The Clearing House (TCH) named Rusiru Gunasena as senior vice president of real-time payments (RTP) product management and strategy. He will succeed Steve Ledford, who is retiring.
Gunasena, a payments and fintech leader with more than 20 years of experience, joins TCH from Jack Henry, where he was managing director of JHA PayCenter and oversaw the onboarding of over 170 banks and credit unions to the RTP network.
“We are excited to have Rusiru join The Clearing House during a key time of growth for the RTP network,” TCH Executive Vice President, Product Development and Strategy Russ Waterhouse said in a release. “Rusiru’s knowledge of the payments industry and experience with onboarding new financial institutions to JHA PayCenter will directly translate to helping to accelerate growth of the RTP network, providing unparalleled control and transparency to users.”
In his role at TCH, Gunasena will oversee the ongoing growth of the RTP network.
“It is exciting to be able to join TCH and to continue to be able to work with financial institutions to increase the usage of real-time payments in the United States, which ultimately benefit bank and credit union customers,” he said. “I’m extremely grateful to everyone who trusted in me, gave me opportunities, taught me valuable lessons and did the hard work to make things happen. Now, I’m happy to bring this experience to The Clearing House to help accelerate the already impressive growth of the RTP network.”
Gunasena replaces Ledford, who has been with TCH since 2013 as senior vice president, RTP product management and strategy. Before formally joining TCH, he consulted with the company as far back as 1992.
“The Clearing House has given me the opportunity to work on the most exciting payments initiatives in the industry,” he said. “I've also had the privilege to work with the best team in the payments business."
Ledford also served as TCH’s representative on the board of directors for the Faster Payments Council and P20, and on the steering committee for the Faster Payments Task Force.
“Steve has been instrumental in not only conceptualizing the RTP network, but also bringing it to life,” TCH President and CEO Jim Aramanda said. “Without the tireless dedication and work of Steve and the entire RTP team, the network would not be where it is today. It was an absolute pleasure working with Steve over the years, and I wish him luck in his retirement.”