Global Co-Head
J.P. Morgan Payments
Umar Farooq is the Co-Head of Global Payments at J.P. Morgan. A part of the Commercial & Investment Bank, J.P. Morgan Payments enables organizations of all sizes to execute transactions efficiently and securely, transforming the movement of information, money, and assets. The team of experts tackles complex challenges at every stage of the payment lifecycle. And their industry-leading solutions facilitate seamless transactions across borders, industries, and platforms.
Operating in over 160 countries and handling more than 120 currencies, J.P. Morgan Payments division is the largest processor of USD payments, with a daily transaction volume of $10 trillion.
Before stepping into his current role, Umar was the Global Head of Financial Institution Payments and CEO of Kinexys by J.P. Morgan, where he leveraged cutting-edge technologies like blockchain to create innovative products, platforms, and marketplaces. His previous roles include Global Head of Digital Wholesale Payments and Head of FinTech for the Corporate and Investment Bank, along with leadership positions in Chase Business Banking.
Umar's academic background includes a B.S. in Computer Science, a B.S. in Economics, and an M.Eng. in Computer Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, as well as a J.D. from Yale Law School.
Financial institutions face a fundamental challenge: customers expect speed and agility, but complex regulatory environments and legacy infrastructure make rapid transformation extraordinarily difficult. This panel examines what enables operational velocity at scale: transforming payments and operations at institutions processing massive transaction volumes, building the data infrastructure that enables both enterprise agility and AI deployment at scale, and understanding which architectural patterns from modern financial institutions can be adapted to legacy environments. The conversation addresses what traditional banks must modernize to achieve velocity, how AI and automation compress timelines without sacrificing reliability or compliance, and real-world examples of achieving speed while maintaining security and regulatory standards at enterprise scale.