Michael Ruttledge

Chief Information Officer and Head of Enterprise Technology & Security

Citizens

Michael Ruttledge is the Chief Information Officer and Head of Technology Services for Citizens Financial Group. He oversees all aspects of the bank’s technology environment, from customer- and client-facing applications to the people, processes and infrastructure supporting Citizens’ day-to-day business operations. He spearheaded our Next Generation Technology transformation to modernize the bank and deliver personalized, digital solutions for customers and delivered a major up-skilling initiative and strong culture of learning through immersive Engineering and Architecture Academies, digital credentialing and building of critical skills for the future such as AI, Blockchain, Modern API’s and Cloud.

Before joining Citizens in 2019, he previously held the position of Unit Chief Information Officer of American Express Co. He has more than 20 years of experience in infrastructure and engineering roles within the financial services industry including payments, merchant services, customer service, risk, fraud, banking and finance. He has been recognized for developing the vision, strategy and innovative culture to execute new digital capabilities, big data, payments, and next generation analytics platforms that advance business strategies. He received a graduate degree in Information Systems from the University of Brighton in the United Kingdom.

Featured Sessions

Wednesday, March 5, 2025

9:05 am

How the Digital Transformation and Data are Driving the Customer Payment Experience

In today’s ever-evolving payments landscape, customers expect secure and reliable options to meet their individual and business payments needs while being able to seamlessly connect and complete transactions. The digital transformation that is currently underway, as well as the critical role that data plays in the financial services industry, is reshaping the payments environment and the overall customer experience. This session will dive into how leveraging modern technologies and optimizing data to streamline processes and enhance decision making can bring unique insights and strategies to organizations to help them stay ahead of the game in this fast-paced digital economy.

Among the things you’ll learn:

Data as an integral element in payment processing: By having better data and utilizing that data, many aspects of the payments environment will improve, including enhanced fraud detection and security, an improved customer experience, better risk management and credit scoring, optimized payment routing, increased regulatory compliance, and data-driven insights for businesses.
Adopting modern payment infrastructure: How using API-driven platforms can facilitate payment processing.
Cloud-native solutions: By continuously modernizing payment systems, organizations can offer cloud native solutions for increased scalability, resiliency, and availability; enabling rapid updates and integration of new payment methods and capabilities.
Seamless user experience: Customers can have an improved experience if a variety of convenient payment options – credit/debit cards, digital wallets, bank transfers, and BNPL (Citizens Pay) are available, reliable, and secure.
Open APIs/banking as a service: By seamlessly integrating financial services into customers’ favorite apps and platforms, customers will have greater convenience and faster access to payments and other financial services. This is a personalized and real-time approach that will enhance the overall user experience, saving time and making financial management easier and more intuitive for customers.