Job Overview

National Fintech Ecosystem Director — Payment Infrastructure & Financial Inclusion

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | Managing Director / Executive Vice President Level

THE OPPORTUNITY: Building the Financial Circulatory System of a Civilization Being Reborn

YOUR LEGACY-LEVEL MANDATE: From Sand to Silicon to Sovereignty

I. National Real-Time Payment Infrastructure Architecture

• Design SARIE (Saudi Arabian Riyal Interbank Express) integration and enhancement strategies, ensuring the Kingdom’s real-time payment system achieves 99.999% availability while processing ISO 20022 pacs.008/pacs.009 messages with sub-second settlement finality
• Architect instant payment ecosystems for retail, corporate, and government use cases, enabling peer-to-peer transfers, merchant payments, bill payments, and salary disbursements with 24/7/365 availability
• Build request-to-pay (R2P) infrastructure that revolutionizes B2B and B2C collections, allowing businesses to send structured payment requests directly to consumer and corporate banking apps with embedded invoice data and automated reconciliation
• Design bulk payment processing platforms capable of handling payroll disbursements for 100,000+ employees in single batches, with idempotency guarantees, automatic retry logic, and real-time status tracking
• Implement cross-border payment corridors connecting Saudi Arabia to UAE (AED), Qatar (QAR), Bahrain (BHD), Kuwait (KWD), and international corridors (USD, EUR, GBP, INR, PKR, BDT) using correspondent banking APIs, blockchain bridges, and CBDC interoperability protocols

II. Open Banking & API Economy Development

• Design SAMA Open Banking Framework implementation strategies, building OAuth 2.0 / OIDC authorization servers with FAPI 2.0 compliance, supporting both confidential and public clients with PKCE, mTLS, and private_key_jwt authentication
• Architect API gateway ecosystems using Kong, AWS API Gateway, or Azure API Management with custom plugins for rate limiting, request transformation, regulatory header injection, and Saudi-specific compliance checks
• Build consent management platforms that store granular customer permissions (read accounts, read transactions, initiate payments, read identity) with cryptographic integrity, automatic expiration, and customer-friendly revocation interfaces
• Design developer portal ecosystems with sandbox environments, mock APIs, synthetic data generators, and SDKs that enable fintech startups to build against national banking APIs before obtaining live licenses
• Implement API versioning and deprecation strategies that maintain 18+ months of backward compatibility while allowing rapid feature iteration, ensuring no fintech startup is stranded by breaking changes
• Build API monetization frameworks that enable banks to charge fintech partners for API access, creating sustainable revenue models for open banking infrastructure

III. Digital Identity & National KYC Infrastructure

• Design integration architectures for Saudi Arabia’s national digital identity infrastructure (Absher, Nafath, Saudi National ID), enabling seamless biometric verification, document validation, and liveness detection for financial onboarding
• Build KYC orchestration platforms that coordinate identity verification across document scanning (OCR with Arabic script support), facial recognition (3D depth sensing, liveness detection), address verification, and sanctions screening — all within 3-minute customer journeys
• Implement risk-based KYC tiering systems — simplified KYC for low-risk, low-value transactions; enhanced due diligence for high-value, high-risk, or politically exposed customers; all automated through decision engines with explainable AI
• Design alternative credit scoring platforms using telco data (Mobily, STC, Zain), utility payments (SEC, SWCC), e-commerce behavior (Noon, Amazon.sa), and government data (GOSI, Qiwa) to score thin-file customers without traditional credit history
• Build data residency and sovereignty controls ensuring all identity and financial data remains within Saudi Arabia’s sovereign cloud, with encryption keys managed by HSMs in Riyadh and Jeddah data centers, compliant with NCA (National Cybersecurity Authority) and PDPL requirements

IV. Embedded Finance & Sharia-Compliant BNPL Ecosystem

• Design Sharia-compliant buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) platforms that calculate murabaha profit rates using Islamic finance principles (AAOIFI standards), manage installment schedules with automatic profit distribution, and handle early settlement with precise rebate calculations
• Architect embedded finance SDKs that allow e-commerce platforms (Noon, Jarir, Extra), ride-hailing apps (Uber, Careem), food delivery services (Jahez, HungerStation), and gig economy platforms to offer white-labeled financial products with minimal integration effort
• Build real-time affordability engines that query open banking APIs, calculate disposable income after Zakat and mandatory deductions, and prevent over-indebtedness — all within 300ms during checkout
• Implement merchant settlement and reconciliation systems that handle BNPL transaction reconciliation, chargeback management, merchant reserve calculations, and daily settlement cycles with automated accounting entries
• Design micro-lending and nano-finance platforms for underserved populations, aligning with Vision 2030’s financial inclusion targets, using alternative data and AI-driven credit decisioning to serve the unbanked and underbanked

