Appointment of CFO

5 March 2025

CAB Payments Holdings plc and its subsidiaries

("CAB", "CAB Payments", the "Group" or the "Company")

Appointment of James Hopkinson as Chief Financial Officer

CAB Payments, a leading B2B FX and Payments provider to emerging markets, today announces that James Hopkinson has been appointed to the role of Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of the Group. James will join CAB Payments immediately and will be appointed as Executive Director subject to regulatory approval for his position as CFO (SMF2) of Crown Agents Bank Limited.

James is a highly accomplished senior finance executive bringing strong broad based and highly relevant experience to CAB. James has worked for over 25 years across global banks and emerging markets, FX and payments and also has experience driving business transformations. James built his career at Standard Chartered, a global bank with strong links to many of CAB's core markets, where he spent almost 20 years across multiple geographies including Africa, Hong Kong, India, Singapore, Qatar and the UK. Latterly, he held senior roles including Global CFO of retail banking. James was most recently Group CFO and Executive Director of Metro Bank Holdings PLC, the UK high-street bank, which he joined in July 2022 where he helped to execute its turnaround plan. Prior to that, he was Group CFO of ClearBank, the fast-growing and innovative UK and technology-enabled clearing bank.  

James is a Chartered Accountant (ICAEW) and trained with PwC.

James's addition completes the revitalised senior leadership team of the Group who collectively have the right mix of industry and corporate experience to execute on the Group's strategy and deliver on its growth potential.  

As previously announced, the Group will release its 2024 full year results on 13 March 2025.

Ann Cairns, Chair of CAB Payments, commented:

"I am delighted to welcome James to CAB Payments. He brings a wealth of relevant experience with deep sector expertise and is a highly suitable partner for Neeraj and the rest of the senior leadership team to take the business forward during its transformation. The Board is looking forward to working with him."

Neeraj Kapur, CEO of CAB Payments, commented:

"James brings significant experience to our Group, with deep knowledge of the markets we serve.  His appointment completes the realignment of our senior leadership team. I am excited to partner with him as he adds another level of rigour, strength and knowledge that is needed to deliver our  transformation strategy."

James Hopkinson added:

"I am delighted to be joining the team at CAB Payments for the next phase in its development. I am excited by the opportunity of delivering on its strong brand recognition, unique business network and exciting market presence. I look forward to working with the Board, Neeraj and fellow members of the senior leadership team as we execute on the Group's strategy."

There are no other matters to be disclosed under UK Listing Rule 6.4.8R in relation to James Hopkinson's appointment.

For further information, please contact:

Notes:

1.      James Hopkinson biography

2.      James Hopkinson's remuneration arrangements have been set in accordance with the remuneration policy set out in the Group's 2024 Annual Report. His base salary is £450,000. He receives a pension contribution, or cash equivalent, of 10% of base salary in line with the rate applying to the majority of the UK workforce. His benefits include medical insurance, income protection and life assurance cover. His maximum bonus opportunity is 130% of salary and he will be eligible for FY2025 bonus subject to the performance conditions set out in the Group's 2024 Annual Report, and pro-rated to reflect the proportion of FY2025 for which he is an employee. He is also eligible to receive an award under the Group's LTIP scheme to be granted in 2024. James did not receive a buy-out award.

3.      This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of the Market Abuse Regime Regulation (EU) No. 596/2014 as it forms part of domestic UK law pursuant to the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018. The person responsible for the release of this announcement is Lesley Martin, Company Secretary.

About CAB Payments:

CAB Payments Holdings plc is the holding company for Crown Agents Bank. Regulated in the UK, Crown Agents Bank specialises in FX and cross-border payments for hard-to-reach markets. Its strength of network and deep expertise means it can move money into and out of the world's most complex financial markets. Trusted by a global ecosystem of leading institutions across the public, private and development sectors, Crown Agents Bank's strength lies in its network which connects its clients to underserved geographies, giving them access to 100+ currencies across 700+ currency pairs.

The delivery of fast, transparent and efficient transactions moves money where it's needed. Crown Agents Bank's network offers multiple transaction solutions, delivered via a single API, digital trading platforms, or through bespoke approaches developed by its specialist teams.

Crown Agents Bank is one of the first banks to achieve B Corporation™ status. The bank was awarded the Gold Sustainability Rating by EcoVadis in 2022, 2023 and 2024, ranked within the top 5% of 100,000 companies assessed across 160 countries and over 200+ industries.