Card Issuing Support Officer - Head Office

JOB PURPOSE

The Card Issuing Support Officer is responsible for overseeing the daily end-to-end processing, maintenance, and technical/operational support for the organization’s payment card issuance programs (Debit, Credit, and Prepaid cards). This role ensures seamless card personalization, timely delivery, settlement support, system configuration, and immediate resolution of issuing operational errors and customer card disputes.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Oversee the complete lifecycle of payment cards (Instant Issuance, Centralized Personalization, Renewals, Re-issuances, and Pin Mailers/e-PINs).
• Monitor and manage daily bulk files sent to and received from card personalization vendors/bureaus.
• Ensure strict adherence to dual control procedures for inventory management (unperso/blank plastics, HSM keys, and security collateral).
• Conduct regular reconciliation of card inventory, damaged stock, and destroyed cards.
• Perform configuration, parameter setups, and testing for card BINs, product types, limits, fee structures, and expiry rules.
• Troubleshoot system errors between core banking application (CBS), card management system (CMS), and payment switches (e.g., Visa, Mastercard, UnionPay, or local switches).
• Support user acceptance testing (UAT) for card software upgrades, patch deployments, and new product launches.
• Serve as Tier-2 support for branch networks, contact centers, and digital channels regarding card status queries, declines, and block/unblock requests.
• Investigate and resolve card issuance transaction failures, failed print jobs, and cardholder configuration bugs within predefined SLAs.
• Handle chargebacks, dispute intake, and account adjustments related to issuing operational errors.
• Ensure full compliance with PCI-DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard) and card scheme rules (Visa/Mastercard/Amex/Discover).
• Maintain strict PIN security practices, cryptographic key handling protocols, and sensitive data protection measures.
• Assist in internal, external, and card scheme compliance audits by gathering operational evidence and maintaining mandatory operational logs.
• Generate daily, weekly, and monthly reports on card issuance volumes, failure rates, turnaround times (TAT), and active base stats.
• Liaise with third-party vendors (Card Personalization Bureaus, Courier/Delivery partners, Switch Providers) to maintain service level agreements.

ACADEMIC & PROFESSIONAL QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor’s degree in Economics, Finance, Business or a related field.
• Certified Card Payments Professional qualification.
• PCI-DSS Specialist or Internal Security Assessor certification.

EXPERIENCE

• Minimum of 2 years’ overall experience.
• At least 1 year of experience in card issuing (Essential).
• At least 1 year of experience in banking, financial services or regulatory matters (Desirable).