This role is responsible for driving the development, maintenance and enhancement of consumer card products, including credit, debit, and World Currency Cards. This role ensures the alignment of product strategies with customer needs and business objectives, overseeing the entire product lifecycle from ideation through to launch and optimization. The Product Owner works closely with cross-functional teams, including marketing, technology, operations, and compliance, to deliver innovative solutions that enhance customer experience, increase market share, and drive revenue growth.
TECHNICAL COMPETENCY REQUIREMENT
- Understanding of consumer credit/debit card, prepaid card products and prepaid travel cards (e.g., World Currency Card, Forex and Remittance solutions)
- Familiarity with card network rules (e.g. Visa, Mastercard)
- Understanding of EMV, tokenization, and digital wallets (e.g. Apple Pay, Google Pay)
- Understanding of management accounts and finance principles (including revenue, costs, volumes and other drivers).
- Understanding of financial regulations relevant to card products (e.g., KYC, AML, PCI DSS)
- Risk assessment and governance procedures
- Working knowledge of card processing systems, APIs, and payment platforms
- Ability to conduct market and competitor analysis and using insights to drive product innovation and differentiation
- Understanding of key business drivers (revenue and cost drivers).
- Good business acumen with the ability to anticipate problems and identify possible preventative measures.
- Relationship Building and Stakeholder management
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
- Ability to work under pressure
- Understanding of loyalty offerings and impact on costs and profitability.
National Diploma in Business Management or equivalent
Required Minimum Work Experience
3-5 years work experience in similar role (Card Issuing or Forex)
KEY PERFORMANCE AREA (KPA)
FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT
- Assist with managing the income statement and drive economic profit by ensuring that the Personal Card Products and the WCC product are profitable and meets customer needs.
- Provide input to the Product manager and Finance Teams to produce budgets and forecasts.
- Provide input in determining product pricing by utilizing market research data; reviewing production and sales costs; anticipating volume; costing special and customized orders.
- Understand business requirements and put together plans in terms of growing the business. (short-term and medium term)
- Executing, tracking, and leveraging revenue and cost items.
- Ensure financial objectives for are met by partnering with Finance and Product Leadership in preparing an annual budget; analysing overall variances; and direct corrective actions within the team.
- Analyse reasons for variances and which levers to pull to ensure that budget is achieved.
- Provide input into the budget process and the sales targets.
- Continuously review performance of the consumer card product against scorecards, targets, and processes to address any gaps.
- Ensure consumer card products meet Payments Industry requirements and addresses the customer needs.
- Put customer at the centre of daily work.
- Provide support to front-line sales with product knowledge, customer queries and pricing.
- Assist and support business partners with escalated queries relating to any ongoing analysis, development, and operations.
- Analyse customer requirements and address product-related queries and complaints
- Engage with internal stakeholders e.g., Data Analytics, FCU, Operations etc., to assist in the performance of the business and to deliver the required products and services.
- Ensuring competitive analysis on comparable products which other competitors offer.
- Translate product strategy into detailed requirements and prototypes.
- Assisting with input into established processes, e.g. New Product Approval; Project Management; Business Analyst engagement; Business Requirement specifications; Test plans; Change Management
- Collaborate with sales staff to develop product sales strategies.
- Collaborate with marketing staff to deliver integrated marketing plans.
- Evaluate the company products and compare them against industry trends
- Scope and prioritize activities based on business and customer impact.
- Implementation of a new product/idea in accordance with the analysis.
- Develop and test new product enhancements based on an approved Business Case
- Systems downtime management: proactive management of Grow, BBA and WCC, setting up critsit meetings with vendors and key Operations staff, ensuring proper communication with internal stakeholders and external stakeholders and customers.
- Agile product ownership (e.g. providing input on the writing of user stories, managing backlogs etc.)
- Support internal stakeholders and sphere of influence to enable speedy and smooth onboarding of customers.
- Support internal stakeholders and sphere of influence to enable development and deployment of competitive products to the market
- Collaboration with IT and vendors on technical specifications and system integrations
- Assisting with input into established processes, e.g. New Product Approval; Project Management; Business Analyst engagement; Business Requirement specifications; Test plans; Change Management
- Work closely with Product Managers and Data team to ensure their data and reporting requirements are met to achieve objective of:
- Providing Customer Insights,
- Product Insights and
- Optimise product and identify opportunities through data led findings.
- Compile key business metrics and report on them to management.
- Create additional analyses and reports as requested by management.
- Ensure Card Scheme compliance.
- Ensure SARB and PASA industry compliance.
- Promote close relationship within Product team and stakeholders
- Provide support to front-line sales with product knowledge and customer.
- Briefing and driving the relevant departments, e.g. Marketing, Sales Campaigns, Training and Call Centre to ensure that all functions achieve the required objectives
- Assist on a need basis in resolving customer queries across the product suites.
- Develop and maintain good relationships with internal stakeholders to ensure success of projects and to deliver the required products and services.
- Respond in a timely manner to requests and enquiries for product information or changes.
- Collaborate with internal and external stakeholders
- Take ownership for driving own career development.
- Prepare and obtain sign off on your Personal Development Plan
- Achieve the objectives/milestones set out in the development plan.
- Review performance on a regular basis (monthly, quarterly, and annually)
