Payments Canada strengthens technology leadership to drive innovation and resilience

Payments Canada is pleased to announce the appointment of Derek Rego as Chief Information Officer (CIO) and the transition of Shawn Van Raay into the role of Chief Technology Operations Officer (CTOO), effective December 1, 2025.

These leadership appointments mark a key step in the continued evolution of Payments Canada’s technology operating model, designed to advance both innovation and operational excellence in alignment with its future strategy.

As CIO, Derek Rego will lead Payments Canada’s technology strategy, including enterprise architecture, data, software development, and engineering. He will be responsible for developing and delivering a forward-looking technology roadmap that supports the modernization and resilience of Canada’s national payment infrastructure.

Derek Rego brings extensive industry expertise and a unique combination of large enterprise and early-stage fintech leadership experience. With more than 20 years at Citi, he has a proven track record in scaling teams for growth, modernizing legacy platforms and developing new payment systems. Derek has also led and deployed large-scale, mission-critical global banking payment platforms, demonstrating a strong history of driving innovation and operational excellence. His expertise in payment system evolution, enterprise IT architecture, and digital transformation will be instrumental in advancing Payments Canada’s technology maturity and supporting our continued growth.

In his new role as CTOO, Shawn Van Raay will lead the operational performance, security, and stability of Payments Canada’s systems, Lynx, the ACSS and the forthcoming 24/7/365 Real-Time Rail (RTR), a core component of Canada’s payment modernization journey. With Shawn’s strong track record in operational leadership, his oversight ensures we maintain the highest standards of performance, safety and operational continuity of the systems that underpin Canada’s financial ecosystem.

These two complementary roles — CIO and CTOO — reflect Payments Canada’s commitment to delivering secure, innovative and globally competitive payment systems that support economic growth across the country.