Lead QA Analyst – Cards & Payments (Reconciliation, Clearing & Settlement)

Job Summary

We are seeking an experienced Lead QA Analyst with strong domain expertise in Cards & Payments, specializing in transaction reconciliation, clearing, settlement, and card management platforms. The ideal candidate will lead functional and end-to-end testing activities for payment processing systems, ensuring high-quality delivery across Visa and other payment network integrations. The role requires close collaboration with business, operations, technology teams, and external vendors to validate payment transaction flows and ensure seamless system implementation.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead functional, integration, system, and user acceptance testing activities for Cards & Payments applications.
• Validate end-to-end transaction processing including authorization, clearing, settlement, chargebacks, reversals, and adjustments.
• Design and execute test strategies, test plans, test scenarios, and test cases for payment processing systems.
• Perform reconciliation testing across Visa and other payment network interfaces.
• Validate transaction settlement processes and investigate reconciliation exceptions and settlement discrepancies.
• Conduct SIT, UAT, regression, and production validation testing.
• Review business requirements, functional specifications, and process flows to ensure complete test coverage.
• Collaborate with business analysts, developers, vendors, and stakeholders to resolve functional and production issues.
• Support implementation and testing of Card Management Platforms (CMP) and payment processing applications.
• Track defects, perform root cause analysis, and drive resolution through closure.
• Support post-production releases, stabilization activities, and production issue management.
• Provide status updates, testing metrics, and risk assessments to project stakeholders.

Required Skills & Experience

• 8 to 12 years of experience in QA/Test Management within Banking or Financial Services.
• Strong knowledge of Card Payment Processing lifecycle.
• Hands-on experience in Transaction Reconciliation, Clearing, and Settlement processes.
• Experience testing Card Management Platforms (CMP) and payment processing systems.
• Good understanding of Visa transaction processing and payment network operations.
• Experience in testing card issuing, acquiring, dispute management, and chargeback processes.
• Strong knowledge of payment transaction flows, settlement files, and reconciliation reporting.
• Experience with defect management and test management tools.
• Strong analytical, stakeholder management, communication, and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to coordinate with business users, technology teams, and external vendors.

Preferred Skills

• Experience with Visa, Mastercard, GPN, Alto, Artajasa, or similar payment networks.
• Exposure to card switching, payment gateways, and merchant acquiring platforms.
• Experience leading SIT and UAT activities.
• Knowledge of Agile methodology and QA best practices.
• Banking and Cards domain certifications are a plus.

Ideal Candidate Profile

• Lead QA Analyst / Test Lead with Cards & Payments domain expertise.
• Strong background in reconciliation, clearing, settlement, and payment transaction testing.
• Experience supporting card management platform implementations and payment transformation programs.
• Proven experience working with Banking and Financial Services clients.