Rufaida Hamilton

Head of Payments from Standard Bank

Rufaida has been Head of Payments, South Africa at Standard Bank since 2022 and is responsible for developing the strategic direction on payments, including driving payments strategy and execution, managing and growing payments partnerships and the bank’s external relationships across the payments industry stakeholders and regulators. Execution of the payments strategy and the delivery of payment services for the bank across all business units is also a key responsibility, with oversight and involvement in domestic and international payments settlement, payments solution design consultancy, and payments policy compliance.

Rufaida’s journey spans two other leading South African financial institutions, where she has previously held various roles, from frontline operations to board directorships and strategy formulation.
Rufaida has consistently featured strongly in the South African banking and payments industry, assuming lead roles in various strategic industry initiatives.

A constant focus throughout her career has been driving progress on inclusion and diversity particularly in the payments industry. roles on various advisory boards, including Women in Payments (EMEA), Currency Research and Payments Association of South Africa (Industry Body Programme), where I contribute strategic insights to drive innovation and inclusivity in payments. I continue to serve as a mentor on various mentorship programmes.