Senior Payment Specialist

Sabenza IT & Recruitment; Johannesburg; On-site; ZAR 500 000 - 700 000; Full time

Job summary

A digital banking solutions provider in Gauteng, Johannesburg, is seeking a Senior Payment Specialist to shape and deliver payment solutions for core banking systems. The role requires expertise in payment processes and integration with external systems, with a focus on compliance and technical specifications. Candidates should have strong knowledge of APIs, SWIFT, and core banking architecture. Competitive compensation and the opportunity to work with a high-performing team await.

Responsibilities

• Analyse and understand business requirements for payment processing.
• Translate business needs into functional specifications.
• Design and validate payment flows for compliance and resilience.
• Collaborate with teams on integration strategies.
• Drive continuous improvements in payment processing.
• Support client workshops and documentation.

Skills

Core Banking systems knowledge

Payments domain expertise

Payment integration understanding

GAP analysis experience

APIs & Microservices architecture

Regulatory compliance familiarity

Tools

Java

SQL

Oracle / SQL Server

Unix / Linux scripting

Job description

We are looking for an experienced and driven Senior Payment Specialist (Functional) to join our high-performing digital banking team. In this role, you will play a critical part in shaping, analysing, and delivering payment solutions for mission-critical core banking systems across regions.

Key Responsibilities

• Analyse and understand complex business requirements related to payment processing, compliance, and integrations.
• Translate business needs into functional specifications and ensure alignment with technical teams.
• Design and validate payment flows, ensuring regulatory compliance, scalability, and resilience.
• Collaborate with development and architecture teams on integration strategies using APIs, SWIFT gateways, and microservices.
• Work closely with QA and business users for UAT planning, testing, and validation.
• Drive continuous improvements in payment processing, monitoring, and STP rates.
• Support client workshops, documentation, and knowledge transfer activities.

Must-Have Skills & Experience

• Strong foundational knowledge of Core Banking systems and architecture.
• Expertise in Payments domain, including SWIFT, ISO 20022, TCIB, Cross-border payments.
• Deep understanding of payment integration with external systems and gateways (e.g., SWIFT, ISO 20022).
• Experience conducting GAP analysis, understanding customer requirements, and delivering functional documentation.
• High-level technical knowledge of APIs & Microservices architecture, Java, SQL, Oracle / SQL Server, Unix / Linux scripting.
• Familiarity with country-specific regulatory and compliance requirements in the payments space.

Good-to-Have

• Functional knowledge of Treasury products such as FX, Money Markets (MM), Fixed Income.
• Experience with real-time or high-volume payment systems (RTGS, ACH, etc.).
• Exposure to Agile methodologies, CI / CD pipelines, and financial system migrations.

If you're a payment expert passionate about driving functional excellence in digital banking, we want to hear from you.