V. Regulatory Technology & SAMA Compliance Automation

• Build SAMA Regulatory Sandbox integration platforms that streamline application processes, manage testing phases, and automate reporting to SAMA during sandbox participation
• Design SAMA Cyber Security Framework compliance systems implementing the NCA’s Essential Cybersecurity Controls (ECC-1:2018) and SAMA’s specific requirements for financial institutions
• Implement automated regulatory reporting for SAMA, CMA, and international regulators (FATF, Basel Committee), using AI to generate narrative reports from structured data
• Build operational resilience frameworks meeting SAMA’s business continuity requirements, with RPO < 1 hour and RTO < 4 hours for critical payment systems
• Design consumer protection platforms implementing SAMA’s Consumer Protection Principles, with complaint management, dispute resolution, and automated redress workflows

VI. Ecosystem Development & Strategic Partnerships

• Establish and manage fintech incubator/accelerator programs in partnership with SAMA’s Regulatory Sandbox, mentoring local startups through licensing, compliance, and scaling
• Design venture capital and corporate venture structures to fund Series A and B fintech ventures across payments, lending, insurtech, wealthtech, and RegTech
• Partner with Saudi sovereign wealth funds (PIF, Jada, Raed Ventures) on fintech investment strategies and portfolio company technology integration
• Collaborate with NEOM, Qiddiya, Red Sea Project, and Diriyah Gate on futuristic financial services for giga-project residents and visitors
• Represent Saudi fintech interests in GCC-wide regulatory harmonization initiatives and international standard-setting bodies
• Build the Saudi fintech talent pipeline through partnerships with KAUST, KFUPM, and international universities, establishing internship and graduate programs

THE IDEAL CANDIDATE: A Nation-Builder in a Suit

• 15+ years in financial technology, payments infrastructure, or banking technology leadership, with 5+ years in emerging markets or greenfield environments
• Deep expertise in Saudi Arabian regulatory environment: SAMA regulations, CMA guidelines, NCA cybersecurity requirements, and Sharia compliance frameworks
• Payment systems mastery: Real-time gross settlement, instant payments, open banking, ISO 20022, and cross-border correspondent banking
• Platform architecture expertise: API design, microservices, cloud-native infrastructure (AWS, Azure, GCP), and developer ecosystem building
• Islamic finance technical understanding: Sukuk, murabaha, takaful, and their digital representation in code and product design
• Ecosystem development experience: Incubator/accelerator management, venture capital structures, startup mentoring, and corporate innovation
• Strategic partnership track record: Relationships with regulators, sovereign wealth funds, and government ministries
• Arabic language proficiency: Professional working level for collaborating with local teams, regulatory bodies, and government stakeholders
• Advanced degree: MBA, Master’s in Finance, or equivalent; CFA or equivalent preferred

• Experience building national-scale payment infrastructure from scratch (not just optimizing existing systems)
• Saudi Council of Engineers (SCE) registration or willingness to obtain
• Prior role in government, regulator, or sovereign entity providing insider understanding of policy formation
• Published thought leadership on financial inclusion, open banking, or Islamic fintech
• Network within SAMA, Ministry of Finance, PIF, or SDAIA
• Experience with GCC cross-border payment systems (AFAQ, Buna)

• Annual Base: SAR 600,000 – 900,000 ($160,000 – $240,000 USD) — tax-free (GOSI deduction ~2% of basic)
• Housing Allowance: SAR 120,000 – 200,000 annually
• Transport & Living Allowance: SAR 36,000 – 60,000 annually
• Performance Bonus: 2–4 months base
• Signing Bonus: SAR 100,000 – 200,000 for exceptional candidates
• Saudization Premium: Additional 15–25% for candidates contributing to knowledge transfer and local talent development
• Total Package: SAR 900,000 – 1,500,000+ ($240,000 – $400,000 USD) — effectively tax-free
• Professional Development: SAR 30,000 annual budget for certifications, conferences, and executive education
• Relocation: Full visa sponsorship (Iqama), family visa support, premium international schooling allowances, annual repatriation flights
• Lifestyle: Experience Saudi Arabia’s unprecedented social transformation — from Riyadh’s King Abdullah Financial District (KAFD) to NEOM’s futuristic city, from ancient Diriyah to the Red Sea Project’s luxury resorts. Contribute to building a nation while living through one of history’s most dynamic cultural moments.

WHY THIS ROLE IS EXTRAORDINARY

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