Full Name
Brandon Watkins
Job Title
Vice President, Cards & Payments
Company
Avadian Credit Union
Speaker Bio
Brandon currently serves as Vice President of the Cards & Payments division at Avadian Credit Union.
With more than 30 years of experience in the financial services industry, Brandon has held leadership roles in payment management at Regions Bank and Iberia Bank. He has spent over six years at Avadian Credit Union, where he leads the Enterprise Payments division with full responsibility for product strategy, go-to-market execution, financial performance, innovation, and growth.
In this role, he oversees all payment product verticals, including emerging payment modalities such as Faster Payments and stablecoin. He manages key vendor and network relationships and maintains end-to-end P&L accountability across the cards & payments portfolios.
Under his leadership, Avadian Credit Union has consistently outperformed peers in fraud mitigation and authorization performance. The organization became the first credit union in the state to introduce a Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) to its membership.
Brandon previously served as Operational Advisory Chairman for one of the largest debit payment processors in the United States. He also holds a Blockchain Certification from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a Private Pilot Certificate.
With more than 30 years of experience in the financial services industry, Brandon has held leadership roles in payment management at Regions Bank and Iberia Bank. He has spent over six years at Avadian Credit Union, where he leads the Enterprise Payments division with full responsibility for product strategy, go-to-market execution, financial performance, innovation, and growth.
In this role, he oversees all payment product verticals, including emerging payment modalities such as Faster Payments and stablecoin. He manages key vendor and network relationships and maintains end-to-end P&L accountability across the cards & payments portfolios.
Under his leadership, Avadian Credit Union has consistently outperformed peers in fraud mitigation and authorization performance. The organization became the first credit union in the state to introduce a Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) to its membership.
Brandon previously served as Operational Advisory Chairman for one of the largest debit payment processors in the United States. He also holds a Blockchain Certification from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a Private Pilot Certificate.
