Leading SEPA expert Erik Månsson joins Voca from the European Central Bank

22 March 2006: Voca, the provider of payment services to banks and corporates, has appointed Erik Månsson as Director of European Business Development. Månsson will lead Voca’s engagement with the European banking community as Voca rolls out its new payments infrastructure.

Voca is in the final stages of implementing its new payments infrastructure. Once this programme completes later this year, Voca will be able to process multiple currencies and payment schemes, including SEPA payments, from the same platform. This will position Voca as a leading provider of payments services for both individual banks and for central clearing and settlement operations.

Månsson’s role will be to work with banks across Europe to find opportunities for collaboration on the SEPA implementation.

Månsson is a leading expert on European cross-border payments and electronic funds transfers in the Single Market. He joins Voca from the European Central Bank, where he was the Senior Market Infrastructure Expert. His role at the ECB included facilitating the development and implementation of the SEPA strategy. He was responsible for coordination of the ECB's contacts with commercial banks through the European Payments Council (EPC), and those with corporates through the European Association of Corporate Treasurers (EACT).

Prior to that role, he was Payments Expert in the Payment Systems Policy Division of the ECB during the Euro launch. He assisted in the establishment of the TARGET system and coordinated the Euro preparation of payment systems in the EMU member countries.

Månsson will report to Martin Wilson, Business Development Director. Wilson commented, “The introduction of SEPA is a significant opportunity for banks and payment processors. Voca has developed an IP-based payments infrastructure to meet the demands of SEPA and is poised to support banks and corporates in the transition with efficient, cost effective solutions. Forming collaborative relationships within the industry is crucial to unlocking SEPA’s potential, and Erik’s unique depth of understanding across the European payments industry significantly boosts Voca’s capabilities in this area.”

In addition to his experience at the ECB, Månsson brings 15 years' experience in the payments industry gained in both corporate treasury and banking. He holds an MBA from the Stockholm School of Business.