Product Manager – Card Program & Digital Payments

Weaver Fintech Ltd; Wes-Kaap; Hybrid; ZAR 900 000 - 1 200 000; Full time

Job summary

A leading fintech company in South Africa is seeking a Product Manager to build and scale their card program. The role involves defining product strategy, managing bank relationships, and ensuring compliance with regulations. Ideal candidates will have over 5 years of product management experience in payments or digital banking and a strong grasp of payment systems. This position offers a flexible work environment and opportunities for professional development.

Benefits

Flexible Work Environment

Professional Development

Employee Wellness

Modern Technology

Recognition & Celebration

Team Connection

Qualifications

• 5+ years in product management for payments or digital wallets.
• Experience in regulatory compliance for South African financial regulations.
• Ability to collaborate with sponsoring banks operationally.

Responsibilities

• Define the product strategy for the card program.
• Oversee the card issuance program and manage partnerships.
• Ensure compliance with South African financial regulations.

Skills

Product Leadership in Payments

Payment Systems Expertise

Regulatory Compliance & Risk

Banking Partnership Management

Customer-Focused Development

Job description

Join an agile team at South Africa's fastest-growing fintech, where you'll work with disruptive payment solutions, AI adoption, and cutting-edge technology within PayJustNow and Finchoice. Be part of a purpose-driven organisation making a real difference—driving the next wave of financial inclusion and transforming how South Africans access payments, credit, and mobile services.

Role Overview

The absolute legend of a Product Manager we're seeking will be responsible for building and scaling our soon to be launched card program. Working in partnership with our sponsoring bank, you'll manage our BIN Program, oversee the issuance of virtual and physical cards, and create a world-class mobile digital banking platform.

As a Product Manager for our Card Program, you will define the product strategy for our card program, manage the roadmaps, optimise adoption, feature ROI and coordinate cross-functional teams to deliver a seamless, secure, and rewarding payment experience. This role is central to driving financial inclusion, customer engagement, and commercial growth across Weaver Fintech's expanding product portfolio.

You should have deep expertise in payment systems, card issuing , mobile banking applications, regulatory compliance (FICA/POPIA), and cross-functional stakeholder management across multiple banking and technology providers.

The Team

The engineering team forms an integral part of the Weaver fintech business, collaborating with several departments and is responsible for the development and support of multiple systems, websites, applications, and mobile apps.

Key Responsibilities

Product Strategy & Planning

• Set card programme strategy and objectives aligned to company goals and market opportunities.
• Maintain a focused roadmap for card issuance, mobile payments, tokenisation, and digital wallet features, informed by market analysis and customer feedback.
• Analyse competitors in digital banking to identify differentiators and growth areas.
• Optimise card programme economics for profitable growth, covering profit routing, interchange, fee structures, and strategies for activation, adoption, and retention.

Card Program Management & Bank Partnership

• Oversee the entire card issuance programme, covering BIN allocation, card production, inventory, and distribution.
• Work closely with the sponsoring bank to ensure compliance with agreements, regulations, and operational SLAs.
• Coordinate with card networks or third-party vendors on tokenisation, security, and network compliance.
• Specify card controls, including spending limits, permitted transactions, geographic use, and fraud prevention measures.

Payment Systems & Integration

• Design and deploy payment workflows: virtual cards, tap-to-pay, QR payments, and P2P transfers.
• Integrate with payment providers, acquiring banks, processors, and gateways.
• Ensure payment security: PCI DSS, 3D Secure, and tokenisation.
• Define requirements for payment APIs, webhooks, and real-time processing.

Commercial Performance and Revenue Management

• Build business cases for card features, estimating revenue from interchange, mark-ups, subscriptions, and premium tiers.
• Set pricing for card services, ATM withdrawals, and premium offerings.
• Track KPIs like activation rates, transaction volumes, feature use, ARPU, AMPU, retention, and CLV.
• Evaluate payment trends, fraud, and declines to boost authorisation rates and enhance customer experience.

Mobile App Development & User Experience

• Define app requirements following platform-specific design guidelines and best practices.
• Collaborate with design and engineering teams to create intuitive card management interfaces, instant notifications, and transaction history views.
• Oversee the implementation of mobile wallet capabilities including Google Pay, and Samsung Pay integration.

Delivery & Execution

• Translate product requirements into clear Business Requirement Specifications, User stories, and Technical Documentation for engineering teams.
• Manage agile development processes including sprint planning, backlog prioritisation, and release coordination.
• Review and collaborate with the UI design team to optimise the card payment flows from a Customer Experience perspective.

Stakeholder Engagement & Compliance

• Align product initiatives with internal teams, including executives, legal, compliance, risk, marketing, support, and finance.
• Ensure compliance with South African financial regulations (FICA, POPIA, National Payment System Act, SARB).
• Maintain communication with external partners: sponsoring bank, payment networks, regulators, and tech vendors.

Performance & Optimisation

• Monitor card program performance through analytics and feedback.
• Conduct A/B tests to increase engagement.
• Benchmark top digital banks for improvements.
• Enhance products using customer input and fraud data.

Desired Qualifications & Competencies

• Product Leadership in Payments: 5+ years in product management for payments, card issuing, digital wallets, or mobile banking.
• Card Programme & BIN Management: Practical experience building or managing card programmes with in-depth knowledge of BIN sponsorship, card network rules, and issuer-processor relationships.
• Payment Systems Expertise: Strong grasp of payment rails (EFT, RTC, card networks), processing rules, authorisation/settlement, and security standards (PCI DSS, tokenisation, EMV).
• Banking Partnership Management: Demonstrated ability to collaborate with sponsoring banks at an operational level.
• Vendor & System Integration: Experience integrating with multiple vendors including card processors, gateways, fraud systems, and core platforms.
• Regulatory Compliance & Risk: Knowledge of South African financial regulations (FICA, POPIA, NPS Act), card network compliance, fraud prevention, and risk-based authentication.
• Agile Delivery: Skilled in Agile/Scrum, managing multiple projects, sprint planning, backlog grooming, and iterative releases in fast-paced fintech environments.
• Customer-Focused Development: Experienced in user research, gathering feedback, and translating payment requirements into intuitive user experiences.
• Commercial Acumen: Understanding of payment economics, interchange fees, revenue models, pricing strategies, and P&L management.
• Leadership & Communication: Strong organisational, collaborative, and communication skills, able to lead teams and explain payment concepts clearly.
• Technical Literacy: Quick to learn new payment systems, card platforms, and fintech applications.

What We Offer

We build our workplace on reciprocity and trust. Every team member commits to delivering their best work while supporting colleagues and customers alike. Strong, authentic relationships drive our success—we value transparency, equity, and the unique perspectives each person brings to our team.

• Your Benefits & Growth
• Flexible Work Environment – Hybrid working arrangements designed around your productivity and life balance.
• Professional Development – Comprehensive support through coaching programs, skills training, and educational bursaries to accelerate your career.
• Employee Wellness – Access to our CareConnect employee assistance program for holistic wellbeing support.
• Modern Technology – Cutting-edge architectures and tools that maximise efficiency and minimise repetitive work.
• Recognition & Celebration – We acknowledge your milestones and achievements throughout your journey with us.
• Team Connection – Regular team socials and company-wide events that strengthen our relationships beyond work

In summary, we offer benefits and invest in your growth, valuing fairness, authenticity, and support. We celebrate differences as strengths and prioritise your development.