10 card issuing program experts
Ask these card issuing specialists about card program management, issuing operations or card products: their titles cover all three at Klarna, emerchantpay, dafa, YES BANK, Arab Bank and other companies, and six of the ten are based in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain or Iraq. Founders and product leads launching a card, picking a BIN sponsor and processor or fixing card program economics are who these calls suit.
Professionals to explore
Agustín Salgado
LinkedInExperience: Former Head of Cards Products · AstroPay
Cards end to end, from product development and P&L to relationships with BIN sponsors, schemes, processors, embossing and logistics, were what Agustín Salgado managed as Head of Cards Products at AstroPay (2025-2026), for local and cross-border issuance programs. Agustín led a 6-person cross-functional team there and has been Business Development Manager at Revolut since 2026.
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Ahmed Merayyan
LinkedInExperience: Vice President - Head of Cards Product Development · Arab Bank
At Arab Bank, Ahmed Merayyan has been Vice President - Head of Cards Product Development since 2024, leading the bank's card product and digital transformation strategy, and has acted as Head of Cards Portfolio for Arab Bank Group since 2026. Ahmed was Group Head of Operations at Arab Financial Services (2021-2024), after acquiring operations manager roles there (2017-2021).
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Aurimas Budreckis
LinkedInExperience: Product - Xapo Card · Xapo Bank
Card launches in embedded finance suit Aurimas Budreckis, who has worked on Product - Xapo Card at Xapo Bank since 2024 and describes delivering card programmes end to end, from greenfield launches to optimizing established products. Aurimas was Director of Product Management (Embedded Finance) at Epos Now (2023-2024) and Director of Product at Modulr (2021-2023).
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Deyan Denchev
LinkedInExperience: Head of Card Issuing · emerchantpay
From 2019 to 2025, Deyan Denchev was Head of Card Issuing at emerchantpay, leading issuing projects including scheme and processor certification, banking provider integration and card vendor setup, and overseeing card program management including BIN sponsorship. Deyan has been Senior Product Manager, Nexo Card at Nexo since 2025, and was Financial Projects Manager at emerchantpay (2017-2019).
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Gaurav Kumar
LinkedInExperience: Former Head Projects, Process and P&L- Issuing · YES BANK
Issuing P&L questions fit Gaurav Kumar, Head Projects, Process and P&L- Issuing at YES BANK (2017-2020) and, since 2024, Head of Issuing - Digital Wallets & Cards at VaultsPay, after Vice President - Issuing and Acquiring at TerraPay (2021-2024). Gaurav describes 18 years across digital payments, cards, merchant acquiring and issuing.
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Geoffrey Ong
LinkedInExperience: Card Program Management (Team Lead Senior Manager) · Klarna
Partnerships with card networks, issuer processors and physical card manufacturers are managed by the team of 4 that Geoffrey Ong leads as Card Program Management (Team Lead Senior Manager) at Klarna since 2025. Geoffrey was earlier Analytics Manager (Consumer Card, Card & Banking) (2021-2023) and Analytics Lead Klarna Card (Senior Manager) (2023-2025), useful for card program data and partner questions.
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Haider Alsaden
LinkedInExperience: Head of Card Schemes and Card Products · Miray Holdings
Haider Alsaden has been Head of Card Schemes and Card Products at Miray Holdings since 2024, responsible for card issuing, payment infrastructure and partnerships across markets including the UAE, Turkey, Hong Kong, Canada and Brazil. Haider was Head of Cards and Cheques Operations at United Arab Bank (2010-2023) and at Invest Bank held Head of Payment & Card Operations (2023-2024) and Head of Product & Proposition (2024).
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Janne Hanka
LinkedInExperience: Former Global Card Program Management Lead · Klarna
Governing card programs with partners is Janne Hanka's fit: Global Card Program Management Lead at Klarna (2024-2025), overseeing the strategic and tactical governance of card product programs, after Accountable Group Lead (2021-2024) and Senior Engineering Manager (2020-2021) there. Janne was Head of Market Unit Financial Services Sweden at Tieto (2016-2020).
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Mohammed Qasim
LinkedInExperience: Head of Card & Issuing · dafa
Mohammed Qasim has been Head of Card & Issuing at dafa since 2025, alongside Senior Operations Officer since 2022, after Operation Officer at dafa (2020-2022). Mohammed describes 5+ years as an operations and card issuing leader in fintech and payments, a fit for questions on standing up card issuing operations.
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Ravi kumar Gadhireddy
LinkedInExperience: Senior Manager - Issuing Portfolio Cards and Payments · neoleap
Ravi kumar Gadhireddy has been Senior Manager - Issuing Portfolio Cards and Payments at neoleap since 2024, after Sr. Project Manager Cards and Payments there (2022-2024). Ravi was Project Manager Cards and Payments at Network International (2014-2022) and Technical Architect at Birlasoft (2006-2014), suited to questions on card issuing projects and portfolio management.
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Choose the right perspective
For setting up a program with BIN sponsors, schemes and processors, Agustín Salgado and Deyan Denchev describe that work directly, and Geoffrey Ong and Janne Hanka cover program management with card networks and issuer processors at Klarna. Haider Alsaden, Gaurav Kumar and Ravi kumar Gadhireddy suit multi-market and portfolio questions, while Ahmed Merayyan, Aurimas Budreckis and Mohammed Qasim fit card product and issuing operations questions.
Questions to take into the conversation
- 01How do you choose between a BIN sponsor plus processor setup and a single issuing platform when launching your first card?
- 02Which certification steps with a card scheme and processor take the longest, and how do you plan the launch around them?
- 03What revenue lines and costs should a card program model include before deciding on interchange-only versus fee-based pricing?
About this directory
This is a professional research starting point based on business profile data retrieved on . Titles and companies reflect that source snapshot; roles marked former had ended by then. Check the linked profiles for current details. Inclusion does not imply Instant Expert membership or availability.