Shyam Kumar Rajendran
Melbourne,Australia
Summary
Senior program, test management and delivery leader with more than 20 years’ experience directing large, complex transformation portfolios across banking and payments. I have overseen multi-year, multi-country programs and have led testing, automation and quality engineering for major institutions including NAB, HSBC, Fiserv, Citibank, Barclays and First Abu Dhabi Bank, with a strong focus on data migration, digital channels, payments modernisation and large-scale core banking uplift. My background includes leading high-risk customer migrations affecting more than four million accounts, shaping delivery and testing strategies across large technology portfolios and guiding cross-functional teams through significant operational and regulatory change. I bring a structured approach to test governance, risk management, stakeholder alignment and cross-portfolio planning, supported by hands-on experience with automation, frameworks and complex technical landscapes. I hold several industry-recognised certifications, including CPMAI, SAFe 6, PMP, PgMP and PRINCE2 Practitioner, which complement my experience across card payments, merchant acquiring, digital channels, fraud analytics and scheme compliance, along with proven capability in automation uplift and intelligent digital solutions including chatbot and AI-enabled features. I’m known for balancing technical depth with clear communication, steady leadership and strong alignment across senior stakeholders.
Overview
20
20
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification
Work History
Test Director/Release Train Engineer
National Australia Bank (NAB), Melbourne
Melbourne
04.2023 - Current
- Responsible for leading test management, automation uplift and delivery assurance across NAB’s major data migration and payments programs. Oversaw quality engineering activity across digital channels, mobile apps, regulatory deliverables, payment capabilities and downstream integrations. Worked closely with business, technology, risk, scheme partners and vendor teams across 25 major and minor releases, ensuring stability, compliance and end-to-end readiness. Led test and quality teams of ~70+ across multiple capabilities, vendors and asset groups.
- Key Responsibilities:
- Directed test management across data migration and white-label partner integrations covering FirstVision, UDMI, FDM, ADA, EDS, DocGen, Loyalty, FinCrime, NAB Digital (iOS/Android), Card Production, Payments, Fraud Analytics and banking assets.
- Managed delivery and quality assurance across 25 releases, aligning functional, non-functional, automation, security, penetration, UAT and business verification testing activities.
- Led all major testing phases including Asset Testing, SIT, E2E System Integration, Automation Upscale, Joint Partner Testing, UAT, Security and Penetration Testing and business verification across multiple teams and vendor groups.
- Strengthened automation capability across mobile, API and core payment systems using Selenium WebDriver, TestNG, WebDriverIO, Perfecto, Newman, Swagger and NAB’s internal frameworks.
- Coordinated Visa and Mastercard scheme testing, plastics production validation, card provisioning, payments routing and WL partner integrations across Kogan, Coles, Qantas, BOQ, VMA and MyCard.
- Worked closely with risk and compliance teams to manage program-level test risks, prepare mitigations, escalate quality concerns and align internal and external stakeholders across technology, business and vendors.
- Provided leadership across dashboards, reporting, governance and test management using Rally, QTest and enterprise QA frameworks.
- Key Achievements:
- Led quality engineering for the migration of 1.5 million customers (total worth of $3.5), covering 98 downstream assets across 12 digital channels, payments, fraud, loyalty, card production, onboarding and Core Banking integrations.
- Delivered testing across 11 payment capabilities and 900+ epics, ensuring readiness for Visa/Mastercard establishments, plastics production, iOS/Android NAB App changes, WL partner onboarding, fraud analytics uplift and new payments flows.
- Implemented automation uplift with more than 1,500 automated test cases, improving test coverage, reducing manual effort and stabilising release quality across multiple streams.
- Strengthened risk management and cross-portfolio alignment, improving visibility, reporting and readiness across technical, business and vendor groups.
Program Manager/Test Director – Payments Transformation
Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC – Middle East)
12.2021 - 04.2023
- Led payments digital transformation programs across multiple Middle Eastern markets, covering mobile banking, POS channels, digital onboarding, card provisioning, fraud analytics, scheme compliance and operational uplift.
- Directed both program management and test management functions, including governance, planning, delivery assurance and cross-regional coordination.
- Managed QA and delivery teams (~70+ across three countries) and supported budget oversight for a $350+ M payments transformation portfolio. Delivered chatbot creation and AI-enabled testing capabilities for digital and POS channels.
