Product Owner – Cards | Banking

General Description

Join a leading digital-first banking organization in Abu Dhabi undergoing a large-scale transformation across its Cards and digital banking products.

We are looking for an experienced

Product Owner – Cards

to take end-to-end ownership of Credit and Debit Card products, driving product vision, roadmap, customer journeys, backlog prioritization, and delivery across the full Cards lifecycle.

This is a

specialist Cards Product Owner position rather than a general Digital Banking, Financial Services, Payments, or FinTech Product Owner role

. We are specifically looking for professionals who have

recently performed a dedicated Cards Product Owner / Cards Product Manager role within a bank

, ideally within a leading UAE or GCC banking environment.

The successful candidate will bring hands-on experience across

Credit and Debit Cards, card issuance and lifecycle management, card servicing, Visa/Mastercard schemes, digital wallets and tokenization, card controls, rewards, authorization, settlement, and related Cards capabilities

.

This is a 3

-month contract role (extendable)

with full onsite presence in Abu Dhabi.

Key Responsibilities

• Own the

  product vision, strategy, roadmap, and backlog for Credit and Debit Card products

• Drive end-to-end Cards product development from discovery and requirements through design, development, UAT, launch, and continuous improvement

• Own customer journeys across the

  Cards lifecycle

  , including application, issuance, activation, servicing, card controls, limits, replacement, renewal, and closure

• Lead new Cards product launches, enhancements, propositions, features, pricing, and customer experience improvements

• Work closely with

  Visa, Mastercard, and other card schemes

  on mandates, certifications, compliance, and new capabilities

• Drive digital Cards capabilities including

  tokenization, digital wallets, Apple Pay / Google Pay / Samsung Pay, contactless payments, and card controls

• Translate Cards business requirements into

  epics, user stories, acceptance criteria, and prioritized backlog items

• Partner closely with Engineering, Architecture, Operations, Risk, Compliance, Fraud, Finance, UX/UI, Marketing, and external processors/vendors

• Support Cards capabilities across

  authorization, clearing and settlement, reconciliation, fraud controls, disputes/chargebacks, and rewards/loyalty

• Lead backlog refinement, sprint planning, UAT, release readiness, production rollout, and post-launch optimization

• Track Cards product KPIs, customer adoption, transaction performance, and commercial outcomes.

Required Skills & Experience

• Strong recent experience as a

  Product Owner / Product Manager specifically responsible for Cards within a bank

• Proven hands-on ownership of

  Credit and/or Debit Card products

  and their end-to-end lifecycle

• Experience working within a

  major bank

  , ideally in the UAE or GCC; experience with organizations such as

  ADIB, Emirates NBD, FAB, ADCB, Wio Bank, Mashreq, DIB, RAKBANK, or similar banking institutions

  is highly desirable

• Strong knowledge of

  card issuing, card lifecycle management, card servicing, card controls, limits, and card customer journeys

• Experience working with

  Visa and/or Mastercard

  , including scheme requirements, mandates, certifications, and compliance

• Knowledge of

  authorization, clearing, settlement, reconciliation, disputes/chargebacks, and fraud management

• Experience with

  digital wallets, tokenization, contactless payments, and mobile wallet provisioning

• Experience with

  rewards, loyalty, cashback, card propositions, and/or co-branded Cards

  would be advantageous

• Strong Product Ownership capability across

  roadmaps, backlog management, epics, user stories, acceptance criteria, Agile/Scrum, Jira, UAT, and releases

• Strong stakeholder management across Business, Technology, Operations, Risk, Compliance, Fraud, and external Cards ecosystem partners

Important Candidate Profile Requirement

This role requires a

Cards specialist rather than a generalist banking or financial services Product Owner

.

Candidates should have

recently held direct ownership of Cards products within a banking environment

. General Digital Banking, Payments, FinTech, Crypto, BaaS, or Financial Services Product Ownership experience

without recent dedicated bank-side Cards ownership will not be sufficient for this position

.

Engagement Details

Engagement Type:

Contract / Freelance

Duration:

3 Months (Extendable)

Location:

Abu Dhabi, UAE

Work Setup:

Full Onsite