Maal Scheme Specialist

Central Bank of Oman is seeking to recruit competent, committed, self-motivated and enthusiastic candidate to work as Maal Scheme Specialist. Role Purpose: Lead the strategy, development of Maal, the Domestic Card Scheme and support on adoption and compliance of the Maal Domestic Card Scheme by monitoring banks' performance, ensuring adherence to scheme rules and CBO directives. Also, coordinating initiatives to increase card issuance and usage across Oman. Key Duties and Responsibilities: • Support the development and implementation of the Maal product strategy and roadmap. • Conduct market research and assess market needs to identify opportunities for product innovation and scheme development. • Support the introduction of new Maal products and services. • Develop and recommend pricing models, incentives, and promotional strategies to increase Maal adoption and usage. • Support on develop the required Maal Scheme rules and ensure comply with applicable standards. • Collaborate closely with issuers and Monitor banks' implementation of Maal requirements, identify compliance gaps, and follow up on corrective actions. • Coordinate marketing campaigns, merchant promotions, and awareness initiatives to encourage Maal usage. • Analyze scheme performance against KPIs and recommend improvements. • Deliver clear, accurate, and timely reports to senior management. Minimum Qualifications and Experience: • Bachelor's degree in Banking, Finance, Business Administration, Information Systems, or a related field. • Additional Qualifications:Master’s in Information Technology/Data Science/Information Systems. • Minimum 7 years of experience in card schemes, banks, or payment service providers (PSPs) managing card products. • Proven experience in launching card schemes products. • Direct involvement in domestic or regional card schemes is highly preferred. • Prior experience with domestic card scheme implementation. • Understanding of Oman’s card Payment System Infrastructure and Ecosystem. • EMV Expertise (Contact/Contactless specifications) • Mobile and Digital Payment Knowledge (Tokenization, Mobile Wallets, NFC, QR-based payments) • Product Pricing & Profitability Modeling • Payment Systems Operations (e.g., Switching, Clearing, Settlement including OmanNet infrastructure) • Payment Standards (EMV, PCI DSS, ISO 8583, ISO 20022) • Fraud Risk Management (Fraud prevention strategies and transaction monitoring) • Business Continuity Planning (BCP/DR for critical payment infrastructures) • Project Management (PMP certification or equivalent preferred) • Digital Transformation (Knowledge of emerging digital trends impacting card payments) • Systems Testing (Functional and non-functional testing, certification processes) • Business Systems and Applications (Understanding of banking/payment IT environments) • Design Thinking (User-centric product and service design approach). Please Submit your application before 15th Nov 2026.

Bachelor's degree in Banking, Finance, Business Administration, Information Systems, or a related field. Master's in Information Technology/Data Science/Information Systems. Minimum 7 years of experience in card schemes, banks, or payment service providers (PSPs) managing card products. Proven experience in launching card schemes products. Direct involvement in domestic or regional card schemes is highly preferred. Prior experience with domestic card scheme implementation. Understanding of Oman’s card Payment System Infrastructure and Ecosystem. EMV Expertise (Contact/Contactless specifications). Mobile and Digital Payment Knowledge (Tokenization, Mobile Wallets, NFC, QR-based payments). Product Pricing & Profitability Modeling. Payment Systems Operations (e.g., Switching, Clearing, Settlement including OmanNet infrastructure). Payment Standards (EMV, PCI DSS, ISO 8583, ISO 20022). Fraud Risk Management (Fraud prevention strategies and transaction monitoring). Business Continuity Planning (BCP/DR for critical payment infrastructures). Project Management (PMP certification or equivalent preferred). Digital Transformation (Knowledge of emerging digital trends impacting card payments). Systems Testing (Functional and non-functional testing, certification processes). Business Systems and Applications (Understanding of banking/payment IT environments). Design Thinking (User-centric product and service design approach).

Lead the strategy, development of Maal, the Domestic Card Scheme and support on adoption and compliance of the Maal Domestic Card Scheme by monitoring banks' performance, ensuring adherence to scheme rules and CBO directives. Coordinating initiatives to increase card issuance and usage across Oman. Develop and implement the Maal product strategy and roadmap. Conduct market research and assess market needs to identify opportunities for product innovation and scheme development. Support the introduction of new Maal products and services. Develop and recommend pricing models, incentives, and promotional strategies to increase Maal adoption and usage. Support on develop the required Maal Scheme rules and ensure comply with applicable standards. Collaborate with issuers and monitor banks' implementation of Maal requirements, identify compliance gaps, and follow up on corrective actions. Coordinate marketing campaigns, merchant promotions, and awareness initiatives to encourage Maal usage. Analyze scheme performance against KPIs and recommend improvements. Deliver clear, accurate, and timely reports to senior management.