Mitsuru Kayahana

His focus is on supporting the evolution of payments and financial infrastructure while fostering greater interoperability, resilience, and trust across an increasingly interconnected industry.

With 20 years of experience in the financial technology industry—including more than 15 years at Swift—Mitsuru has worked across Japan and Hong Kong, engaging with a broad range of leading financial institutions and market participants across the region. He has held various technical, commercial, and management roles, most recently serving as Head of Business Solution Architecture for Asia Pacific, where he led initiatives to modernise and optimise operational capabilities.

Mitsuru is committed to advancing interoperability as payments evolve through new technologies and forms of value. His focus spans global standards such as ISO 20022, blockchain and distributed ledger technologies, and tokenised assets. Through this work, he contributes to industry efforts to bridge traditional and emerging financial infrastructures while supporting greater harmonisation and innovation.