BigPay 

Committed to our vision, our people and our customers. Rising to the challenge everyday.

Always happy to help,
Let's grow! 💪💙💪

Chief Product Officer

Chapter 3: Path to Profitability. 

Set Product culture, structures, and product operating model that allow us to improve Product Efficiency across 5+ squads in order to transition to scale up mode and reach profitability. 

Co-Led our Embedded Finance solution with one of our superstar PMs. 

Trained and coached the Product team.

Principal, Product Ways of Working

Chapter 2: Growth at All Cost. 

Led key strategic initiatives including Payout Payments APIs, Engagement and Gamification, Ministry of Finance initiatives for financial inclusion, 

Set the Product foundations for Thailand Market Expansion.

Product Lead

Chapter 1: From Zero to One. 

Built BigPay Product from scratch to multiple Geos and Business Lines, including Payments, Analytics & Remittances, across Singapore and Malaysia reaching 1 Million downloads. 

Built a strong Product and Design team of twelve and the foundations of BigPays Product Culture and Processes across the organization.

Head of Product

Purpose Driven Fintech

I speak with Founders, CEOs, and CPOs to understand the challenges of our industry and how to better build products and FinTechs with impact across customers, colleagues and profitability

I release new episodes every Tuesday and you can listen or watch in YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts or your favourite platform

Reach out to be part of the pod

Podcast Host 

PayEd - Education in Payments

Advisory Board Member

Connecting the dots in FinTech...

APAC Newsletter Contributor & News Curator

Tandem Bank

Consultant, CEO Office

Service Design Delivery Manager, CEO Office

- First member of the Banking Products team. Employee num. 18th. 
- Led credit cards design and implementation from zero to pilot launch

Product Manager, Banking Products

barclaycard

Product and Propsositions Manager Small Business Cards

Existing Customer Manager Small Business Cards

Visa

Global Client Sales Account Manager, CEMEA

Banco del Ahorro Nacional y Servicios Financieros BANSEFI

Product Development Manager

Empowering FinTech Product Leaders to navigate complexity with purpose, passion, and impactful conversations for inclusive financial well-being I Join to connect, learn, and lead the industry forward.🚀

Hello 👋 I’m a hands-on product leader with a proven track record of building and scaling digital banking solutions across multiple geographies.  I am mission driven (because money has been a pain point, and it didn’t have to be like that).

I thrive at the intersection of a fast-paced entrepreneurial culture, customer centricity, and solving real problems with actual impact.

*Results Oriented*

At BigPay, one of Southeast Asia's largest NeoBanks, I’ve helped steer our product through three critical phases: Zero to One, Growth at All Costs, and now, sustainable Path to Profitability - growing the customer base to over 1.37 million users. We are known mainly as a travel solution and increasingly becoming a day to day app. 

My expertise spans from product design, delivery and growth, team building, and driving the cultural shift and ways of working necessary to go from startup to scaleup. 

At Tandem Bank, I helped build from scratch, and worked with Tandem's CEO on strategic initiatives and Board management. 

*Achievements & Impact*

1. Product Growth & Innovation: 

Led the development of credit cards, BigPay’s prepaid card with its app, remittances, a payments API, an embedded finance solution for airasia, and engagement initiatives to meet evolving needs.

2. Strategic Planning: 

Collaborated with the CEO and ExCo to shape product strategy, aligning squads on growth, innovation goals, OKRs, and resource planning.

3. Expansion: 

Launched BigPay’s product in Malaysia, Singapore, and empowered teams to launch in Thailand. 

4. Cultural Transformation: 

Established a strong Product Operating Model, guiding BigPay’s shift from startup to scaleup.

5. Team Building: 

Recruited and mentored a high-performing product and design team, setting a scalable foundation.

*Knowledge Sharing*

I host the Purpose Driven FinTech podcast, where I interview FinTech Founders, CEOs, and leaders on how to build differentiated FinTech products that drive 10x impact. We cover customer needs, solving pain points, and leadership insights.

I’m keen to explore:
- Incorporating AI into existing workflows
- Building AI-powered products
- Staying at the forefront of AI innovations

I’m recognized as one of Singapore’s #Fintech65 Product Leaders and Women in FinTech, I’ve spoken at Money2020, and am an active mentor for women in Fintech and new to FinTech.

