About

Professional Summary

Subject matter expert and advisor for digital payments, specializing in Mastercard, Visa, and girocard products. Over 20 years of international experience in payment systems, with demonstrated expertise in card acceptance, card issuance, testing, quality assurance, and regulatory compliance. Proven track record managing large-scale, mission-critical projects across Europe, North America, and internationally.

Key Clients Include: Mastercard, Visa, Raiffeisen Bank International, Unicredit, Hypovereinsbank, NLB Slovenia, Bayern Card Services, Miles More, AirPlus, Deutscher Sparkassenverlag, S-Payment, Bank-Verlag, Deloitte, Transaction Network Services, Lufthansa AirPlus

Current Consulting Practice (2006–Present)

Self-Employed Payment Systems Consultant & Test Engineer Manager
Multiple Countries (Germany, Austria, CEE, Middle East)

Current & Recent Major Projects:

Apple Pay Implementation for German Sparkassen (2017–Present)
Client: S-Payment GmbH / Deutscher Sparkassenverlag

• Development, testing, and implementation of Host Card Emulation (HCE) Payment App and Apple Pay Wallet for digital payment cards
• Responsible for System Integration and User Acceptance Testing for Apple Pay Sparkassen Cards across approximately 400 Sparkassen (savings banks) in Germany
• Created comprehensive test cases (300+) for payment apps and wallets supporting Mastercard, Visa, girocard, and Debit Mastercard
• Managed defect resolution and certification processes with Apple, Visa, Mastercard, Finanz-Informatik, and Thales
• Overseen lifecycle management processes for physical, virtual, and digital debit and credit cards

DEK Migration – Bank-Verlag (2025)
Client: Bank-Verlag GmbH

•  Developed test concepts for DEK Migration & re-encryption for PCI compliance (2025) covering authorization systems for 30+ million cards, including load and performance testing
• Conducted comprehensive testing including functional, performance, and security testing across all payment channels
• Provided strategic guidance on payment technology roadmap and modernization initiatives aligned with industry best practices

girocard to Apple Pay Integration (2020–2024)
Client: Deutscher Sparkassen Verlag GmbH

• Led User Acceptance Testing for girocard integration with Apple Pay across all eligible Apple devices (iPhone, iWatch, iPad, MacBook Pro)
• Coordinated external certification and quality conformance tests with Apple
• Appointed Defect Manager for the entire Apple Pay Sparkassen Card Ecosystem

Visa Consulting Services – Middle East
Client: Visa (via Pinnacle Consulting)

• Senior Consultant supporting Visa’s strategic initiatives in Middle Eastern markets

European Credit Card Acceptance Quality Program
Client: Mastercard Europe

• Developed comprehensive Europe-wide Mystery-Shopper Quality Program and Evaluation System for Mastercard European Acceptance Team
• Created evaluation framework with 6 quality areas and 82 criteria covering pre-, during, and post-purchase processes
• Encompassed all consumer purchase channels: e-Commerce, Face-to-Face, and Cardholder Activated Terminals (contact and contactless)
• Conducted operative tests from September 2016 to October 2018
• Developed Best Practice handbooks addressing policies and regulations to improve know-how for Acquirers and Merchants
• Program formed the basis for Payment Acceptance Excellence Program launched in 2018

Cost Reduction for Germany’s Largest Direct Bank
Project Value: EUR 21 Million savings

• Supported major German Direct Bank and co-branded credit card partner with objective to reduce operating costs by 20-30%
• Mapped all Level 1 and Level 2 Business Processes, including supporting processors and service providers
• Developed prioritized catalog of improvement suggestions using Business Process Maps and Best Practices
• Implementation Phase 2016-2018 achieved approximately 30% net savings (EUR 21 Million)

New Processing System Implementation – Leading Corporate Card Provider
Client: Major German/UK Corporate Card Provider | Project Size: EUR 7 Million

• Provided Subject Matter Expertise and Project/Interim Management support
• Reviewed and improved Business Case, Benefits Plan, Costs, and Project Plan
• Developed 5-year Cost and Benefits analysis for vendor and software selection
• Created detailed business requirements and reviewed technical architecture

Card Embossing Centralization & ATM Business Model
Project Extension – Austrian Banking Group

• Created new Card Embossing Centralization Concept to improve delivery and quality service standards
• Projected cost savings of up to EUR 5 Million per year
• Defined new business objectives and developed ATM Business Model for banking group

Multi-National Card Processing Infrastructure
Client: Leading Austrian Bank | Project Size: EUR 45 Million | 15 Countries

