Federal Reserve taps Boston Fed COO to head payments task force

The Federal Reserve System has named Kenneth Montgomery, chief operating officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, as its new payments security strategy leader.

In the new role, Montgomery will lead the Fed’s efforts to reduce fraud risk and improve the security and resiliency of the U.S. payments system. He will also chair the Fed’s secure payments task force, one of two groups the Fed established two years ago in its quest to modernize the U.S. payments system.

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In a string of enforcement actions issued Thursday, the Federal Reserve barred one former banker from the industry for misappropriating confidential supervisory information and fined three others for misappropriating internal bank records.

"Ken's extensive background in information technology and his collaborative leadership style will be critical to addressing a variety of important challenges as we continue to make improvements to the nation's payments infrastructure," Esther George, president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City and sponsor of the payments improvement initiatives, said in a press release.

Earlier this year, the Fed’s faster payments task force set an ambitious target: By 2020, anyone with a U.S. bank account should be able to send and receive secure payments in close to real time. The secure payments task force coordinates with and advises the faster payments task force on payments security issues.

Montgomery will keep his position as first vice president and chief operating officer of the Boston Fed, where he oversees functions including financial and U.S. Treasury services, information technology and strategic planning.

He succeeds Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago Senior Vice President Todd Aadland, who has held the role of payments security strategy leader since September of 2015. Aadland will assume responsibility for multiple treasury services programs and wholesale operations at the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City.

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