- Directed testing and program delivery streams across mobile banking, POS channels, digital onboarding, card issuing, scheme compliance and regional payments uplift.
- Defined program plans, delivery roadmaps, governance structures and transformation milestones across three countries and multiple vendor partners.
- Led test strategy, planning and execution across functional, non-functional, certification, performance, security, resilience and operations testing.
- Delivered chatbot and AI-enabled capabilities for POS and digital banking, including conversational flows, automated validations and model performance assessments.
- Strengthened automation frameworks across mobile, API and POS platforms using TestNG, Selenium WebDriver, WebDriverIO, Perfecto, Botium and Newman.
- Managed program-level testing risks, overseeing identification, escalation, mitigation and alignment with internal leadership, scheme bodies and external partners.
- Coordinated with SteerCo, CTO, product owners and regional delivery teams to maintain shared visibility, cost alignment and cross-country readiness.
- Directed defect analysis, triage, vendor management and release assurance across multiple channels and regulatory deliverables.
- Key Achievements:
- Delivered payments digital transformation across three countries, including MIB onboarding, digital card provisioning, POS capability uplift, mobile payments improvements, scheme compliance enhancements and API consolidation.
- Designed, tested and rolled out chatbot and AI-enabled features across mobile POS and digital banking channels, improving customer interactions and reducing manual effort.
- Implemented automation uplift with 800+ scripts automated per release, strengthening stability across monthly and quarterly release cycles.
Program Manager – Merchant Acquiring/POS Delivery
First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB), United Arab Emirates
United Arab Emirates
09.2018 - 12.2021
- Led major merchant acquiring, POS delivery and payments capability uplift across the UAE, overseeing scheme enablement, POS/MPOS rollout, payment gateway enhancements, digital onboarding and compliance-driven upgrades. Managed cross-functional delivery teams across BA, development, testing and implementation. Oversaw delivery teams of ~35 and held responsibility for CAPEX/OPEX planning, vendor coordination and cost alignment across large acquiring programs.
- Key Responsibilities:
- Managed end-to-end delivery of merchant acquiring programs covering POS switch upgrades, MPGS, CyberSource, ODS, scheme compliance, digital onboarding and payment channel integrations.
- Directed program planning, roadmap development, cost management and delivery governance across BA, design, development, QA and implementation teams.
- Oversaw scheme enablement for Visa, Mastercard, China UnionPay and RUPAY, including certification, settlement validation and multi-country payments readiness.
- Led POS and MPOS device rollouts, vendor onboarding, merchant channel enhancements and downstream transaction processing improvements.
- Managed risk identification, escalation and mitigation with internal stakeholders, external vendors, scheme partners and UAE regulators.
- Coordinated all technical and business dependencies, ensuring delivery readiness across acquiring channels, digital portals and POS infrastructure.
- Strengthened operational readiness, testing frameworks, merchant acceptance flows and post-deployment validation processes across multiple delivery layers.
- Key Achievements:
- Delivered onboarding and complex transaction processing for Etihad Airways, enabling multi-country airline transactions where origin, routing and settlement occurred across different regions — one of the bank’s most challenging multi-layered acquiring integrations.
- Rolled out major scheme enablement initiatives for RUPAY and China UnionPay, strengthening the bank’s merchant acceptance footprint and generating multimillion-dollar revenue uplift.
- Implemented POS/MPOS device upgrades across retail and enterprise channels, improving acceptance reliability and operational stability.
- Delivered the “Payments as a Platform” capability, enabling merchants to access unified payments, AI-driven features and digital acceptance channels.
- Recognised for stabilising vendor relationships, improving cost alignment and strengthening governance across high-volume merchant acquiring programs.
Program Manager – Payments Centre of Excellence
Fiserv (UK, US, EMEA, LAC)
09.2011 - 08.2018
- Led major payments delivery programs for multiple banks across Europe, the Middle East, Africa and the US, covering issuing, acquiring, fraud analytics and large-scale platform upgrades. Managed multi-year release cycles, client onboarding programs, technical transformations and scheme compliance work across FirstVision, VisionPLUS, AccessPLUS, PRIME2, Base24 EPS and FICO platforms. Directed global testing and delivery teams of more than 100 resources across EMEA, LAC and North America.
