Cards Authorisation & Fraud Consultant

• Job Title: Authorisation and Fraud Consultant
• Client: Global Cards & Payments Firm
• Employment type: Initial 12-month contract with strong potential for extension
• Location: Onsite in Riyadh, KSA
• Experience level: 10 - 12 years

Our client, a Global Cards & Payments firm
, is engaged with a leading bank in Riyadh and is seeking to onboard a Authorisation and Fraud Consultant who will be responsible for supporting the credit cards business by optimising authorisation performance, fraud controls, and portfolio health, ensuring a balance between customer experience (approval rates) and risk management (fraud prevention).

• Build a comprehensive understanding of the bank’s credit card portfolio, including customer segments, spending patterns, and lifecycle performance
• Lead authorisation optimisation initiatives to improve approval rates across the issuing portfolio while maintaining defined risk thresholds
• Evaluate authorisation declines (codes, trends, drivers) to identify opportunities for reducing false declines and improving customer experience
• Partner with fraud and risk teams to refine fraud rules and controls without adversely affecting genuine transaction approvals
• Track and report on key issuing KPIs such as approval rates, decline rates, fraud rates, and overall portfolio performance
• Deliver data-driven insights and analytics to support decision-making across cards business, risk, and operations teams
• Improve and maintain MIS dashboards for the issuing portfolio, with a focus on authorisation performance and fraud trends
• Act as a key liaison between scheme and issuer stakeholders (cards business, risk, fraud, and operations) to ensure alignment on initiatives and outcomes
• Support the execution of authorisation and fraud optimisation initiatives within the issuing ecosystem
• Establish a governance cadence with stakeholders to monitor performance, track outcomes, and drive continuous improvements
• Collaborate with scheme partners to integrate industry best practices and global insights into the issuing portfolio
• Drive effective knowledge sharing and capability development within the bank’s cards and fraud teams

• 10–12 years of experience in card issuing, fraud risk management, and authorization strategy
• Strong understanding of the credit card issuing lifecycle, including activation, usage, retention, and spend growth
• Demonstrated experience in managing authorization strategies and fraud controls within issuing environments
• Familiarity with authorisation and fraud management platforms
• Ability to convert analytical insights into actionable, portfolio-level strategies
• Experience collaborating closely with cards business teams beyond acquisition and sales functions
• Strong stakeholder management skills across risk, fraud, and portfolio teams
• Knowledge of SAMA regulations related to fraud reporting and liability
• Experience with fraud trends in the KSA/GCC market
• Solid understanding of balancing compliance requirements with business objectives