Citi has hired a former partner from Ernst & Young to lead the upcoming launch of a new digital payment solution in the region, finews.asia has learned.

James Lloyd joins the treasury and trade solutions (TTS) unit as its Asia Pacific head of Spring by Citi – an upcoming digital payments offering – according to an internal memo seen by finews.asia.

In his Hong Kong-based role, Lloyd reports to Sanjeev Jain, APAC head of payments and receivables, TTS and Anupam Sinha, global head of domestic payments and Receivables, TTS.

Lloyd joins from EY where he was a partner within the strategy and transactions practice, leading the firm’s dedicated regional fintech capabilities and serving as APAC leader for its global payments practice.

Spring by Citi

The Spring by Citi offering aims to help corporate and institutional clients reach end-customers by enabling digital payments across preferred methods, be it credit cards, instant payments or digital wallets.

The offering is scheduled for launch in the fourth quarter this year starting with Singapore, Australia and Hong Kong before adding more markets in 2022.

A spokesperson for the bank confirmed the new appointment.