• Provided Card Issuing (Debit/Credit), Merchant Acquiring (POS, e-commerce, multi-currency cross-border), and ATM Subject Matter Expertise
• Developed catalog of business requirements for consolidated, multi-national card processing infrastructure
• 7-year program entailing full implementation and migration of approximately 11 processing platforms
• Managed 250 products for 15 million cards, 60,000 POS devices, and 10,000 ATMs
• Responsible for Operations, IT, and Business Modeling
• Assisted in software, hardware, and data center selection
• Represented Bank Board Level sponsor with hands-on, day-to-day program management

Large-Scale Credit Card Migration & Risk Management
Client: Major Financial Institution | Project Size: 500K Cards

• Provided on-site implementation support and subject matter expertise for portfolio migration from Visa to Mastercard
• Initiated PCI-DSS project and all related activities with internal stakeholders, senior management, Card Association project team, external payment providers, and vendors

Previous Corporate Experience

Vice President, Managing Director
Butterfield Bank, Promisant (Technology) Ltd. | Hamilton, Bermuda
2003–2005

Directly responsible for Marketing & Sales, Product Development, Information Technology, Operations/Customer Service, Treasury Management, Finance, Compliance, and Controlling for this financial services subsidiary with offices in four countries.

Accomplishments:

• Introduced new indirect sales channel increasing transaction volumes by 500% and transaction-based revenue over 1000% in 18 months (from $500,000 to $6 Million)
• Implemented new open source IT strategy to improve flexibility and decrease technology costs
• Developed cohesive senior management team with personnel in 4 countries
• Maintained continuous bank and card association compliance, successfully passing all external IT security and service audits

Vice President, Operations & Technology
Promisant Ltd. | Hamilton, Bermuda
2000–2003

Global responsibility for strategic direction, establishment, and ongoing performance of Customer/Client Support, Authorizations, Risk Management, Project Management, Technology, Merchant Integration, Settlement, Reporting, and operational/technical Partner/Vendor Management.

Accomplishments:

• Led $6 Million corporate project to deliver end-to-end multi-currency payment processing solution in less than 6 months
• Project included vendor selection, hardware/software procurement, internal/external resources coordination, local bank integration, and MasterCard/Visa certification
• Successfully passed 5 operational and technical due-diligence visits from 3 major banks, largest U.S. third-party processor, and world’s largest Travel & Transportation Reservations Company
• Successfully initiated and completed SAS70 Audit

Senior Vice President, Regional Shared Services Centre
Citibank N.A. | Dublin, Ireland
1998–2000

$20 Million operating budget with overall responsibility for Sales, Operating Performance, and profitable growth of Shared Services Centre supporting 8 countries (UK, Ireland, Belgium, France, Luxembourg, Holland, Switzerland, Italy) in 4 languages. Service Centre provided Back- and Mid-office functions for Charge and Credit Card Products to 5 in-country business units with 400,000+ cardholder accounts, 350,000+ merchant accounts, and approximately €15 billion in transaction volumes.

Accomplishments:

• Led six line functions with 300 personnel: credit & collections; customer service/relations; corporate key account management (IBM, British Airways, Cap Gemini); service establishments (British Airways, KLM, Sabena, Swissair); and lodged product key accounts (U.K. Government, Sony)
• Led startup and business outsourcing implementation, migrating all functions from in-country offices
• Hired and trained 300 personnel in less than 18 months
• Improved Service Levels by 50% and achieved 12% cost savings post-transfer

Operations Director, Citibank Cards
Citibank N.A. | Athens, Greece
1996–1998

Overall operational responsibility for all Back-Office functions for Greek Credit Cards business. Led Project and Product launch of MasterCard (Europay) as Greece’s first dual issuer (MasterCard and Visa), and combined (Diners Club, MasterCard, Visa) Merchant acquiring business. Led operational and productivity improvements resulting in over $700,000 (10%) in savings.

Manager, Account Fulfillment
Citicorp Card Operations GmbH | Nordhorn, Germany
1995–1996

Responsible for 85 internal staff and 100 external vendor staff for all aspects of Card Account fulfillment, servicing, credit underwriting, and card issuance for 3 million credit card applications annually (12,500 per day). Total annual underwriting approximately $10 Billion.

Manager, Collections
Citicorp Kartenservice GmbH | Frankfurt, Germany
1993–1995

Responsible for all Credit Card account collection activities for 250,000 account holders and approximately $5 Billion in receivables. Led business and IT project implementation of Germany’s first predictive collections telephone dialer.

Military Service
Captain, United States Army
1986–1991

Multiple leadership positions in both Germany and the United States.

PROFESSIONAL QUALIFICATIONS & CERTIFICATIONS

• PRINCE 2 Practitioner – Project Management

• ISTQB Certified Tester – Foundation Level

• ITIL v3.0 Foundation Certification

Languages
English: native or bilingual proficiency
German: native or bilingual proficiency

Other / Hobbies
Active Ironman triathlete.
Previous high-Performance Swim Coach for age group swimmers.