Malik Fairose Ismail — Product Leader (Payments & Fintech)

Professional Summary

Fintech & Payments • Product Strategy • Platform Scale

Fintech and payments product leader with global experience designing and scaling platforms across APAC, EMEA, and the Americas. Former VP of Product at Nium, specializing in digital wallets, payin/payout infrastructure, card issuing, and cross-border remittances/payments. Combines strategic vision and hands-on execution, with a strong record of driving growth. Singapore PR; open to product leadership roles in fintech and digital payments.

Skills & Expertise

Product Strategy & Roadmapping Cross-Border Payments Remittances Digital Wallets Embedded Finance API Platforms Real-Time Payments Card Issuing Compliance & Risk Product-Led Growth Agile / Scrum Engineering Collaboration (Java, Python) Market Expansion Go-to-Market Team Leadership

Experience

EMQ Limited — Singapore
07/2023 – Present
Principal Product Strategist
  • Built greenfield pay-in product strategy, bringing enterprise-grade rigor to a lean environment.
  • Led end-to-end design & GTM for EMQ’s Payin platform: virtual accounts, credit notifications, internal ledgering, reconciliation.
  • Drove strategic posture via market research, client interviews, and competitive benchmarking across APAC, MENA, LATAM.
  • Reinforced customer-centric, product-led culture; improved cross-functional alignment and execution.
Nium — Singapore
09/2020 – 05/2023
Vice President of Product
  • Directed strategy & delivery for a unified payments platform spanning wallets, payin, payout, card issuing.
  • Launched modules across SG, AU, UK, EU, US, HK; achieved 4.7× transaction growth and 3.5× revenue lift.
  • Championed “One Platform” consolidation to streamline global operations and reduce cost.
  • Led global product team; aligned GTM, engineering, operations, and compliance.
Wirecard — Singapore
05/2017 – 09/2020
Head of Products & Innovation (Director)
  • Launched multi-country B2B2C card issuing solutions; unlocked new revenue streams.
  • Developed next-gen capabilities: on-us processing, closed-loop systems, wallet-as-a-service.
  • Advised exec leadership on capability rationalization and market entry.
MoneyGram — Singapore
08/2015 – 05/2017
Senior Product Manager
  • Launched digital remittance solutions with partners across UAE, MY, MN, KR, SG.
  • Drove 20–30% YoY growth in digital remittance volumes.
  • Contributed to early Alipay-MoneyGram, Paytm, and Jio integrations.
American Express — Singapore
08/2013 – 08/2015
Product Manager
  • Launched Global Travel Card in India & China; >$240M sales in CN (2014).
  • Drove 35% lift in usage via partnerships (e.g., China Mobile).
  • Provided APAC delivery leadership for card growth initiatives.
Infosys Technologies — SG / IN
09/2011 – 07/2013
Principal Consultant
  • Scaled Payments Consulting to 30 consultants; ~$1.5M annual P&L.
  • Led engagements for Fortune 100 FIs; delivered executive briefings on wholesale payments trends.
  • Supported sales: RFPs, client presentations, market visits.
Infosys Technologies — US / UK / IN
06/2000 – 05/2010
Software Architect (progressed from Engineer)
  • Delivered SOA solutions and large enterprise apps for Bank of America, Boeing, American Express.
  • Launched five enterprise apps; led teams of 20+ across geographies.
  • Migrated legacy ERP to distributed platform, saving ~$10M over three years.
  • Established SOA Center of Excellence for a Fortune 100 client.

Education

Executive PG Diploma (MBA) — Strategy, Marketing, General Management
XLRI, Jamshedpur • 2010–2011
Bachelor of Engineering — Computer Science
University of Madras, Chennai • 1996–2000

Links

Email: malik.f.ismail@gmail.com  |  LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/mismail/

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