Cashplus hires Chief HR Officer as it continues to strengthen team ahead of bank licence approval

Cashplus, the leading SME-focused UK bank challenger, has hired Helen Cowper as Chief Human Resources officer as it continues to strengthen its senior team in the run up to approval of its full UK banking licence.

Cowper, who previously held senior HR and business change roles at Virgin Money, Sage and Barclays, and was most recently Chief of Staff to the CIO at the Co-op Group, will take responsibility for Cashplus’ people strategy as the company rolls out expansion plans, including a drive to double its headcount by 2022.

Rich Wagner, CEO and Founder said: “I’m delighted to welcome Helen permanently to my executive team. Our talented, hardworking people have always been key to our ability to deliver better banking services to UK small businesses and consumers. As we become a bank, we’ll be entering a new phase of growth and attracting, engaging and retaining top talent will be critical to our success.”

Cowper has been working with Cashplus on an interim basis for the last 12 months and in that time has overseen the company’s successful entry to the Senior Manager and Certification Regime (an important regulatory requirement for UK banks), the development of a new reward strategy and a string of senior appointments  including Credit Director, Rahul Duseja; Treasurer, Tom Dolan and Corporate Affairs Director, Alex Moorhouse.

Cashplus expects to receive approval for its full bank licence in the first half of 2020. As a bank the company will have access to c.£400m in deposits and will significantly increase its lending to the UK SMEs and consumers overlooked by high street banks.

Helen Cowper said: “This is a hugely exciting time to join Cashplus. Rich and his team have created a strong and sustainable business as one of the UK’s only profitable fintech challengers and I am proud to be part of it. We have a unique opportunity to attract talent and see significant growth over the next few years. Our people and culture are without a doubt the key to this.