*Let’s Connect*
 
If you’re a leader, founder, or innovator passionate about transforming FinTech and driving real impact—I’d love to chat!

We can ideate, collaborate, podcast, mentor & coach.

Monica

Monica Millares 🎙️

Paysafe Group

Monitor and analyzes daily merchant batch / transaction activity to detect irregular patterns in transaction activity, taking appropriate action to mitigate loss.

Investigate high risk / suspicious transaction activity with merchants, issuing banks, and cardholders.

Communicate with merchants, agents and Independent Sales Offices as needed to verify activity observed through transaction and batch review.

Provide education on proper card acceptance and fraud prevention best practices where applicable.

Recommend funding holds / releases and report and investigate any potential losses as appropriate.

Maintain a constant state of awareness with respect to economic conditions and leverages that knowledge in decisions / recommendations.

Collaborate with peers and leadership to implement system / process improvements.

Liaison with sponsor banks for investigations and chargeback program management as required for role.

Performs other critical job functions as assigned

Merchant Risk Investigator 

Various Institutions in Malaysia and Overseas

•	Interprete / translate for different institutions: UNHCR, International Rescue Committee, Supreme Court...etc.

Main customers include: Chambers Malaysia; ADR Media; Ringo.

•	Provide full consultation for international students to study in Malaysian universities (programme selection, Admission procedures, Visa application, Registration,... etc).

Main partners include: UIA; UM; UPM; USM; UTM; UKM; USIM; UNISZA; Westminster; SEGI; etc...

•	Translate companies’ products portfolios, brochures, resumes, menus, tourists’ guides, financial reports etc.

Main Customers include: Nandos; Pavilion; UEM; Legoland; AirAsia...etc.

• Co-Founder of Everstudy (2014 - 2016) : A student Agency that help students from MENA region to study overseas; So far; more than 100 students being sent to prestigious universities in Malaysia; Japan; China and Europe. 

• Co-Founder of Bledbus (2016 - 2018): the first integrated bus booking platform in Africa. The implementation stage was initiated in Algeria.

Entrepreneur | Consultant | Translator | Student Recruiter (Freelance)

BigPay | Challenge Banking

-Perform investigations to identify money laundering and fraud activities.
-Analyse fraud trends and institute appropriate proactive actions to control fraud losses taking into consideration risk versus customer impact.
-Review and update existing Fraud and AML risk policies and procedures.
-Provide training for new and experienced staff on procedures and tools.
-Keep current on fraud and AML trends for the payment industry.
-Ensure activities are in compliance with legal / regulatory requirements and BigPay policy and procedure.

Fraud and AML Analyst 

- Evaluate new account documentation.
- Conduct research to verify information on new account documents.
- Ensure that new account holders are not high-risk customers and do not have restrictions or negative activities that would make impact their opening a new account.
- Analyze existing policies and procedures relating to new customer research and account analysis and make suggestions for improvements to these processes.
- Generate reports covering the findings of these analyses and meet with senior management staff to review existing and proposed procedures.
- Analyze sales and market trends and observe customer behavior.
- Liaise regularly with marketing, product and customer service teams to report these trends and seek ways to improve the customer experience and draw new clients to the company

Onboarding Analyst

PayPal

Currently I am Interim Subject Matter Expert in charge of providing guidance to a group of 15 Teammates.

-Review, validate and action KYC/B documentation, information, research for new and existing clients and make sure accounts are in compliance with PayPal policies.
-Primary contact for all Arabic speaking markets for KYC/B related tasks with a key focus on first time resolution.
-Responsible for working unauthorized claims, service requests and other item processing related to Spoof, Credit Card, ACH, IP Matches and other Fraud indicator queues on a daily basis.
-Effectively identify problems and issues by performing relevant research using the appropriate tools.
-Knowledge of the full AML cycle including, CIP, CDD and EDD.
-Expert in KYC regulatory requirements with a strong understanding of payments industry and products.

