Dive Brief:

• JPMorgan Chase’s global head of payments, Takis Georgakopoulos, is leaving the bank, according to a memo sent by the company to employees on Monday. He had been with the company for 17 years, first joining as the head of corporate strategy in 2007. He is leaving to “pursue an opportunity outside the firm,” according to the memo, which didn’t elaborate on his exit.
• The company promoted Umar Farooq and Max Neukirchen to succeed him as co-heads of the company’s global payments division, a segment that has thrived in recent years as the bank increasingly sells digital services.
• Georgakopoulos had led the payments division since 2017, overseeing its expansion into “one of the firm’s biggest growth engines, with increasing revenue and market share in a highly competitive environment,” according to the memo.

Dive Insight:

JPMorgan, the largest U.S. bank, has nearly doubled annual revenue in its payments division over the past three years, rising to $18.25 billion last year, from $9.86 billion in 2021, according to its annual filing in February with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Georgakopoulos, who had also been a member of the bank’s operating committee since 2020, guided the payments division’s expansion partly through the growth of “e-commerce, biometrics and blockchain-based services,” according to the memo.

In a post on LinkedIn, Georgakopoulos said this: “It is never easy to do, but after 17 years at J.P. Morgan I decided to pursue a very exciting opportunity outside the firm (to be announced in due course).” He also noted that when he started at the company as the head of corporate strategy, he was managing seven employees, and when he left he was overseeing 25,000 worldwide.

In biometrics, JPMorgan has pursued partnerships and pilots to develop that technology for use by merchant clients, in e-commerce and in-person scenarios.

The company has also focused on building its presence in embedded payments, offering specialized payment services in certain verticals, including the healthcare, auto and e-commerce arenas.

In addition, the firm has sought to be relevant as a participant in delivering real-time payment services, including by working with The Clearing House’s RTP network, as well as the Federal Reserve in launching FedNow last year.

The bank’s memo didn’t suggest any major changes in direction are expected for the payments unit. A spokespersonn for the New York-based company said Farooq and Neukirchen weren’t available for interviews.

Farooq has most recently held the title co-head of global payments sales as well as being the CEO of the company’s Onyx unit, which was focused on developing blockchain services.

Neukirchen has been the global head of payments and commerce solutions, providing integrated payments software options to clients worldwide. His team has focused on expanding the company’s product line, extending its geographic reach and forging partnerships and acquisitions, the memo said.

The payments leadership changes at JPMorgan were reported Monday by the media outlet Reuters.