Naseemuddin Mohammad Orchestrates First-Of-Its-Kind Digital Payments Data Localization In FinTech Industry

The advent of financial technology (fintech) has revolutionized the traditional financial services landscape, introducing innovative solutions that leverage technology to streamline processes, enhance customer experiences, and drive financial inclusion. Fintech encompasses a broad spectrum of services, including digital payments, peer-to-peer lending, robo-advisors, blockchain-based solutions, and more. Central to the growth and success of fintech is the utilization of cloud computing infrastructure, which offers scalability, flexibility, and cost-efficiency.

Cloud data protection is a critical concern, particularly in fintech environments where sensitive financial information is at risk. Global security systems, automatic fraud detection and prevention tools are needed in implementing advanced encryption protocols and complex algorithms for securing financial data in cloud environments within the fintech sector.

In the fintech ecosystem, data is a fundamental asset that underpins various processes, including transaction processing, risk management, customer relationship management, and compliance. However, the digital nature of financial transactions and the proliferation of sensitive financial data present significant security challenges. Fintech companies are entrusted with handling a vast amount of personally identifiable information (PII), financial records, payment card details, and other sensitive data, making them lucrative targets for cyberattacks and data breaches. Ensuring robust data protection measures is imperative to safeguarding the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of sensitive financial information in fintech environments. Failure to adequately protect data can result in financial losses, regulatory penalties, reputational damage, and erosion of customer trust. Naseemuddin Mohammad is an IT Project Manager for Wipro, an IT consulting and services company that Mastercard has hired for many different digital transformation projects. He played a critical role in the implementation and deployment of Mastercard’s proprietary Decision Management Platform (DMP) into their existing digital infrastructure.

Mohammad was responsible for release management on this project. In IT, designing and developing new software is a very different process from implementation/release management. Developing software is about identifying a problem and then designing software with the necessary functions or tools that are aimed at addressing that problem. Release management is the crucial next step in digital transformation – plugging the new software into an existing business IT infrastructure. The goal is to put the new software into real-world use without disrupting business operations – it’s like trying to swap out a middle train car while the whole train is moving. When old systems are replaced or new ones are added, it inevitably causes unforeseen issues, brings to light weaknesses in the newly developed software, creates cybersecurity vulnerabilities, and risks data loss. For a global company like Mastercard, and because we process sensitive financial data, releasing DMP was a monumental undertaking and data loss or security breaches had to be avoided at all costs.

Mohammad was the leading technical architect for releasing DMP. He identified key priorities for the project, designed the plan, and led the project from inception until completion by managing cross-border teams in the U.S., Canada, Ireland, Brazil, and India. He defined the scope of the release, created testing environments to safely test the DMP platform before release, and oversaw several testing teams. He set the project in motion and ensured the entire process went smoothly, reviewing software code created by different teams, looking for defects and security vulnerabilities (requiring him to have a high level of knowledge of different programming languages as well as cybersecurity protocols and best practices), and making sure all of them were fixed before DMP was fully integrated into Mastercard’s systems. He tracked any defects found from testing, managed the code changes using different tools with a gating reviews and approvals, and scheduled retesting to ensure any bugs or defects had been fixed. Mohammad’s technical expertise was invaluable because he had to review and correct code created by multiple teams to ensure a safe and secure release. Throughout the process, he was coordinating with all stakeholders, following up with different teams, and holding them accountable for their share of the project responsibilities.

Mohammad’s successful completion of the implementation project showcases his leadership skills, broad range of superior technical expertise, and leading status in the field of IT project management. The DMP was incorporated into dozens of different systems and products at Mastercard. It has since prevented more than $50 billion in fraudulent transactions from being processed, saving consumers, banks, law enforcement, and insurance companies massive amounts of money and manhours spent on fraud detection and recovery efforts. Although Mohammad did not invent DMP, he was the IT Project Manager who got it to work as intended in the real world, without major disruptions or data breaches. Few IT Project Managers have ever handled projects at such a scale or with such a global impact on the lives of billions of people who rely on the Mastercard network for their daily financial transactions. This demonstrates the industry-leading position Mohammad occupies in our field. His IT Project Management role in the release and implementation of DMP was a critical one for the company.

