
Victoria Cleland is the Executive Director for Payments. She leads the teams responsible for:
- the operation and strategic development of the Bank’s payment systems. This includes:
i. the UK’s real‐time gross settlement (RTGS) service - the critical backbone of payments in the UK, settling over £775 billion of sterling payments and securities transactions each working day; and
ii. the wholesale payments system CHAPS.
- the major Programme to renew the Bank’s RTGS infrastructure, ensuring it is fit for the future payments landscape.
- the Bank’s policy approach to payments, in particular in relation to our RTGS and CHAPS operations, and international work to enhance cross-border payments.
Victoria is a member of the Bank for International Settlement’s Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures (CPMI). And chairs the Financial Stability Board Cross Border Delivery Group, which oversees delivery of the G20 Roadmap to enhance cross-border payments.
Victoria is also a member of the Bank of England’s RTGS/CHAPS Board, which provides strategic leadership for the Bank’s RTGS infrastructure and CHAPS high-value payment system and the Renewal Executive Board.
Victoria has held several senior positions in a range of areas at the Bank of England. Most recent have included Executive Director for Banking, Payments and Innovation and as Chief Cashier, she was responsible for banknotes (from design to distribution) and led our early work on digital currencies.
Before that she was Deputy Head of the Special Resolution Unit, and previously Private Secretary to the Deputy Governor. Her previous roles also included overseeing payment and settlement systems, financing small businesses and graduate recruitment.
Victoria is the executive sponsor of our staff disAbility Network and a Director of the Business Disability Forum.
Victoria has a degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from Oxford University and Masters in Business Administration (MBA) from Imperial College London.
