Standard Chartered names ex-JPMorgan exec as global payments head

Standard Chartered announced the appointment of Naveen Mallela as global head of payments, effective 4 May 2026.

He will be based in Singapore and report to Mahesh Kini, global head of cash management, Standard Chartered.

Naveen will lead an integrated payments organisation combining collections, clearing, and payments into a single global team.

He will design and deliver solutions across the entire payments lifecycle, including traditional and emerging tokenised and on-chain payment flows.

Standard Chartered said the move responds to rising client demand for end-to-end cross-border payment solutions and is part of efforts to modernise its cash management franchise.

Naveen joins from JPMorgan Chase, where he was global co-head of Kinexys (formerly Onyx), the bank’s permissioned blockchain business unit focused on real-time, 24/7 cross-border payments and digital asset settlement.

Standard Chartered said he has more than 25 years of global transaction banking and payments innovation experience.

🔗 Source: Standard Chartered

🧠 Food for thought

Implications, context, and why it matters.

The bank brings in proven blockchain payments experience

Naveen Mallela served as co-head at JPMorgan Chase and helped run Kinexys (formerly Onyx), the bank’s permissioned blockchain business unit. Kinexys focuses on real-time, 24/7 cross-border payments plus digital asset settlement.
Standard Chartered plans for Mallela to design and deliver products across the payments lifecycle. The scope includes traditional rails plus tokenised and on-chain payment flows.
Recruiting a leader from a rival’s mature blockchain payments group suggests a push beyond pilots. The aim is to roll out on-chain payments across its global network to meet rising client demand for end-to-end cross-border payment solutions.

Payments teams fold digital assets into core operations

Mallela will not run a separate digital assets lab. He will become global head of payments and lead a combined organisation that brings collections, clearing, and payments into one global team.
Across the industry, banks are building blockchain-based payment features into transaction banking and cash management. Client demand for end-to-end cross-border payment solutions is driving that shift.
As peers move these tools into mainline payments groups, competitors may need to merge digital-asset work with day-to-day operations. Falling behind could mean weaker support for 24/7 liquidity or real-time settlement.