Head of Cards, Payments & Cash Digitisation

About the role

Raqami Bank is looking for a strategic, commercially driven Head of Cards, Payments & Cash Digitisation to lead its cards, payments and cash digitisation business. The role sets the vertical's strategy and builds and grows Shariah-compliant debit card, credit card, digital payment and cash-in/cash-out propositions, while managing scheme, processor and ecosystem partnerships. It delivers customer adoption, transaction growth and portfolio profitability in line with SBP regulations, scheme rules and Shariah requirements.

Key responsibilities

• Set the strategy, business plan and annual targets for cards, payments and cash digitisation, aligned with the Bank's retail and digital strategy.
• Own the vertical's P&L, including interchange and fee income, scheme and processing costs, incentives and rebates, and unit economics per product.
• Lead the debit card proposition across Visa and PayPak, including virtual cards, instant issuance, tokenisation (Google Pay / Apple Pay), contactless and in-app card controls.
• Lead the Shariah-compliant credit card, working with Shariah, Credit Risk, Finance and Collections.
• Lead digital payment products such as RAAST P2P and P2M, QR payments, IBFT, bill and merchant payments and home remittances.
• Lead cash digitisation and alternate channels, including ATM cash-in and cash-out, cardless withdrawal, cash deposits and agent or retail partner networks.
• Manage commercial agreements with Visa, PayPak, card processors and switches, and negotiate scheme incentives and renewals.
• Ensure compliance with scheme rules, BIN management, PCI DSS, PIN security, 3-D Secure, SBP regulations and Shariah Board guidelines.
• Build partnerships and API integrations with billers, merchants, fintechs, EMIs and other ecosystem players.
• Work with Fraud Risk Management on fraud controls, and with Operations on disputes, chargebacks, settlement and reconciliation.
• Drive customer journeys with Digital Products, Technology and Customer Experience, and oversee BRDs, UAT and go-live.
• Plan acquisition, activation and usage campaigns with Marketing, and track and report vertical KPIs.
• Build, lead and develop the team across cards, payments, cash and partnerships.

Required profile

• Minimum 12-15 years of experience in cards, payments or digital banking in a bank, processor or fintech, with at least 5 years leading a cards or payments business.
• Strong hands-on experience in debit and credit card issuing, scheme relationships (Visa, PayPak or Mastercard), RAAST and digital payments, tokenisation, P&L ownership and cash or alternate delivery channels.
• Experience launching credit cards and at a digital bank, EMI or fintech is a strong advantage.
• Master's degree in Business Administration, Finance, Economics, IT or a related discipline.
• Payments, cards or Islamic banking certifications, and exposure to Islamic banking and Shariah-compliant card structures, are an added advantage.

Required skills

• Cards and payments strategy, card schemes and network rules, debit and credit card product management.
• Digital payments (RAAST, QR, IBFT), cash digitisation and alternate channels.
• Card issuing, authorization, clearing and settlement; EMV, contactless and tokenisation.
• P&L management and unit economics, partnership and vendor management, commercial negotiation.
• SBP payment system regulations and Shariah compliance.