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Head of Card Acquiring
ABSA Bank Uganda logo

Head of Card Acquiring

ABSA Bank Uganda Visit website

Full-time Expires In -3 weeks Kampala Duty Station - Kampala Bachelor's Degree 5 years experience Finance Banking Management
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About ABSA Bank Uganda

Absa Bank Uganda Limited is part of Absa Group Limited, an African financial services group that aims to be the pride of the continent. Absa Group Limited is listed on the JSE in South Africa and is one of Africa's largest diversified financial services groups with a presence in 12 countries and around 42,000 employees. With over 100 years of rich history and strongly positioned as a local bank with regional and international expertise, Absa Bank Uganda offers retail, business, corporate and investment, and wealth management solutions. Everything the bank does is focused on adding value and finding local solutions to uniquely local challenges. Its purpose is **Empowering Africa's tomorrow, together…one story at a time.

Job Details

Role Summary: Responsible for leading Absa Bank Uganda's acquiring business by driving growth, profitability, and operational excellence across Merchant Acquiring, ATM Acquiring, and Digital Acceptance Solutions. The role focuses on acquiring, managing, and retaining merchant relationships, growing ATM acquiring revenues, and expanding the bank's payment acceptance footprint across POS, e-commerce, QR payments, SoftPOS, Wallet on POS, payment gateways, and ATMs.

  • Employer: ABSA Bank Uganda
  • Location: Kampala | Kampala
  • Duty Station: Kampala
  • Employment Type: Full-time
  • Industry: Banking
  • Category: Management, Business Operations, Finance, Banking
  • Salary: Not Disclosed
  • Work Hours: 8
  • Reporting: The role owns the acquiring business P&L and reports within the Cards/Payments function, working closely with Branch Network, Transaction Banking and external stakeholders (Card Schemes, regulators, banks, suppliers).
  • Application Method: Online via Absa Careers (Workday) -
  • Job Requisition ID: R-15990187

Key Duties and Responsibilities

  • Develop and execute the acquiring strategy in line with the bank's overall payments and transaction banking objectives.
  • Drive growth in merchant acquiring, ATM acquiring, and digital payment acceptance revenues.
  • Identify and capitalize on new market opportunities, customer segments, and payment trends to increase market share.
  • Deliver agreed financial targets, including revenue, profitability, transaction volumes, and portfolio growth.
  • Lead the acquisition, onboarding, retention, and growth of merchant relationships across key sectors.
  • Expand the bank's acceptance footprint through POS, e-commerce, QR payments, SoftPOS, Wallet on POS and payment gateway solutions.
  • Drive merchant engagement and ensure delivery of superior customer service and support.
  • Develop merchant value propositions and pricing strategies to enhance competitiveness.
  • Design and implement business strategy to ensure profitability through portfolio enhancement.
  • Drive growth in ATM acquiring volumes and revenues through increased usage of the bank's ATM network by domestic and international cardholders.
  • Optimize ATM acquiring profitability through effective pricing, transaction routing, and network partnerships.
  • Establish and manage relationships with key external stakeholders including Card Schemes, local regulators, other banks, suppliers, and local industry bodies.
  • Own the acquiring business P&L and deliver revenue and profitability targets.
  • Develop pricing models, business cases, and investment plans for acquiring products and services.
  • Monitor portfolio performance and implement initiatives to improve financial returns.
  • Manage key projects to ensure delivery to agreement obligations and business programmes are delivered to meet business goals.
  • Manage and respond to customer requirements; conduct discussions and negotiations on commercial, technical, operational, marketing, and industry issues.
  • Negotiate, at board level, pricing and contracts with strategically important customers.
  • Establish, build and maintain ongoing relationships with customers to develop and protect business income.
  • Develop a deep understanding of the needs and requirements of customers' businesses and make sound commercial judgments to retain and fully develop customer base.
  • Provide day-to-day coaching and co-ordination of staff to ensure delivery of objectives.
  • Build strong relationships with the Branch network to ensure working together to realize value from agents linked to them.
  • Share knowledge and experiences with network staff of all functions and provide cover for other team members when required.
  • Agree annual performance objectives with the team leader and pursue continued improvement in personal development by participating in development programmes and training.
  • Monitor and manage leave uptake.
  • Understand technical/regulatory matters affecting the business and take ultimate responsibility for continuing compliance.
  • Assimilate plans both strategic and annual covering the card business with responsibility for turning plans into reality.
  • Ensure Governance, Compliance, Risk and Control are implemented and adhered to meet Group Standards; ensure staff at all levels are clear on what is expected and implement any new regulatory or Group requirements in a timely fashion.
  • Perform any other duties assigned by the Bank from time to time.

Qualifications, Skills and Requirements

  • Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Commerce, Finance, Economics, Marketing, Information Technology, Banking, or a related field from a recognized university (Required).
  • Postgraduate qualifications in Payments, Digital Financial Services, Financial Technology (FinTech), or Transaction Banking is an added advantage.
  • 5 years' experience in the Financial Services sector which must include proven experience (60 months).
  • 3 years' experience on a management level in a large corporate.
  • 3 years Retail and Business Banking Experience.
  • Strong understanding of merchant acquiring, ATM acquiring, POS, e-commerce, QR, SoftPOS, Wallet on POS, payment gateways and card schemes operations.
  • Proven track record in P&L ownership, pricing, business case development and portfolio growth.
  • Excellent customer contact, negotiation (including board-level), stakeholder management and commercial judgment skills.
  • People management, coaching, leadership and performance management skills.
  • Strong governance, compliance, risk and control awareness with knowledge of regulatory matters affecting card/acquiring business.
  • Strategic planning, project management and analytical skills.

Job Summary