1. Omer Abid CV 2016
Omer Abid
17 Devonshire Road, London, IG2 7EN
Telephone: 0044 7496 651594
Email: OmerAbid@yahoo.com
A self-driven and highly recognised executive financial professional with a consistent record of achievements
acquired over 15 years of experience with a strong background of consumer/commercial banking, electronic banking
and payment card/merchant services. Held business leadership positions with Citibank for over 12 years in South Asian
and Middle-East region followed by Portfolio Head position at Mashreq Bank in UAE for 2 years reflecting valuable
industry knowledge. A professional with a flair for initiative, development and implementation to set & achieve business
goals
Career Highlights and Awards:
 Contactless Payment Acceptance – drove team at Mashreq to launch this product with MasterCard for the first time
in UAE - 2014
 ECR Integration Initiative – Proposed and implemented Retail integration for high-volume transaction segments
 Launched secure digital solution for Hospitality segment – Pre-Authorization and bookings resulted in better
reconciliation, EMV compliant solution, secured transaction and significantly reduced Chargebacks - 2016
 Facilitated in launching Mobile eCommerce with the largest electronic merchant to drive card spent - 2015
 Award of Excellence – 2013
 Recognition Certificate for the participation in new product launch (Citi Premier Miles Card) - 2010
 Country Business Manager CBM, Silver Performance Award - August 2008
 Performance Recognition Award – 2008
 Vendor Management Recognition Award from ORIX Leasing - 2007
 Customer Service Excellence Award – 2007
 Top Relationship Manager for Q3, 2002
Career Achievement:
 Successfully grew Mashreq merchant’s volume portfolio by nearly 20% between 2014 and 2016. Increased market
volume share to nearly 30% vs 22% in 2013 through a focused market development strategy
 Played a key role in driving contactless payment acceptance in partnership with MasterCard as part of a new initiative
 Increased DCC revenue by 50% in 2014 and double digit YOY through dynamic segment pricing strategy, introducing
cashier incentives to double opt-ins, 108 currencies, CHC programme for F&B etc
 Reengineered end to end Acquisition and on boarding process that resulted in higher STP rate to 60%, faster TAT,
improved NPS score and indirectly helped in improving cards activation rates
 Successfully launched new Payment Gateway start-up at Citi with Cyber for Airlines, Government portals, Telecom
and Courier companies such as; Airblue, SECP, TCS and Shaheen etc
 Successfully launched 0% surcharge programme with Oil companies such as; Total and PSO in 2006 to increase
card penetration and acceptance. Also run Closed loop acquiring and launched redemption programme with them
to drive on-us spent
 Signed exclusive deals, and managed a very successful relationship with the 2 largest Telco’s and 3 dominant fuel
providers in Pakistan
 Track record of achievements that display a highly developed ability to enhance business within the payment card
marketplace
Key Personal Skills and Expertise:
Employee Leadership and development Operations management Legal contracts
Strategic thinking Gap analysis and Risk assessment Business development
Full financial and P&L control Regulatory and Compliance Review & improve processes
Project Management Excellent communication skills Relationship management
Policy implementation Stakeholder engagement Commercial acumen
Client/ Contractor management Training/ mentoring Operational analysis
Forward thinking/ analytical approach Retail banking expertise Governance expertise
Negotiation ability eCommerce Digital Marketing
Experience:
Acquiring Portfolio Head 2014 – 2016
Merchant Services Unit
Key Responsibilities:
 Headhunted and successfully recruited by 2nd largest acquirer and one of the leading financial institutions of the UAE
 Managed 2nd largest merchant portfolio within the UAE with a focus on the growing sectors such as Retail, Travel
and Hospitality
 Played a key role in driving double digit DCC growth YoY

2. Omer Abid CV 2016
 Enhanced and implemented digital solutions for existing and new Retail Groups, primarily Supermarkets, Fashion
Retail and Electronic segments.
 Oversaw a team of Relationship Managers to play a key role to drive On-us spent through various initiatives such
as; in-house loyalty programme, Dining discounts and 0% instant Easy Payment Plan at POS, leading to an increase
market penetration (From 8th rank to 5th in UAE) and growth in On-us significantly improving overall margin
 Accountable for utilising Acquiring Portfolio expertise to manage large corporate clients, New Market development
and complex business analytics initiative – successfully leading to portfolio growth by 20% YoY and the market share
by 7%
 Developed an integrated team, focused on delivering meaningful insights, business development and sales through
delivery of agreed initiatives
 Promoted new portfolio initiatives to grow MSV between 15% and 18%
 Enhanced and implemented digital solutions for existing and new merchants, focusing on the retail and
 Reengineered the merchant on boarding programme resulted in reduced Headcount requirement, faster go to market
and improving the first time approval rates
 Project Managed, providing seamless execution of GCCs largest Electronic exhibition - Gitex end to end
 Demonstrated the strength of POS technology and application to drive value propositions and channelize spent to
our merchant partners. Electronic industry MSV share grown from 50% to 85% (source: Business Analytics)
 Responsible for building and maintaining corporate relationships including both Government and Large private
groups namely Al Futtaim Group, Chalhoub Group/Landmark/ Apparel Group/ Richemont/ Louis Vuitton etc
 Established Mobile POS (new business model) for card acceptance targeting unexplored segments such as
 home delivery, whilst introducing tailor made solutions to enrich customer in-store shopping experience
 Managed numerous projects from inception through to completion including GCCs largest Electronic exhibition –
Gitex
 Organised numerous events to generate new business and build a pipeline of networks
 Portfolio actions resulted in ever highest growth in terminal activation rate 90% (M1), on-boarding TAT, training and
channelizing complaints through CRM that resulted in reducing service calls, Dual merchants swing to a single
acquirer, reducing Telecom cost, aligning MCC to get better margins, culling exercise across base, robust training
programs etc.