- Key Responsibilities:
- Managed end-to-end delivery across issuing, acquiring, dispute management, fraud analytics and Core Banking integrations for 8+ banks across multiple regions.
- Oversaw custom releases, compliance releases and Base releases across multiple versions of FirstVision, VisionPLUS, PRIME2, Base24 EPS and associated payment systems.
- Led cross-functional teams across development, QA, BA, transformation and client engagement, aligning delivery across multi-country environments.
- Directed scheme compliance updates, regulatory deliverables and downstream dependencies for SWIFT, SEPA and regional payment mandates.
- Worked onsite with clients across the UK, US and Middle East to define requirements, manage delivery roadmaps, stabilise release cycles and guide technical decision-making.
- Managed transformation work across fraud analytics (FICO 6), card issuance platforms, acquiring switch upgrades and merchant payment enablement.
- Strengthened release governance, resource planning and delivery tracking across geographically dispersed delivery teams and vendor partners.
- Key Achievements:
- Delivered more than 45 major releases across EMEA, LAC and US markets, spanning custom builds, scheme compliance releases and multiple Base releases for issuing, acquiring and fraud platforms.
- Led onboarding programs for several new banks into Fiserv’s card issuing and acquiring platforms, improving capability and platform adoption across multiple regions.
- Directed the fraud analytics upgrade from FICO 4.2 to FICO 6.0, improving detection accuracy and downstream data processing for global banking clients.
- Improved delivery stability by strengthening test governance, cross-portfolio reporting, risk management and multi-vendor coordination.
- Recognised for building strong client relationships and providing clear direction in complex, high-volume payments delivery environments.
Lead Business Analyst – Cards & Payments
Capgemini (Citibank, Lloyds, Barclays – Europe)
08.2005 - 09.2011
- Worked across major card migration and payments programs for Citibank, Lloyds TSB and Barclays, supporting large-scale data conversion, requirements analysis, functional design and delivery coordination. Focused heavily on Citibank’s PRIME2 to VisionPLUS migration across Western Europe. Supported BA and technical teams of ~10 across multi-country card migration programs.
- Key Responsibilities:
- Led business analysis for Citibank’s Western Europe card migration, including functional design, data mapping, requirements documentation and conversion design across PRIME2, VisionPLUS, AccessPLUS and related payment systems.
- Prepared BRDs, FSDs, functional specifications and process flows for issuing, acquiring, authorisation, loyalty, interest calculation, dispute management and downstream reporting modules.
- Acted as a key liaison between technical teams (developers, DBAs, CICS/COBOL specialists) and business stakeholders across multiple European markets.
- Supported data extract planning, source-to-target mapping, validation and QA sign-off for large-scale card conversion initiatives.
- Conducted SIT and UAT support for VisionPLUS functionalities including authorization, TRAMS processing, loyalty management, VMx, BT, payments, chargebacks, green screens and file-level validations.
- Managed requirement clarifications, issue triage, change impacts and BAU problem resolution across multiple releases and card portfolios.
- Supported Barclays and Lloyds migration streams, contributing to scheme compliance updates, payment flow stabilisation and functional testing across multiple card products.
- Key Achievements:
- Delivered major contributions to Citibank’s PRIME2 → VisionPLUS migration across multiple Western Europe countries, supporting all conversion phases from design to QA sign-off.
- Improved data conversion quality through detailed mapping, validation and coordination across technical and business teams.
- Strengthened functional design clarity and reduced defects by producing detailed specifications and resolving complex requirement queries across high-volume card platforms.
- Recognised as a subject matter expert across VisionPLUS modules and a key BA supporting multi-country migration and payments delivery.
Education
Post Graduate Diploma - Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning
Texas State University
USA01.2021
Post Graduate Diploma - Data Analytics & Business Intelligence
Arizona State University
USA01.2019
Master of Science - Computer Science
Anna University
India01.2015
Bachelor of Engineering - Electronics & Communication
Anna University
India01.2005
Skills
- Payments & Banking Platforms
- FirstVision, VisionPLUS, AccessPLUS, Base24 EPS, PRIME2, FICO, HUB8, ODS, POS/MPOS Platforms
- Testing & Automation
- Selenium WebDriver, TestNG, QTest, Postman, Swagger, WebDriver IO, Perfecto, Visa & Mastercard Simulators, API Automation
- Programming & Data
- Python, COBOL, CICS, SQL, Databricks, VSAM
- Delivery & DevOps
- Jenkins, GitHub Actions, Rally, Jira, Confluence, MS Project
- AI & Digital Solutions
- Chatbot Frameworks, Model Testing, Prompt Frameworks, Botium
- Databases
- Oracle, SQL Server, Databrick
Accomplishments
- Led one of Australia’s largest recent banking migrations, overseeing the transition of more than 1.5 M customers ($3.5 B) and 98 assets across 12 digital channels, payments, fraud, loyalty, iOS/Android banking apps and Core Banking integrations for NAB.
