Chief Technology Officer / CIO — Regional Fintech & Payments | Middle East
What strikes me most is the mix of scale and trust. You’re not starting from scratch. You’re taking a proven platform and pushing it into what’s next.
What you’ll own as the Chief Technology Officer:
- Set and deliver the tech strategy for multi‑market growth across MEA
- Modernize core payment processing and merchant acquiring platforms
- Build next generation payment capabilities. Open banking, digital wallets, crypto rails
- Keep mission‑critical systems running with 99.9%+ uptime
- Lead PCI DSS, ISO 27001, security, and risk across regions
- Manage data centers and cloud across multiple jurisdictions
- Shape product and innovation. Tokenization, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay
- Stand up fintech enablement and BIN sponsorship tech
- Partner with regulators and drive the tech work for new licenses
- Build high‑performing engineering teams and centers of excellence
I’ve seen how rare it is to guide payments at this scale and still have room to experiment. If you care about both reliability and invention, this probably fits.
What you bring as the Chief Technology Officer
- 12+ years in senior technology leadership within payments, fintech, or financial services
- 5+ years as CTO, CIO, or similar C‑level role
- Deep knowledge of payment processing, card schemes, and merchant acquiring
- Strong delivery record on large payment or core banking platforms
- Cloud‑native architectures, microservices, API‑first thinking
- Cybersecurity and data protection expertise
- Multi‑country regulatory experience. Middle East background is highly preferred
- Comfortable owning budgets of $10M+ and teams of 50+ people
- Stakeholder savvy with both technical and commercial leaders
Nice to have
- Fintech enablement, payment facilitation, or BIN sponsorship experience
- Crypto payments, open banking, or DeFi exposure
- Regulator familiarity. CBB, CBE, CBUAE
- Arabic language skills are a plus
Why this role
- Lead the tech strategy for a market leader serving millions of consumers and businesses
- Shape next generation payment platforms across MEA
- Work directly with the CEO and executive team
Package and perks
- Competitive salary with performance bonus
- Benefits, visa sponsorship, and relocation support
- Equity participation potential
- Access to major payment and cloud partners
- Leadership development and executive education
- Regional travel and a high quality of life location
Location
Major regional financial hub in the Middle East. Relocation available. Hire for 2026 - shortlisting happen now!
