Platform Owner - Cards Technology

RAKBANK; Dubai; On-site; AED 45,000 - 65,000; Full time

Job summary

RAKBANK is searching for a Platform Owner - Cards Technology in Dubai, a pivotal role responsible for overseeing critical cards platforms and ensuring compliance and operational excellence. This position requires expertise in TSYS Prime 4, online authorization, and fraud systems.

The ideal candidate will possess strong leadership skills, manage various teams, and drive innovative payment capabilities. The opportunity offers exposure to high-volume operations and a chance to shape modern financial services within a respected UAE bank.

Qualifications

• 15 years of experience in banking technology.
• Minimum 5 years in platform management or product ownership.
• Deep functional knowledge of card products and operations.

Responsibilities

• Own the end‑to‑end run‑and‑change lifecycle of cards technology platforms.
• Ensure platform stability, compliance with local payment mandates, and operational readiness.
• Lead real‑time authorization operations and drive platform modernization efforts.

Skills

Cards platform ownership

TSYS Prime 4

TSYS Online Authorization

Banking technology

Fraud detection

Digital wallets

Open banking APIs

PCI DSS compliance

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, IT, Engineering, or related field

Job description

Platform Owner - Cards Technology

Role: Platform Owner - Cards Technology
Location: Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Industry: Financial Services
Function: Information Technology
Experience: 15 years banking technology experience
Job Type: Full-time

Overview

Platform Owner - Cards Technology in Dubai, United Arab Emirates is a senior financial services technology leadership opportunity for an experienced cards platform specialist with deep expertise in TSYS Prime 4, online authorization, fraud systems, scheme mandates, PCI DSS, API governance, and digital payments innovation. This role is ideal for a banking technology leader who can own the full run‑and‑change lifecycle of mission‑critical cards platforms while driving stability, compliance, modernization, and scalable product capability across consumer, SME, commercial, and corporate banking segments.

Job Details

Country: United Arab Emirates
City: Dubai
Salary: 45,000 – 65,000 (estimated based on similar roles – final offer confirmed by employer)
Gender: Any
Nationality: Any

Role Context

The Platform Owner - Cards Technology will act as the primary IT authority for RAKBANK’s cards technology platforms, including TSYS Prime 4, TSYS Online Authorization, and post‑factual fraud systems. The role requires ownership of platform reliability, availability, payment scheme compliance, real‑time authorization health, fraud detection effectiveness, API capability exposure, release governance, and technology roadmap delivery. The successful candidate will lead specialist engineering and business analysis teams while representing the cards platform in business, scheme, regulatory, and technology engagements across a millisecond‑critical banking environment.

Key Responsibilities

• Own the end‑to‑end run‑and‑change lifecycle of RAKBANK’s cards technology platforms.
• Manage TSYS Prime 4, TSYS Online Authorization, and post‑factual fraud systems as strategic internal banking products.
• Define and govern platform SLOs, SLAs, uptime KPIs, operational metrics, and service performance standards.
• Ensure platform stability, availability, resilience, and operational readiness across critical cards services.
• Maintain full compliance with UAE local payment scheme mandates, Visa requirements, and Mastercard obligations.
• Manage scheme certifications, regulatory timelines, mandate delivery, and compliance‑related technology changes.
• Drive platform modernization to support new card products, digital wallets, tokenization, BNPL, contactless payments, and emerging payment capabilities.
• Translate business requirements from Personal, SME, Commercial, and Corporate banking segments into robust platform solutions.
• Govern API‑driven cards capabilities through stable, documented, secure, and version‑controlled interfaces.
• Protect consuming channels, digital squads, and downstream systems through disciplined API lifecycle management.
• Lead real‑time authorization operations, including transaction health monitoring, incident response, availability tracking, and root‑cause elimination.
• Ensure BCP and DR readiness for cards platforms and support major incident management when required.
• Oversee fraud detection effectiveness across post‑factual fraud systems, including rule tuning, performance analysis, and fraud operations alignment.
• Monitor evolving UAE and regional fraud patterns and support improvements in fraud detection controls.
• Manage platform run activities including patching, releases, infrastructure coordination, PCI DSS requirements, and operational controls.
• Coordinate with infrastructure, cyber security, fraud operations, payment schemes, business teams, vendors, and technology stakeholders.
• Own and report run‑and‑change KPIs, operational efficiency measures, technical roadmap status, and platform health indicators.
• Ensure platform readiness ahead of programme demand, product launches, scheme mandates, and business growth requirements.
• Lead and develop a high‑performance cards platform team with clear ownership, accountability, and continuous capability building.
• Support architecture, engineering, business analysis, testing, and release teams to deliver secure and scalable cards capabilities.
• Represent the cards platform in internal business forums, scheme discussions, regulatory engagements, and technology governance meetings.

