United States – Federal Reserve Financial Services (FRFS) has appointed Kim Robbins as its Chief Payments Executive, effective 16 November 2026, succeeding Mark Gould, who is retiring after more than three decades with the Federal Reserve System.
Robbins will oversee the Federal Reserve’s financial services portfolio, covering retail, wholesale, securities and instant payment offerings across the United States.
She currently serves as first Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, where her responsibilities include operations, risk, finance, people and culture, information technology and Treasury services. She has more than a decade of payments leadership experience and a 30-year career spanning payments, technology and retail.
“Kim brings a rare combination of deep payments expertise, strategic leadership, and a practical understanding of what it takes to modernise complex systems,” said Tom Barkin, President and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond and Chair of the Fed’s Payments Committee.
“Her proven ability to navigate complex, systemwide priorities makes her the right leader to guide FRFS forward, and her experience and leadership will be instrumental in strengthening the nation’s payments infrastructure and advancing the Fed’s long-term vision for the future of payments,” Barkin continued.
Robbins said she would focus on collaboration, modernisation and the development of services used by financial institutions, businesses and consumers.
“It’s an honour to step into this role at such a transformative time for the payments industry,” said Kim Robbins, Chief Payments Executive of Federal Reserve Financial Services.
“My career has been rooted in operational excellence and partnership, from leading development of FRFS’s 10-year strategic vision to scaling the FedNow Service. I’m focused on strengthening collaboration, upholding a customer-first mindset, and driving our business forward through strategic modernisation to help evolve the services that financial institutions, businesses and consumers rely on every day,” Robbins continued.
Robbins has previously served as FRFS Chief of Enterprise Services and Executive Vice President, overseeing enterprise strategy, finance, risk, data, compliance and legal operations.
She also held the roles of Chief Administrative Officer and Senior Vice President for the FedNow Service, where she led administrative functions supporting its expansion across multiple Federal Reserve Banks. Her responsibilities included strengthening governance, risk, compliance and legal structures for the nationwide instant payment service.
Earlier in her career, Robbins spent seven years in global retail at GAP Inc. and Payless ShoeSource, managing multimillion-dollar business lines.
