The Deputy Governor noted that he had limited prior experience in technology projects, so it was essential to create “a team of people who knew what they were doing”.17 One early decision on the programme was to work in partnership with an external supplier, as the Bank did not have the in-house expertise to modernise the RTGS itself.18 The NAO report notes that programme governance included representation from payments, technology and the Bank’s central services staff, to support key decision- making, with the RRC and REB willing to act on specialist advice to respond to major changes that the programme required.19 We also saw the benefits from the continuity of senior leadership of the programme with the Deputy Governor having responsibility from 2017 through to 2025, and the senior owner and chief technology officer being involved throughout its course.20 Early planning of scope and requirements