Ideal Profile

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Engineering, or a related field.
• 15 years of experience in banking technology.
• Minimum 5 years in platform management, product ownership, senior application management, or card management systems leadership.
• Hands‑on experience with TSYS Prime 4 is strongly preferred.
• Experience with equivalent enterprise card management platforms such as OpenWay WAY4, Compass Plus, or FIS CAMS may also be considered.
• Deep functional knowledge of card products and card operations across consumer credit cards, debit cards, prepaid cards, virtual cards, SME business cards, commercial cards, and corporate card programmes.
• Strong understanding of platform configuration required to support different customer and product segments.
• Proven experience managing UAE local payment scheme obligations and mandate delivery.
• Familiarity with Al Etihad Payments, UAESWITCH domestic scheme requirements, and UAE card transaction interoperability frameworks.
• Strong experience managing Visa and Mastercard scheme requirements, certifications, and international scheme changes.
• Strong understanding of digital payments innovation, including Apple Pay, Google Pay, EMV tokenization, contactless payments, 3DS authentication, open banking card APIs, and BNPL integration.
• Experience managing post‑factual fraud detection capability, including rule management, fraud analytics, detection performance, and fraud operations coordination.
• Strong understanding of PCI DSS requirements and their operational impact on card platform management.
• Proven ability to manage critical banking platforms in high‑availability, real‑time, regulated environments.
• Strong leadership skills with experience managing specialist engineering, business analysis, and platform support teams.
• Ability to balance operational stability with platform innovation, product enablement, and regulatory delivery.
• Strong stakeholder management skills across business, technology, risk, fraud, compliance, vendors, payment schemes, and regulators.
• Prior experience in the same domain or hands‑on familiarity with the relevant technologies is a significant advantage.

Skills Set

• Cards platform ownership
• TSYS Prime 4
• TSYS Online Authorization
• Card management systems
• Post‑factual fraud systems
• Banking technology
• Platform management
• Product ownership
• Application management
• Real‑time authorization
• Payment processing
• UAE payment schemes
• Al Etihad Payments
• UAESWITCH
• Visa scheme management
• Mastercard scheme management
• Scheme certification
• PCI DSS compliance
• Digital wallets
• Apple Pay
• Google Pay
• EMV tokenization
• Contactless payments
• 3DS authentication
• BNPL integration
• Open banking APIs
• API governance
• API versioning
• Fraud detection
• Fraud analytics
• Fraud rule tuning
• SLA governance
• SLO governance
• Uptime KPIs
• BCP readiness
• DR readiness
• Major incident management
• Root cause analysis
• Release management
• Patch management
• Infrastructure coordination
• Technical roadmap ownership
• Team leadership
• Vendor management
• Regulatory engagement

Why Join Us

This opportunity is ideal for a Platform Owner - Cards Technology seeking a senior leadership role within Dubai’s financial services and banking technology sector. It offers ownership of mission‑critical cards platforms, exposure to high‑volume payment operations, involvement in digital payments innovation, and the chance to shape modern card capabilities across multiple banking segments. It is a strong fit for a cards technology leader who wants to combine operational excellence, regulatory delivery, fraud resilience, API‑led modernization, and platform strategy within a respected UAE bank.

About the Company

RAKBANK is a leading UAE banking institution serving personal, SME, commercial, and corporate customers through a wide range of financial products and digital banking solutions. The bank focuses on customer service, secure technology, product innovation, operational resilience, and practical banking solutions for individuals and businesses across the United Arab Emirates. Through its cards, payments, digital banking, and technology platforms, RAKBANK continues to strengthen modern financial services and support evolving customer needs in a fast‑moving banking environment.