Senior Product Manager (Cards & Payments)

About The Opportunity

As part of an ongoing fractional HR partnership, One People Team (OPT) is working alongside a growing organisation in Malaysia that is scaling its products, payments, and platforms capabilities across the region.

The organisation operates payment infrastructure and digital platforms supporting banks and financial institutions across Malaysia and ASEAN. As the payments ecosystem evolves with digital banking, embedded finance, and new technologies, there is a need to strengthen product leadership and expand platform capabilities.

This role offers the opportunity to shape and lead the evolution of a core cards and payments platform, working closely with engineering and business teams to deliver secure, scalable, and customer-centric solutions.

About The Role

You will lead the evolution of a cards and secure digital payments platform serving banks and enterprises across Malaysia and ASEAN.

This role sits at the intersection of product strategy, payments infrastructure, and cross-functional leadership — working closely with Engineering, UI/UX, Compliance, Operations, and business stakeholders to deliver user-centered, secure, and strategically aligned products.

You will own the full product lifecycle and manage a team of Product Managers and Associate PMs, driving a high-performing, customer-focused product organisation.

Why This Role Matters

The organisation’s platforms power card issuing, payment processing, and digital wallet capabilities used by banks and fintech partners.

As the payments ecosystem evolves with digital banks, embedded finance, and new payment technologies, the cards business requires strong product leadership to drive innovation and expand capabilities across global card networks and payment platforms.

This role is critical in defining the next phase of growth by developing a clear product strategy, strengthening partnerships with banks and payment networks, and building products that meet the needs of both domestic and international financial institutions.

Key Responsibilities

Product Strategy & Roadmap

• Define product vision, long-term strategy, and roadmap aligned with business goals and market opportunities.
• Conduct market and competitive analysis to identify trends, risks, and opportunities.
• Collaborate with Sales, Marketing, and Business teams to define go-to-market approaches and target user segments.

Team Leadership & People Management

• Manage and mentor a team of Product Managers and Associate PMs, providing coaching, performance feedback, and career development guidance.
• Align team objectives with organisational goals, fostering ownership, innovation, and continuous learning.
• Establish product standards, best practices, and frameworks to drive execution excellence.

Product Development & Execution

• Own the product backlog; prioritize features based on strategic impact, customer value, and risk assessment.
• Write detailed, actionable user stories and acceptance criteria.
• Lead Agile ceremonies, ensuring alignment and successful delivery.
• Oversee complex payment features across multiple systems, including issuing, acquiring, fraud detection, and payment gateways.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Partner with Engineering, UI/UX, Compliance, Operations, QA, and Customer Support to deliver high-quality solutions.
• Engage clients, banks, and external partners to clarify requirements and expectations.
• Run experiments, collect feedback, and iterate on product direction based on data-driven insights.

Cards & Payments Ecosystem

• Drive product development across card networks, payment processing, and digital banking integrations.
• Work with partners including banks, payment processors, and global card schemes such as Visa and Mastercard.
• Ensure platforms remain competitive in the evolving payments ecosystem.

Client Engagement & Business Development

• Work with business and sales teams to develop solution proposals for banks and financial institutions.
• Engage with domestic and international banking clients to understand product needs and opportunities.
• Support discussions with overseas and multinational banking partners.

Payments Domain & Business Requirements

• Apply deep knowledge of digital payments, card issuing/acquiring, card schemes (Visa, Mastercard), fraud management, 3D Secure, and payment gateways to inform and shape product decisions.
• Gather, analyze, and document business, technical, and regulatory requirements, translating domain expertise into clear, actionable specifications.
• Ensure functional specifications and product features comply with PCI-DSS, KYC/AML, local banking regulations, and broader financial industry standards.

Key Requirements

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in any field; Computer Science or Information Technology strongly preferred.
• MBA or relevant postgraduate qualification is a plus.
• Certifications in CSPO, Agile, Scrum Master, or Product Management are advantageous.

Product Management Experience

• 10+ years of experience across Product Management, Software Engineering, QA, Business Analysis, or Project Management in fintech/IT.
• At least 5 years of experience in Product Management and 5 years in senior or leadership roles.
• Strong track record of launching fintech, banking, card, or payment products.
• Proven ability to manage full product lifecycles with measurable impact.
• Extensive experience leading cross-functional teams in Agile environments.

Cards & Payments Domain Expertise

• Strong understanding of cards and/or payment infrastructure.
• Experience working with card networks such as Visa or Mastercard is highly valuable.
• Familiarity with payment gateways, digital banking platforms, or fintech infrastructure is beneficial.

Technical Background

• Ability to work closely with engineering teams and understand system architecture and platform capabilities.
• Proficiency in product tools: Jira, Confluence, Miro, Figma.
• Strong data analysis skills and evidence-based decision-making.
• Technical background or familiarity with fintech platforms and APIs is highly desirable.

Client & Stakeholder Engagement

• Experience engaging with banks, financial institutions, or payment ecosystem partners.
• Ability to translate business opportunities into product requirements and proposals.

Leadership & Ownership

• Strong analytical, strategic, and problem-solving abilities with excellent communication and documentation skills.
• Ability to drive alignment across business, engineering, compliance, and clients in fast-paced, semi-structured environments.

Expected Outcome From This Role

• Deliver secure, compliant, high-impact payments products that meet business, and customer needs.
• Define and drive long-term product strategy and roadmap for CardWorks.
• Mentor and develop a team of Product Managers, establishing clear objectives and fostering professional growth.
• Ensure timely, high-quality delivery of features across issuing, acquiring, fraud, and payment channels.
• Strengthen cross-functional collaboration and alignment across Engineering, Design, Compliance, Marketing, and Operations.
• Use data to drive iterative improvements, optimize user adoption, and improve operational performance.