Job Title: Product Owner – Bills (Postpaid Payments Platform)

Location: Cape Town / Hybrid
Department: Tech/ Product Management
Reports to: CIO dotting into Head of Category

Level: Mid - Senior

Role Purpose:

The Product Owner for Bills will lead the end-to-end product management of the Postpaid Payments Platform, which enables real-time bill presentment and payments across a wide range of service providers such as municipalities, utilities, entertainment services, and government entities.

This role ensures the stability, accuracy, and efficiency of bill-related transactions via our internal systems and external integrations. The PO will work closely with service providers, banks, channel partners, engineering, and compliance teams to ensure bills are discoverable, payment flows are seamless, and regulatory requirements are met.

Key Responsibilities

Product Ownership & Roadmap

• Define and own the Bills product roadmap and backlog.

• Translate commercial, operational, and user needs into epics, user stories, and acceptance criteria.

• Prioritise development and enhancement work based on commercial value, technical feasibility, and urgency.

• Make trade-offs around scope, performance, and delivery timelines.

Stakeholder Engagement

• Engage directly with bill issuers (e.g., municipalities, utilities, entertainment providers) to define integration specs and onboard new billers.

• Collaborate with distribution partners (e.g., retailers, digital wallets, banks) to extend bill payment coverage and user reach.

• Coordinate with engineering, legal, risk, and compliance to manage platform enhancements and integrations.

Platform & Transaction Performance

• Monitor bill presentment and payment success rates, API uptime, and latency.

• Ensure billing data accuracy, payment confirmation integrity, and reconciliation completeness.

• Troubleshoot and resolve integration or settlement issues in collaboration with DevOps and Support.

Customer & Partner Experience

• Continuously improve user experience across channels (USSD, app, web, POS).

• Streamline flows for multiple bill types and payment configurations.

• Reduce payment friction, especially in cases with OTPs, disconnection threats, or multi-account customers.

Risk & Compliance

• Ensure compliance with National Credit Act, FICA, and payment clearing regulations.

• Manage biller-related disputes, reversals, and payment verification processes with oversight from compliance.

Key Interfaces

• Internal: Engineering, Commercial, Legal, Compliance, DevOps, Customer Support

• External: Municipalities, Bill Issuers, PSPs, Retailers, Banks, Regulatory Bodies

• Bachelor’s degree in Information Systems, Engineering, Business, or a related field

• Agile certification (e.g., CSPO) preferred

Experience

• 5+ years of product ownership in fintech, utilities, municipal platforms, or digital payments

• Experience working with third-party integrations, APIs, and complex transactional systems

• Strong understanding of bill presentment and payment processes in South Africa

Competencies

• High attention to detail and data integrity

• Strong communication and interpersonal skills

• Strong analytical thinking and commercial awareness

• Comfortable in uptime-critical, compliance-heavy environments