John ***** was educated in Australia where he has spent most of his extensive career in retail banking and payments operations, rising to the ranks of senior management within Westpac Banking Corporation, one of Australia’s leading banks. At Westpac, John had senior management responsibility for systems technology, ***** recovery, new banking applications and merchant acquiring.

In 1997, John moved to the Middle East to the role of General Manager for Network International, one of the region’s leading third party card processing bureaus. Between then and 2004, John was given further responsibility within the Emirates Bank Group, becoming General Manager of Diners Club, UAE, and a board director of ELCO (Emirates Loyalty Company) responsible for introducing the region’s first smart loyalty card programme. John also had management accountability for all aspects of Emirates Bank’s card programmes (issuing and acquiring) - one of the largest card portfolios in the Middle East.

In recognition of his considerable knowledge and experience in both traditional and EMV card processing, John was invited by Visa International in 2002 to become an Advisor, where he represented the Middle East on this global ***** advisory board..

John has a wealth of experience in card payment operations and processing in both Asia and the Middle East, spanning over 20 years. He is well versed in all aspects of EMV chip technology, having masterminded the EMV strategy and migration plan for the Emirates Bank Group (implementing EMV standards for both Visa and MasterCard, incorporating a major integrated multi-function loyalty application). He also project managed the establishment of a Visa-certified third party EMV personalisation bureau within Network International.

John is now applying his experience in both debit and credit card management, in a new ***** role, where he is currently working extensively throughout the Middle East, Australia and South East Asia. One of his current assignments includes delivering a full E-Commerce strategy, policy and procedure process for a Bank in Eastern Africa.

One of John’s great strengths is his ability to apply his knowledge of EMV and smart card technology, card payment delivery systems and operational management in a very practical and “hands-on” way, providing valuable advice and guidance in an easy to understand manner.