Vice President - Payments Technical SME

Mizuho Bank, Ltd; Singapore; On-site; SGD 120,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

A prominent financial services institution in Singapore is seeking a Payments Technical SME to provide technical direction for the implementation of payment platforms. This role involves leading the technical design and integration, managing risks, and ensuring compliance with regulatory standards. Ideal candidates should have extensive experience in payment systems, strong leadership skills, and the ability to work across multiple APAC markets. Competitive salary and benefits offered.

Qualifications

• At least 15 years of experience in Payment systems with hands-on expertise.
• Extensive knowledge of security, compliance, and regulatory requirements.
• Ability to manage collaboration across APAC markets.

Responsibilities

• Define and review the technical strategy for Payments platform implementation.
• Lead the design, development, and integration of payment applications.
• Identify and mitigate technical risks throughout the project lifecycle.

Skills

Payment systems expertise

Integration skills

Java proficiency

AWS familiarity

Stakeholder management

Education

Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in computer science or related field

Tools

Finastra GPP

Java frameworks like Spring Boot

SWIFT

Job description

Overview

Mizuho is undertaking a multi-year regional transformation program for its Asia Pacific business and is seeking to hire a Payments Technical SME to provide oversight and technical direction for the implementation of the Payment platform. The Technical Lead will play a pivotal role in analyzing, designing, and delivering technical solutions for the Core Banking – Payments Program across multiple APAC markets. This role requires extensive expertise in integration, implementation, and functional knowledge of Payments systems, combined with a strong background in international banking exposure. The Technical Lead will be responsible for end-to-end delivery, ensuring alignment with technical standards, regulatory compliance, and business objectives while driving innovation across development and integration efforts.

Key Responsibilities

• Technical Leadership
• Define and review the technical strategy and architecture for the Payments platform implementation, ensuring enterprise architecture, IT standards and business objectives.
• Provide hands-on technical guidance to development teams, ensuring adherence to best practices in coding, integration, and system design.
• Establish and enforce technical governance, ensuring compliance with security, scalability, and performance requirements.
• Solution Design, Development and Integration
• Lead the design, development and delivery of Payments related applications and ensuring seamless integration with vendor solutions like Finastra GPP with bank’s core and downstream systems like CASA / Trade Finance / Lending / Markets.
• Integrate with third-party payments systems and regulatory systems
• Support system migration, ensuring minimal disruption and data integrity during transitional phases.
• Design and build APIs for payment gateways and various payment related services
• Utilize and manage cloud platforms (e.g. Azure, AWS) for hosting and operating payment systems.
• Collaborate with vendors, internal IT teams, and stakeholders to provide the solution and troubleshoot issues
• Risk and Quality Management
• Identify and mitigate technical risks throughout the project lifecycle, ensuring high-quality deliverables that meet business and regulatory requirements.
• Conduct configuration reviews, performance tuning to ensure robust and scalable solutions.
• Drive automation and technology best practices to enhance delivery speed, system resilience, and operational efficiency.
• Stakeholder and Vendor Management
• Work closely with business stakeholders, IT teams, and vendors to ensure alignment between technical and business objectives.
• Act as the primary technical liaison between internal teams and platform vendors, ensuring smooth integration and issue resolution.
• Provide technical insights and updates to senior management, supporting strategic decision-making and project governance.
• Continuous Improvement
• Stay updated with emerging technologies and industry trends, driving innovation in technology and core banking systems.
• Document best practices, technical standards, and lessons learned to support future implementations and organizational knowledge sharing.

Key Requirements

1. 1) Experience

• At least 15 years of strong expertise in Payment’s systems, with hands-on experience in integration and implementation of solutions. FINASTRA GPP experience is preferred.
• Extensive experience in Cross border and domestic payment implementation across various markets (preferably APAC region).
• Extensive experience leading technical delivery of large-scale, multi-market platform implementations in the international banking or financial services sector.
• At least 20 years of proven track record in overseeing solution design, integration, and end-to-end technical implementation for banking platforms.
• In-depth knowledge of security, compliance, and regulatory requirements for platform technology in the financial sector.
• Ability to manage and collaborate with geographically distributed teams across multiple APAC markets.

2) Education

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in computer science, Information Technology, or a related field.

3) Certifications

• Any cloud certifications could be added advantage (AWS or Azure)
• SWIFT Certifications if any, for instance, ISO 20022, could be value add.
• TOGAF or other relevant architecture certifications are a plus.

4) ISO 20022 Knowledge

• ISO 20022 knowledge on the message formats for SWIFT
• Hands on experience working with both MT and MX message details and nuances

5) Technical Skills

• Programming: Proficiency in languages like Java, Python, Javascript, shell scripts etc
• Frameworks: Experience with Java frameworks like Sprint Boot
• Cloud Platforms: Familiarity with AWS and Azure services
• Payment Gateways: Hands-on experience with platforms such as SWIFT, RTGS systems for various markets