Key achievements:

 - Various process improvements suggested and implemented led to decreasing the inquiry rate by 50 percent for MENA workflow.
 - Completed the onboarding process (KYC) for large merchants in MENA region (400 Accounts in two months) with focus on first time resolution. 
 - Certified Mentor in PayPal. Trained and mentored new hires internally (Kuala Lumpur) and externally (Dublin, Chennai and Tunis) 
 - Multiple Best Employee awards (Best Average Handling Time, Zero Error and Highest volume, various Innovation Awards) 
- Improving & Enhancing the current SOPs with policy team (MENA region) to strike a balanced working procedure with audit requirement.
- Quality Assurance. Coaching, mentoring and performing quality checks for the new hires. 10 samples from each of them. 
- Created the MENA quick reference guide (best practices) for the departments to reduce the error rates/ inquiry rate by more than 50%. 
- Documenting findings in the manual and automated process case management system and prepare reports to management as required.

Senior Risk and Compliance Specialist

-Perform verification and Translation of various documents. 
-Review, validate and action KYC/B documentation, information, research for new and existing clients and make sure accounts are in compliance with PayPal policies.
-Primary contact for all Arabic speaking markets for KYC/B related tasks with a key focus on first time resolution.
-Effectively identify problems and issues by performing relevant research using the appropriate tools.

Key achievements:

 - Various process improvements suggested and implemented led to decreasing the inquiry rate by 50 percent for MENA workflow.
 - Completed the onboarding process (KYC) for large merchants in MENA region (400 Accounts in two months) with focus on first time resolution. 
 - Multiple Best Employee awards (Best Average Handling Time, Zero Error and Highest volume, various Innovation Awards) 
- Documenting findings in the manual and automated process case management system and prepare reports to management as required.

Risk and Compliance Specialist

Scicom MSC Bhd

•	Assist in maintaining policy information content within the Chat tool.
•	Assist Live Chat Ambassadors to deliver reliable and accurate information.
•	 Handle and process social media complaints and constantly follow-up with the customer and the relevant department to resolve the enquiry.
•	Provide troubleshooting assistance with the regards to the different issues with companies’ range of products.
•	Work with customer service manager and other departments to ensure proper customer service is being delivered.
•.    Translate, proofread, and review the translation from French, Arabic to English vise-versa.
•.     Receive real-time chat requests from customers on different business-related questions.

Live Chat/ Social Media Executive

•       Process KYC/ Legal name change for Individuals and Entities.
•       Answer different inquiries related to policies and procedures and ensure customer compliance to terms of use.
•	Make outbound calls to customer with regards to different concerns
•	Answer customer calls and/or respond to emails in a timely and professional manner.
•	Provide the customers with all the required information in relation to the clients products and services.
•	Timely follow up with customers requiring further assistance and escalations.
•	Assist with placement of orders, refunds, return or exchange products.

Customer Service /Compliance Executive

Danone Dairy

The Job was on Part time basis, 

• Liaising with staff, customers, managers, suppliers and transport companies.
• Keeping stock control systems up to date and making sure inventories are accurate.
• Producing regular reports and statistics on a daily, weekly and monthly basis.
• Organizing the recruitment and training of new staff, monitor staff performance and progress.
• Obtain quotes and negotiate comparative prices, order and launch new products from vendors, and work within budget constraints and product shortage.
• Ensure that all inventory transactions are properly documented in accordance with standard operating procedures.
• Planning, coordinating and monitoring the reception, order placement and delivery of purchased orders.
• Check and prepare customer, delivery and pickup orders or requisitions to determine the products to be moved, gathered or distributed and/or delivered (load, pack, range, label, ship).
• Communicate clearly the progress of monthly/quarterly initiatives to internal and external stakeholders.

Area Sales Assistant

Accomplished analytical and passionate problem solver with the ability to read and interpret complex regulations and make accurate operational decisions regarding them along with the skills and abilities necessary to develop and implement policies, procedures and programs that will ensure compliance with existing regulations and best practices. On a personal level, I am proactive, motivated and have a high level of customer focus orientation. 


#Compliance #KYC/B  #CDD/EDD  #EKYC #Risk #Sales #Business development #Education #Customer Service #technology #startup #Policy #product #fintech  #technology

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Monica Millares 🎙️

Med Bouafia

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