Product Owner – Cards | Banking

General DescriptionJoin 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 ResponsibilitiesOwn the product vision, strategy, roadmap, and backlog for Credit and Debit Card productsDrive end-to-end Cards product development from discovery and requirements through design, development, UAT, launch, and continuous improvementOwn customer journeys across the Cards lifecycle, including application, issuance, activation, servicing, card controls, limits, replacement, renewal, and closureLead new Cards product launches, enhancements, propositions, features, pricing, and customer experience improvementsWork closely with Visa, Mastercard, and other card schemes on mandates, certifications, compliance, and new capabilitiesDrive digital Cards capabilities including tokenization, digital wallets, Apple Pay / Google Pay / Samsung Pay, contactless payments, and card controlsTranslate Cards business requirements into epics, user stories, acceptance criteria, and prioritized backlog itemsPartner closely with Engineering, Architecture, Operations, Risk, Compliance, Fraud, Finance, UX/UI, Marketing, and external processors/vendorsSupport Cards capabilities across authorization, clearing and settlement, reconciliation, fraud controls, disputes/chargebacks, and rewards/loyaltyLead backlog refinement, sprint planning, UAT, release readiness, production rollout, and post-launch optimizationTrack Cards product KPIs, customer adoption, transaction performance, and commercial outcomes.Required Skills & ExperienceStrong recent experience as a Product Owner / Product Manager specifically responsible for Cards within a bankProven hands-on ownership of Credit and/or Debit Card products and their end-to-end lifecycleExperience 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 desirableStrong knowledge of card issuing, card lifecycle management, card servicing, card controls, limits, and card customer journeysExperience working with Visa and/or Mastercard, including scheme requirements, mandates, certifications, and complianceKnowledge of authorization, clearing, settlement, reconciliation, disputes/chargebacks, and fraud managementExperience with digital wallets, tokenization, contactless payments, and mobile wallet provisioningExperience with rewards, loyalty, cashback, card propositions, and/or co-branded Cards would be advantageousStrong Product Ownership capability across roadmaps, backlog management, epics, user stories, acceptance criteria, Agile/Scrum, Jira, UAT, and releasesStrong stakeholder management across Business, Technology, Operations, Risk, Compliance, Fraud, and external Cards ecosystem partnersImportant Candidate Profile RequirementThis 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 DetailsEngagement Type: Contract / FreelanceDuration: 3 Months (Extendable)Location: Abu Dhabi, UAEWork Setup: Full Onsite