The Payments Systems Regulator (PSR) has appointed Natalie Timan, a former chief economist for the BBC, as its new head of strategy analysis and monitoring.

Timan will take up the newly created role on 6 September 2021.

Strategy analysis and monitoring is a new division at the PSR which has been created to monitor the markets the regulator oversees, gather intelligence, provide analytical thinking, develop how the PSR uses data, and lead on the delivery of the PSR Strategy.

Timan joins the PSR from the BBC where she was chief economist; before this she was director of economics at the Competition and Markets Authority.

As the head of strategy analysis and monitoring she will be a member of the PSR’s Executive Committee (ExCo), Senior Leadership Team (SLT) and will routinely attend PSR Board Meetings.

Timan will lead on the development and evolution of the PSR’s Strategy, which was launched for consultation in June, and will be responsible for advising on how the regulator’s workplan fits with its longer-term goals.

She will also be responsible for establishing and maintaining the PSR’s framework for monitoring how payment systems are supporting improved outcomes for users.

As part of the role, Timan will also help improve how the PSR uses data and analysis to increase its understanding of the market and the effectiveness of its regulatory interventions.

Chris Hemsley, the PSR’s managing director, said: “I’m delighted to welcome Natalie to the PSR; she joins us at an important time. Changes in society and the economy mean the payments landscape is shifting. What people and businesses want is changing over time, while technological change and the impacts of the global pandemic are also affecting how we all make and think about payments.

“In our new Strategy we set out an ambitious set of priorities to improve how payments work for us all. A key part of Natalie’s role will be helping turn that strategic vision into a reality, and we can’t wait for her to get started.”

Commenting in her appointment, Timan said: “I’m delighted to be joining the PSR. The PSR’s work is having a real impact in a number of important areas – on access to cash, on payment scams, on competition enforcement and in shaping the future of payments.
“With the PSR’s new Strategy recently published for consultation, it’s an exciting time to join the organisation.”

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