Our Banking Client is currently looking for a Card Manager based in Somerset West, CT Role Purpose: The Card Manager owns the end-to-end operational management of the bank's Mastercard debit programme, ensuring full compliance with Mastercard scheme rules, standards and mandates across the card lifecycle, from issuance and authorisation through to fraud management, chargebacks and compliance reporting. This is a build-and-run role. The successful candidate brings existing Mastercard issuer experience so the bank doesn't have to learn the scheme's operational and compliance nuances from a standing start, while also designing the processes and controls that will run the programme sustainably as it scales. A core part of the role is identifying the manual, repetitive compliance and operational tasks inherent to running a Mastercard programme, and automating them so the function scales without a proportional increase in headcount. Requirements: Minimum 5 years' experience in a Mastercard debit or credit card issuer environment, ideally covering both build and run phases Bachelor's Degree or Advanced Diploma (NQF Level 7) in Payments, Financial Services, Commerce, Business Management, Finance, Information Systems, Risk Management or a related field. Demonstrated hands-on experience with Mastercard Rules, Security Rules and Procedures, and operational compliance programmes (Fraud and Loss Database, ADC/Cyber Secure, Data Integrity, IMP, QMAP) Practical experience managing chargebacks, authorisation strategy and fraud detection tooling in a card-issuing context Familiarity with Card Management Systems (e.g. Paymentology or similar) and working with card manufacturing and personalisation partners A track record of introducing automation or process efficiency into compliance-heavy, manual operational environments Experience with, or strong working knowledge of, Mastercard Decision Intelligence or comparable real-time fraud scoring/decisioning tools Comfortable operating in a startup/build environment, where the role requires establishing processes from scratch rather than inheriting them Desirable Experience with EMV 3DS / Identity Check ACS configuration and management Exposure to the South African payment scheme and regulatory environment (PASA, SARB) Experience working with or evaluating Mastercard value-added solutions (e.g. Fraud Insights, Clearing Optimizer) KEY RESPONSIBILITIES Mastercard Scheme Compliance & Standards Own the Bank's ongoing compliance with the Mastercard Rules, Security Rules & Procedures, and related manuals (Chargeback Guide, Fraud and Loss Database User Guide, ADC Program User Guide, PIN Security Guidelines, Card Design Standards) Maintain Mastercard Connect access, My Company Manager registrations, and Security / Safety Net /Fraud & Loss Database contacts across all ICA numbers Ensure timely compliance with the Data Integrity Monitoring Program, Issuer Monitoring Program (IMP) and Questionable Merchant Audit Program (QMAP) Track Mastercard announcements, mandates and rule changes, assess impact on the Bank's programme, and drive implementation Manage registration and ongoing compliance validation of all Service Providers (Paymentology, Electrum, etc.) with Mastercard, including annual attestations Card Programme Operations (Issuer BAU) Own end-to-end card lifecycle operations: embossing/encoding specifications, PIN generation and delivery, card activation, and reissuance Define and maintain the authorisation strategy (decline logic, spending limits, velocity checks, geographic controls) in line with Mastercard requirements and the Bank's risk appetite Manage CVC/CVV verification standards, chip card authentication (SDA/DDA/CDA, ARQC validation) and EMV 3DS / Identity Check compliance with the Card Management System (CMS), Paymentology and the ACS provider Oversee 2-series BIN readiness and certification as the Bank scales Manage card stock planning, inventory and secure distribution to partnered retail stores, including forecasting, replenishment and reconciliation of stock at store level Fraud & Risk Management Own the relationship with the Mastercard Fraud & Loss Database, Fraud Center and Cyber Secure (ADC) applications, ensuring accurate and timely fraud reporting Own the operational implementation of Mastercard Decision Intelligence for fraud screening and management, working with the CMS (Paymentology) to embed real-time decision scores into the authorisation strategy Monitor fraud performance KPIs (fraud basis points by product, channel and transaction type) against Mastercard thresholds, escalating and remediating as required Tune fraud rules and thresholds on an ongoing basis, monitor detection performance, and manage the Cardholder communication strategy after fraud alerts Own the Bank's Account Data Compromise (ADC) response process and ensure Mastercard's 24-hour notification requirements are met Chargebacks & Dispute Management Own the end-to-end chargeback process: reason codes, response timelines, second presentments and pre-arbitration/arbitration where required Ensure fraud-related chargebacks and declines are reported to the Fraud and Loss Database within Mastercard's required timeframes Build and continuously improve chargeback operating procedures and reporting in anticipation of scale Innovation & Process Automation Identify the manual, recurring operational and compliance tasks inherent to running a Mastercard debit programme (dashboard reviews, reporting, registrations, monitoring) and design automated workflows to replace them Partner with Technology and Data teams to build automated compliance dashboards, alerting and reporting tools that reduce reliance on manual checklists and spreadsheets Bring knowledge of Mastercard's own digital tooling (Data Integrity Online, Fraud Insights, Decision Intelligence, Clearing Optimiser, and similar) and recommend where these can replace manual effort Establish scalable operational processes and controls from day one, designed to run efficiently as card volumes grow rather than retrofitted later Vendor & Stakeholder Management Act as the Bank's primary operational point of contact with Mastercard, managing the relationship day-to-day alongside the Head of Payments Work closely with the Card Management System (CMS) provider, Paymentology, and the Card Manufacturer & Personalisation partner to ensure operational readiness and ongoing compliance of card production and processing Represent card operations in internal governance forums and vendor performance reviews Governance & Reporting Maintain the Bank's card programme compliance evidence and documentation in a state ready for Mastercard reviews, audits, or the Issuer Monitoring Program Provide regular reporting to the Head of Payments on programme performance, compliance status, fraud/chargeback trends and outstanding remediation items Support the Head of Payments in the Mastercard Principal Licence relationship and periodic scheme reviews