Sumner Francisco, AAP, AFPP
Senior Vice President, Global Payments & Trade
BNY
Biography
Sumner began his 13-year payments career at J.P. Morgan, serving in operations, compliance, and product, where he covered Global USD Clearing and early precursors to SWIFT GO (wire-to-ACH). After seven years, he joined BNY as lead product manager for ACH and its Account Validation Services (AVS), later launching and commercializing BankifySM, BNY’s Pay by Bank solution powered by Open Banking. Following its success, he now leads product adoption and market management for Domestic Payments at BNY, overseeing go-to-market strategy, commercial enablement, and cross-functional coordination across product, sales, and marketing. Based in Tampa, Florida, Sumner holds a B.S. in Economics from Florida State University. He previously earned the Accredited ACH Professional designation and has recently added the Accredited Faster Payments Professional credential. He enjoys time with his wife, daughter, and newborn son. In his free time he enjoys the beach, Disney World, golfing, and attending live sports.
How is the nominee propelling the industry forward?
Sumner is at the forefront of the Pay by Bank movement, helping uncover new use cases for ACH and RTP while promoting awareness of Pay by Bank and Open Banking through speaking engagements at industry events including Nacha’s Payments Conference, the Faster Payments Council, AFP, and the Merchant Advisory Group. He also serves on the Nacha Alliance Working Group on Pay by Bank. He believes everyday purchases via ACH represent the next frontier for the network. As BNY’s resident payments fraud expert—shaped by his work with Account Validation Services and Open Banking—Sumner advocates for a community-based approach to fraud prevention that unites regulators, rule makers, banks, fintechs, companies, and consumers. He views Artificial Intelligence as a transformative force that can empower both fraudsters and defenders, emphasizing that education and responsible deployment are critical to integrating AI into everyday business processes and strengthening fraud mitigation across the ecosystem.
Where do you see the nominee succeeding in the future?
Sumner is well positioned for continued success as the payments industry evolves. His blend of operational depth, product innovation experience, and industry-facing leadership positions him to become a leading strategic voice in U.S. payments, particularly in roles focused on market strategy and large-scale adoption of new payment solutions. He has demonstrated the ability to take concepts from idea to commercialization—a skill set that will grow increasingly valuable as real-time payments, data-driven trust tools, and account-to-account experiences expand. Active in industry groups and conferences, Sumner is on a path toward broader influence, helping define standards, educate the market, and foster collaboration across banks, fintechs, and merchants. His expertise in account validation and fraud risk positions him to lead in modern fraud strategy, especially as AI reshapes both threats and defenses. With strong communication skills, cross-functional leadership, and a customer-centric mindset, he is poised for future roles spanning broader product ownership, enterprise strategy, and people leadership at the intersection of payments innovation, commercialization, and fraud prevention.