Group Chief Information Officer - Fintech

Chief Information Officer One of the leading South African fintech and payments solutions companies specialising in payment collections, payroll processing, financial transaction management, and data-driven automation services is recruiting for a group CIO Purpose of the job The Chief Information Officer (CIO) is responsible for defining and executing the technology strategy that enables secure, scalable, and compliant payment services within the South African fintech ecosystem. The role ensures that technology platforms support rapid innovation while maintaining resilience, regulatory compliance, and operational excellence. The CIO will lead the design and delivery of payment infrastructure, digital platforms, and data capabilities that enable real-time, API-driven financial services across merchants, banks, and digital ecosystems. The CIO will the responsibilities of the enterprise technology strategy, regulatory technology compliance, vendor and cloud economics, enterprise data and AI strategy, and risk, security, and resilience for the company. The role requires deep understanding of the South African National Payment System (NPS), payment rails, and regulatory frameworks overseen by the South African Reserve Bank and PayInc. These bodies regulate clearing, settlement, and participation in the payment ecosystem to ensure the safety and stability of the financial system. Reports to: Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Location: Pretoria, South Africa Activities Technology Strategy & Architecture Define and execute the company’s technology vision Architect scalable payment platforms supporting current platforms including: real-time payments, digital wallets, digital customer and merchant onboarding, embedded finance, open banking APIs, agentic payments and biometrics and digital identity Ensure technology architecture supports high availability, real-time processing, and horizontal scalability. Lead adoption of modern technologies including cloud-native infrastructure, microservices architecture, event-driven systems, API-first design, Mobile applications design and development and Artificial Intelligence Key Deliverables Scalable payment processing platform Secure real-time payments infrastructure API-enabled partner ecosystem Resilient cloud infrastructure Regulatory compliant technology stack Industry-leading fraud and identity capabilities Payments Infrastructure Leadership Own the design and delivery of payment capabilities across multiple rails including Instant payments, Card processing, EFT and debit orders, Voucher rewards and payments, QR and mobile payments, Crypto currencies, Digital identity and authentication Cross-border payment infrastructure Ensure platforms integrate with national payment and wider payments ecosystem where appropriate to support the company Strategy. South Africa’s payment ecosystem includes multiple payment streams managed within the National Payment System and settled through the central bank infrastructure. Regulatory Compliance & Governance National Payment System Act and Authorisation Framework, SARB Prudential Authority operational resilience expectations, Financial crime legislation (FIC Act) and Data protection regulations (POPIA) Security, Risk & Operational Resilience Implement enterprise cyber security frameworks Accountable for meeting board-approved operational resilience tolerance levels for critical payment services Ensure 24/7 availability of payment systems Design business continuity and disaster recovery capabilities Oversee fraud prevention and transaction monitoring platforms. Oversee the development of an effective Risk Management Strategy Platform Engineering & Delivery Lead high-performing engineering teams responsible for payment processing platforms, customer and merchant APIs, mobile and digital applications, data platforms and analytics, cloud infrastructure and DevOps, cloud cost optimisation (FinOps), vendor concentration risk, contractual SLAs with banks, schemes, processors Ensure best practices in CI/CD pipelines, platform observability, site reliability engineering (SRE), secure software development Technology Financial Stewardship of Cloud spend optimisation and chargeback models, strategic vendor management and substitution planning and commercial support to procurement and legal teams Data & AI Strategy Develop the organisation’s data strategy including real-time payment analytics, fraud detection, credit and risk scoring, payment insights, data lineage and quality controls and AI governance forums. Ensure data architectures support emerging payment standards such as ISO 20022, ISO 27001, ISO 9001, etc, which enables richer data exchange and interoperability across financial institutions. Ecosystem & Industry Engagement Represent the company in industry forums and working groups where applicable across banks, regulators, payment schemes and fintech industry bodies Collaborate with regulators and innovation bodies shaping fintech policy and experimentation environments. Requirements QUALIFICATION REQURIED Matric / Grade 12 Executive-level education (MBA / MSc / equivalent experience) will be an advantage Professional certifications (desirable, not mandatory): Cloud (AWS/Azure) Security (CISSP) Payments or risk-related credentials Knowledge and understanding of ICT infrastructure management including disaster recovery planning 15+ years’ experience in a senior information technology position with at least 5 years at executive or enterprise scale. Microsoft Office Suite: To effectively utilise knowledge of the various MS Office product ranges (MS Outlook, MS Excel and MS Word) A valid driver’s license WORK EXPERIENCE REQUIRED 15+ years technology leadership experience 5+ years in fintech, banking, or payments Experience building large-scale transaction platforms Experience integrating with payment rails or financial networks Strong regulatory and risk awareness JOB RELATED KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS Technical Expertise · payments architecture · real-time processing · distributed systems · cloud infrastructure (AWS, Azure, GCP) · APIs and microservices · identity and authentication systems · financial messaging standards Industry Knowledge · national payment systems · clearing and settlement processes · real-time payment infrastructure · payment scheme rules · fintech regulatory landscape Leadership Competencies Strategic technology leadership Strong execution capability Industry ecosystem engagement Risk and compliance mindset Innovation leadership Talent development and engineering culture Success Metrics Platform uptime and reliability transaction throughput and latency regulatory compliance and audit outcomes technology cost efficiency innovation and product delivery speed fraud loss reduction ecosystem integrations