London, 10 September 2026, – Fnality, the blockchain-based settlement infrastructure provider, today announced the appointment of two distinguished former central bankers to the Fnality U.K. board of directors and Fnality Europe supervisory board, the latest step in building a world-first on-chain service for cross-border settlement in central bank money balances. 

Sir Jon Cunliffe, a former Deputy Governor for Financial Stability at the Bank of England, will become Chair of Fnality’s U.K. board of directors. Bringing three decades of experience in financial market infrastructure, payment systems oversight and global regulatory policy, he also served on the Bank’s Financial Policy Committee and Monetary Policy Committee, chaired the Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures at the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), and sat on the G20 Financial Stability Board Steering Committee. 

Jochen Metzger, a former Deutsche Bundesbank Director General for Payments and Settlement Systems, has been appointed to Fnality Europe’s (Fnality’s German entity) new supervisory board, and is expected to serve as its chair. He brings more than thirty years of experience in payments, clearing and settlement infrastructure, having also served on the Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures at the BIS, sat on the Eurosystem’s Market Infrastructure Board and played a leading role in the development of TARGET2, T2S and TIPS. Prof Dr. Ron Berndsen has also been appointed to the Fnality Europe’s supervisory board. A former Head of Oversight and Head of Market Infrastructures Policy at De Nederlandsche Bank, he is currently a senior independent non-executive director of LCH Limited and LCH SA and chairs the risk committees of both entities. 

The appointment of these leading figures in payments and market infrastructure supervision reinforces Fnality’s commitment to scaling a global network of regional payment systems, each dedicated to meeting the highest standards of central bank policy, governance and applicable regulatory requirements. 

“Having spent their careers overseeing critical financial market infrastructure and operating at the highest levels of central banking and financial stability, Sir Jon and Jochen will be instrumental in helping us build out our global network, and I am honored that they are joining us at this pivotal point in our journey,” said Michelle Neal, Group CEO of Fnality. “These appointments also reflect a shared conviction that regulated on-chain settlement services in central bank money balances are foundational for the future of finance and a prerequisite for tokenised asset markets to scale for wholesale use.” 

“The U.K. has a reputation for driving financial innovation, and the Sterling Fnality Payment System is another example of that. Fnality offers a unique settlement model in the safest asset available, and it is the only firm to have progressed such a model through the authorisation process at the Bank of England.  As the tokenisation of financial markets gathers pace, settlement in the safest assets available will be crucial to maintaining financial stability. I am delighted to be coming on board as Fnality starts to realise its full potential,” said Cunliffe. 

“Europe is doing important work on how central bank money can support settlement on a distributed ledger, and Fnality is complementary to that. Connecting regional settlement systems across different reserve currencies is the part of the problem that still needs solving, and I am pleased to be joining Fnality as it builds out this solution,” said Metzger. 

“Building settlement infrastructure designed to operate reliably and meet the needs that regulators and market participants can trust is no small undertaking. Sir Jon and Jochen understand better than most what it takes to get this right. Their experience will be invaluable as we scale Fnality’s global network across currencies and jurisdictions and deliver the infrastructure digital markets require,” said David Eisner, Board Chair of Fnality International and former Assistant Secretary for Management at the U.S. Treasury Department. 

Fnality went live with its Sterling Fnality Payment System in 2023, regulated by the Bank of England, and is working closely with other central banks, financial institutions and market infrastructures to enable similar settlement systems in other regions.  

Building on its established presence in Shoreditch, London, Fnality has also established Fnality Europe GmbH as a subsidiary in Eschborn, Germany to facilitate the development of the proposed Euro Fnality Payment System. Martin Weithofer has been appointed as Managing Director of Fnality Europe GmbH and serves as Head of Europe at Fnality Group. Prior to joining, he led EMEA Sales and Relationship Management at SIX Digital Exchange.  

Fnality has also established Fnality Bank U.S. in Stamford, Connecticut, where it is developing plans for a U.S. Dollar Fnality Payment System and engaging with U.S. regulatory authorities.

About Fnality

Fnality is a regulated, DLT-based wholesale payment system that enables market participants to settle obligations using central bank money balances, the safest form of money in the financial system. It is building a global ecosystem of payment infrastructures, with one system (FnPS) per currency and jurisdiction.

Fnality is building a world-first on-chain service for cross-border settlement. Fnality complements digital asset activity by providing trusted settlement in central bank money balances, helping banks reduce risk and strengthen resilience as they support activity in stablecoins and tokenised deposits. This provides the robust settlement foundation needed for digital assets to scale safely at an institutional level. 

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Katy Burne, Two Birds & a Fox

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