Senior Manager: Payment Operations at Absa Group Limited (Absa)

Job Description

Strategic EVP

• As Senior Manager: Payments Operations & Strategy, you will:
• Lead industry-defining initiatives that transform customer payment experiences and deliver measurable business outcomes.
• Collaborate with high-performing teams across Group Payments, Technology, Product, and Strategy to design and scale integrated, modern payment solutions.
• Unlock commercial value by growing transaction volume and value, expanding payments VAS (value-added services), and influencing executive forums (e.g., Payments Council).
• Shape domestic and cross-border payment propositions for PPB and pan-African markets
• Transform at scale, from PayShap and RTC to wallets, ISO 20022 modernization, tokenization, SWIFT, Remittance cross-border modernization and emerging platforms such as Payments-as-a-Service,
• Elevate PPB’s leadership position across South Africa and pan-African markets through ecosystem partnerships and thought leadership.

Strategic Impact Areas

• Commercial Growth: Drive sustained increases in P2P transaction volume and value; develop scalable propositions and pricing that expand revenue.
• Customer-Centric Innovation: Remove friction, reduce failure and dispute rates, and deliver seamless experiences across PayShap, RTC, wallets, card, and EFT.
• Scalability & Delivery Excellence: Ensure PPB’s payment capabilities are built for scale and reuse across channels, segments, and countries.
• Industry Leadership: Shape key themes in the payments ecosystem and influence decision-making in strategic forums and external industry bodies.

Key Responsibilities

• Payments Strategy & Ecosystem Leadership
• Define and execute PPB’s P2P payments strategy aligned to growth objectives and customer needs.
• Partner with Group Payments, Product Owners, Digital Technology, Integrated Channels, Business Banking, and Rest of Africa to deliver integrated, scalable payment solutions.
• Identify industry trends and lead the implementation of strategic initiatives that position PPB competitively.
• Commercial Growth & Value-Added Services (Strategic Influence)
• Influence strategic priorities by partnering with Product Owners and Business Heads to embed payments as a core driver of PPB’s growth agenda.
• Shape commercial strategies that unlock new revenue streams through differentiated VAS (wallets, bill-pay, prepaid, loyalty) and compelling customer propositions.
• Lead executive-level conversations to position payments as a CX and profitability differentiator, ensuring alignment of BOW(payment projects) strategic change investments to high-impact opportunities.
• Champion scalability of payment solutions across PPB and pan-African markets in collaboration with Group and Integrated Channels.
• Identify and close ecosystem gaps that limit commercial potential; mobilize partnerships and technology to deliver end-to-end solutions.
• Govern prioritization frameworks for payments initiatives to direct resources to the highest-value outcomes.

Qualifications & Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in finance, Economics, Technology, Information Systems, or related field; postgraduate qualification advantageous.
• 8–10+ years in payments, banking, or fintech, with proven delivery across P2P, SWIFT, Remittance, PayShap, RTC, wallets, EFT, and card ecosystems.
• Demonstrated ability to translate strategy into measurable commercial outcomes (volume, value, revenue, adoption).

Education

• Bachelor's Degree: Information Technology

End Date: January 9, 2026