UK mobile payment startup Zapp has scooped a tech-savvy head honcho from Barclays to help launch the new venture.

Zapp, which enables real-time payments on people’s mobiles through their mobile banking application, allowing secure payments between consumers and merchants, is set to hit the market in 2014.

Ahead of its debut the company, which is part of the VocaLink group, has today announced key founder members of a senior management ‘dream team’ – who are responsible for launching the new mobile payments system.

This October Barclays’ current head of mobile and digital architecture, Ian Sayers, will take on the role as chief technology officer at Zapp.

Sayers has led technology development at Barclays for the past 12 years. He led the design of several innovations such as Barclays’ own mobile payment, PingIt and BuyIt.

A Solution for ‘Major Weakness’

Sayers will work with chief executive officer (CEO), Peter Keenan (image below), who has held positions such as managing director of the Currys and Dixons businesses in UK / Ireland and head of both the UK and global propositions function for HSBC.

Keenan said he knows firsthand that a ‘major weakness’ of the retail experience is payment, and feels sure that Zapp is the only solution that meets the needs of consumers, financial institutions and retailers.

The chief marketing and product officer position is filled by Justin Basini, who has spent the last three years building an internet startup in consumer data. Prior to this he was CMO of Capital One.

Zapp founder and company chairman, David Yates said the team assembled has all the right experience and expertise to ‘win in the market’.

Challenging the Status Quo

“Peter combines a 15 year retail career with first hand retail banking experience which I believe will be very potent in the success of Zapp,” Yates said.

“Justin brings deep marketing and product knowledge and recent experience of startups and Ian has a wealth of experience of challenging the status quo, building new mobile and web technologies and delivering bank scale implementations.”

Yates, who has many years experience in payments innovation having led significant global payments businesses for First Data Corporation and Western Union, is also CEO of UK national payment provider VocaLink.