Citizens Announces Radha Suvarna as Head of Enterprise Payments Innovation and Strategy

Rhea-AI Summary

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE: CFG) announced the appointment of Radha Suvarna as Head of Enterprise Payments Innovation and Strategy, effective February 4, 2021. A former Citibank executive, Suvarna aims to enhance the bank's payments strategy to improve customer experience. He brings extensive experience in digital payments, having previously led initiatives that drove revenue growth at Citibank. His new role focuses on assessing market opportunities and ensuring a unified payments strategy, fostering innovation in real-time payments.

Positive

• Appointment of Radha Suvarna to lead payments strategy enhances industry competitiveness.
• Suvarna's experience with digital payments and partnerships is expected to drive innovation.
• Citizens' cooperation with Zelle and FIS WorldPay strengthens its position in the payments sector.

Negative

• None.

PROVIDENCE, R.I.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE: CFG) today announced the appointment of Radha Suvarna as Head of Enterprise Payments Innovation and Strategy, effective Feb. 4, 2021. A 22-year Citibank veteran, Suvarna will lead Citizens’ payments strategy with a focus on delivering a best-in-class customer experience by accelerating the bank’s enterprise-wide payments capabilities. Suvarna will report to Beth Johnson, Chief Experience Officer of Citizens.

Suvarna most recently served as Head of Digital Payments and Lending for Citi’s U.S. Consumer Bank, where he launched a digital product management function that drove key revenue growth and completed expense reduction initiatives for the Credit Card and Retail Businesses. As Head of Digital Payments for Citi’s Global Consumer Bank, he drove the partnerships and launch of PayPal, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung and Zelle while also driving the test and learn for new concepts such as Citi Pay.

“The payments sector is experiencing tremendous change and innovation and, with his experience, Radha will help us develop a customer-oriented, unified payments vision and strategy for the bank with an emphasis on real time and emerging payments,” said Johnson. “He will regularly assess market opportunities, competitive offerings and customer needs to ensure we have a clear view of opportunities for the bank to differentiate itself. His extensive work in digital product management, innovative product development and business management experience in credit cards, unsecured loans, payments and data analytics will serve him well in this newly created role.”

Citizens partners with Zelle for person-to-person payments and was one of the first financial institutions to begin using the real-time payments rail developed by The Clearing House (TCH) to offer customers faster payments. A strong collaboration with FIS WorldPay, one of the world’s largest and best-known merchant processors, and direct merchant relationships with some of the world’s most recognizable brands for point-of-sale (POS) financing have helped position Citizens as an innovator in the payments space.

About Citizens Financial Group, Inc.

Citizens Financial Group, Inc. is one of the nation’s oldest and largest financial institutions, with $179.2 billion in assets as of September 30, 2020. Headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island, Citizens offers a broad range of retail and commercial banking products and services to individuals, small businesses, middle-market companies, large corporations and institutions. Citizens helps its customers reach their potential by listening to them and by understanding their needs in order to offer tailored advice, ideas and solutions. In Consumer Banking, Citizens provides an integrated experience that includes mobile and online banking, a 24/7 customer contact center and the convenience of approximately 2,700 ATMs and approximately 1,000 branches in 11 states in the New England, Mid-Atlantic and Midwest regions. Consumer Banking products and services include a full range of banking, lending, savings, wealth management and small business offerings. In Commercial Banking, Citizens offers a broad complement of financial products and solutions, including lending and leasing, deposit and treasury management services, foreign exchange, interest rate and commodity risk management solutions, as well as loan syndication, corporate finance, merger and acquisition, and debt and equity capital markets capabilities. More information is available at www.citizensbank.com or visit us on Twitter, LinkedIn or Facebook.