- Directed major payments and digital transformation programs for HSBC, including the design, testing and rollout of chatbot and AI-enabled features for mobile and POS channels using intent-driven models and automated validation frameworks.
- Managed large-scale payments and merchant acquiring initiatives for FAB, delivering complex card scheme enablement, digital onboarding and POS capability uplift across multiple regions and coordinating complex transaction processing for Etihad Airways.
- Oversaw long-running payments delivery for Fiserv across EMEA, LAC and the US, managing more than 45 custom, compliance and Base releases and leading onboarding programs for multiple banks across issuing, acquiring and fraud analytics platforms.
- Strengthened quality engineering, automation and delivery assurance across global banks, including automation uplift of more than 1,500 test cases at NAB and 800+ scripts per release at HSBC, improving coverage, cycle times and stability.
- Recognised as a senior delivery and test leader, trusted to stabilise complex programs, guide risk discussions, align multi-vendor teams and provide clear direction across high-risk regulatory and technology initiatives.
Certification
- Project Management Professional (PMP)
- Program Management Professional (PgMP)
- PRINCE2 Practitioner
- SAFe Advanced Scrum Master (ASM)
- Certified Business Analysis Professional (CBAP)
- Certified Professional in Managing AI (CPMAI)
- ISTQB Test Manager
- Agile Coach (ICP–ACC)
- AWS Architect (Associate)
- Microsoft Certified Solutions Developer
- Python & Databricks Certifications
Timeline
Test Director/Release Train Engineer
National Australia Bank (NAB), Melbourne
04.2023 - Current
Program Manager/Test Director – Payments Transformation
Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC – Middle East)
12.2021 - 04.2023
Program Manager – Merchant Acquiring/POS Delivery
First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB), United Arab Emirates
09.2018 - 12.2021
Program Manager – Payments Centre of Excellence
Fiserv (UK, US, EMEA, LAC)
09.2011 - 08.2018
Lead Business Analyst – Cards & Payments
Capgemini (Citibank, Lloyds, Barclays – Europe)
08.2005 - 09.2011
Post Graduate Diploma - Data Analytics & Business Intelligence
Arizona State University
Master of Science - Computer Science
Anna University
Bachelor of Engineering - Electronics & Communication
Anna University
Post Graduate Diploma - Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning
Texas State University
EXECUTIVE CAPABILITIES
- Quality Engineering & Test Strategy: Experienced in defining enterprise-level test strategies, establishing governance frameworks, shaping quality engineering practices and leading complex test environments across payments, digital channels and Core Banking platforms.
- Large-Scale Program Leadership: Skilled in directing multi-year transformation programs covering data migration, payments modernisation, digital delivery, regulatory change and cross-portfolio alignment across multiple geographies.
- Payments & Card Domain Expertise: Deep experience across issuing, acquiring, merchant onboarding, fraud analytics, scheme compliance, card production, POS/MPOS platforms and digital payment channels.
- Automation Enablement: Strong background uplifting automation frameworks across mobile, web, API and core payments systems, improving coverage, stability and efficiency across large release cycles.
- Data Migration Leadership: Proven track record overseeing complex migrations involving millions of customer records, multiple downstream assets and multi-vendor ecosystems.
- Risk Management & Governance: Experienced in risk identification, assessment, escalation and mitigation across technical, operational, vendor and regulatory areas. Skilled in running structured governance forums and ensuring stability, compliance and readiness across delivery streams.
- Digital & Intelligent Solutions: Delivered AI-driven solutions including chatbot implementation, automated validations and intelligent testing capabilities across high-availability banking environments.
- Stakeholder Influence & Vendor Governance: Trusted by senior leadership to drive alignment across business, technology, vendors, regulators and scheme partners, ensuring clarity and controlled delivery.