Acquisition & Strategy, Reengineering, Governance & Training Development 2012 – 2014
Citibank UAE, Dubai
Key Responsibilities:
 Worked within one of the most reputed Global baking institutions, utilising 10 years of Retail Baking exposure across
multiple countries
 Developed credit proposals in partnership with Product, Sales and Credit teams to build acquisition momentum in
the newly introduced regulated and bureau environment
 Established successful “Go To Market” acquisition strategies contributing to15% of total acquisition
 Launched comprehensive and fully integrated On-boarding Training & Development programmes for all Retail Sales
platforms resulting positively in various areas such as incremental productivity, reduced sales errors, improvement
in Customer survey scores and much lesser turnover
 Worked collaboratively with the regional reengineering core team and successfully implemented sales best practices
in UAE
 Successfully coordinated, followed up and obtained Senior Management consent to implement Regional
Reengineering team recommendations on a modified “Go To” Sales & Risk initiatives resulted in nearly doubling
credit decisions per analyst, faster Turn Around Time and launch of Digital acquisition channel
 Led all Regional initiatives relating to Digitalising Sales Process (end to end) - Spring Wireless project, Sales
Automation Front and Back end project and Digitalising Customer On Boarding project
 Conducted CPA and CPK analysis and regional reporting on a monthly basis; maintaining cost per account within
levels through various levers
 Successfully redesigned company listing process with Risk to bring better focus, reduce TAT and target large
companies for bulk acquisitions
Sales Head – Citi-at-Work, Salary Accounts & Cross-Sell
2008 – 2012
Citibank UAE, Southern Emirates (AUH & Al Ain)
Key Responsibilities:
 Successfully led AUH team to record fiscal year by increasing the total Emirate contribution to nearly 30% of UAE
total sales (Cards & Loans) as compared to 10% in 2007 & 2008
 Introduced a performance-driven culture that ensures personal accountability and responsibility, enhancing the team
further
 Oversaw, developed, coached, and engaged 70+ team members – to accomplish key business objectives
 Managed initiatives for mass acquisition by utilising unconventional & innovative sales methods such as; micro-
marketing activities, database marketing & surrogates
 Partnership with Risk Management (RM) to manage credit risk. Demonstrated personal accountability to advic e RM
strategies by way of analysing vintage portfolio & providing inputs to manage delinquencies and risk mitigates

3. Omer Abid CV 2016
 Worked closely with Product Development Team to develop new products and improvise on the existing strategies
based on market demands and competitive analysis.
 Introduced & implemented new acquisition channels in AUH such as; X-sell, Digital, road shows & Citi At Work
(Corporate Sales)
Business Manager, Merchant Acquiring Unit & Strategic Partnership Alliances/ Rewards 2005 – 2008
Citibank Pakistan
Key Responsibilities:
 Achieved MSV growth of 15% YoY through various initiatives and focusing on emerging SME segment
 Established key partnership within the Public Sector for electronic payment gateway service; e.g. Air Blue, Security
Exchange Commission of Pakistan, Pakistan TeleCom Ltd, Water & Power Development Authority, Shaheen
Airways resulted in e-commerce growth of 40% in the portfolio in the first year
 Led fraud preventive initiatives at POS and control Cybercrimes in conjunction with State Bank of Pakistan and with
other local and foreign commercial banks. Also, initiated Best Practices with the help of VISA and drive Industry level
educational seminars
 Market penetration initiatives e.g. introduction of new pricing model (tier based) resulted in improvement in market
penetration by 7% within one year of change
 Identified new POS vendor opportunities, negotiated with domestic partners resulted in annual 20% expense
reduction e.g. Orix
 As a Management Committee Member, initiated and executed the strategic penetration in the market through
territorial focus - This project facilitated both business and policy in right sourcing which resulted in nearly 6%
increase in sales
2004 – 2005 Assistant Manager, Personal Loans Unit – Citibank Pakistan
2002 – 2003 Territory Manager, Customer & Channel Development – Unilever Pakistan
2001 – 2002 Relationship Officer, Merchant Acquiring Unit – Citibank Pakistan
Professional Qualifications:
Leadership Level I and II (Certified at Citi)
Fraud and Cyber Crime
International VISA “Chargeback Training, Operational & Electronic Payment/ Merchant Acquiring
International MasterCard “Fraud Prevention” & New Product Development
Citibank “Consumer Credit Course”
Super Manager (Norvitus)
Train the Trainer (Citibank)
Leadership Workshops (Mashreqbank & Citibank)
Academic Qualifications:
Masters in Business Administration MBA, Institute of Business Management IOBM
Bachelors in Business Administration BBA Hons, Institute of Business Management IOBM
Additional Information:
UK Resident (BRP)
IT Skills: Excellent knowledge of Microsoft Office, complex MIS and financial modelling.
Languages Spoken: Fluent in English, Urdu and can read Arabic
Interests: Community Services
References Available Upon Request