Operations Manager - South Africa

Responsibilities

• Stand up end-to-end fiat ops: deposit/withdrawal processing, daily reconciliation (>99.5% match), exception handling, and fraud monitoring across Nedbank (Phase 1) and subsequent rails (Stitch, Capitec,PayShap).
• Implement risk-tiered payment access framework (Tier 0-5) with non-overrideable controls: dynamic one-time payment references, 1:1 name matching for third-party deposits, velocity-based withdrawal staging.
• Meet bank 4-hour RFI SLA - the critical operational constraint for maintaining the Nedbank relationship.
• Oversee phased rollout: Institutional/VIP → Dynamic EFT Retail → API/TPPP → Broad Retail, with documented evidence for director liability protection.
• Manage third-party payment provider relationships (Nedbank, Stitch, Ozow, Peach) - performance, monitoring, issue escalation, vendor due diligence.
• Design and maintain fiat fraud controls: dynamic reference governance (amount-bound, time-expiring), static reference rules (EDD-approved only), instant laundering velocity controls, API-channel fraud monitoring, and support social engineering defenses.
• Monitor fraud KPIs: fraud rate (<0>
• Manage fraud detection rules and coordinate with global Compliance/AML on SAR/STR filing.

Requirements

• 8+ years in financial services operations, with 3+ years in payments, fintech, or crypto.
• Proven experience managing fiat payment operations: bank integrations, EFT rails, instant payment systems, third-party payment providers.
• Demonstrated fraud risk management experience in a high-volume consumer financial services environment.
• Experience operating within South African financial regulatory frameworks (FSCA, FIC, SARB, National Treasury).
• Track record of building operational teams and processes from the ground up.
• Experience with reconciliation systems, payment matching logic, and exception handling at scale.
• Deep knowledge of SA banking and payments ecosystem: EFT, PayShap, Stitch, Ozow, Capitec Pay, Nedbank APi.
• Strong understanding of crypto exchange operations: fiat on/off-ramp flows, P2P mechanics, custody settlement.
• Fraud typologies and controls: payment fraud, APP fraud, mule accounts, smurfing, social engineering, laundering velocity.
• Regulatory operations: CASP licence compliance, Accountable Institution obligations, KI governance, FSP control functions.
• Data analysis and metrics management: SQL proficiency or equivalent, dashboard/reporting, KPI-driven operational management.