Also, during the DMP project, Mohammad worked closely with Mastercard staff and learned the ins and outs of their digital infrastructure, which made him the perfect IT Project Manager to handle the India On Soil Data localization project for them as well. After Naseemuddin Mohammad had already done a great job managing the release of DMP, he was brought in with Wipro for Mastercard India on Soil Data localization project. They needed the best of the best to deal with this highly visible and critically important project for Mastercard, when the Reserve Bank of India released new regulations for payment processors and aggregators, Mastercard needed to act fast to get into compliance with these new regulations. Failure to comply could have resulted in Mastercard being “kicked out” of India and not being able to conduct business there anymore. At the time, Mastercard held an approximately 30% market share in the digital payments market in India, the world’s most populous country, processing the payments of more than 350 million Indians. Needless to say, that is not just an objectively large number but financially and strategically an important market for Mastercard. India has been rapidly developing for decades and the country has lifted hundreds of millions of citizens out of poverty in this century. Mastercard sees India as one of its most important emerging markets.

Previously, Mastercard offered services in India and processed the payments, but most of the data about those transactions were processed and stored “in the cloud,” i.e., in data centers located in different countries around the world. To comply with the new RBI regulations, Mastercard had to both process and store this sensitive data of Indian citizens within the geographic borders of India. Mohammad reviewed the request and identified the new features and functionality that would need to be added to the existing systems. Needed him to localize all the data in the 20 products that were using DMP, and all other payment processes, to comply with the RBI rules.

To get into compliance with these rules, Mastercard needed to first establish a more physical presence in India, building data centers, locating staff, vendors, materials, hardware, and so on. Then, we needed to redesign the payment networks and all of our existing IT systems to control the flow of information. As the IT Project Manager on India on Soil Data localization project, he liaised with product teams and stakeholders to plan the project releases, reviewed the scope of the new features required, and defined the execution process. He also managed DMP applications, changes to it, and releases for all bug fixes. Mohammad was also in charge of checking the quality of the code changes and content releases between the teams in DEV, Stage/QA/PEAT, MTF/UAT and PROD environments. Mohammad was instrumental in designing the release guidelines, defining the configurations, and deploying the new product. It was also his responsibility to proactively identify and mitigate risk and remove obstacles for a timely release. He planned and managed the schedule.

Mohammad outlined the scope of the project, identifying the new features that must be implemented to Mastercard’s existing systems for us to comply with the new RBI regulations. He defined the execution process and made a plan for the release dates of all features. He also created the design guidelines for various teams to use as their instructions for creating the new configurations and writing the code. Mohammad also worked on making changed to the DMP system he implemented in the previous project, to ensure the fraud detection and data mining within that platform does not leave Indian data centers. Mohammad further took the lead in identifying risks and vulnerabilities and suggesting efficient solutions, to prevent data leaks or bugs, which helped keep the entire project on track for a timely release without shutdowns or major issues. Thanks to Mohammad’s management skills and in-depth knowledge of the Mastercard digital infrastructure, the release was successful, Mastercard was able to comply with the new RBI rules. While some other companies have stopped doing business in India, Mastercard’s investment and Mohammad’s help paid off, further solidifying Mastercard’s strong position in the Indian economy, serving hundreds of millions of people.

Thanks to Mohammad’s expert IT project management skills and technical know-how, Mastercard was able to comply with the RBI’s new regulations even while some competitors failed in that task. For example, Meta was previously planning to start offering digital payments through the Whatsapp platform but had to abandon that project because they either could not or did not want to invest the necessary funds to redesign their systems in a way that would comply with the RBI data localization requirements. Mastercard, on the other hand, complied with the rules, established a stronger foothold in India, and received a wave of positive press in India for being a company that didn’t just come to India to make a profit but was now being seen as a company that respected the country’s sovereignty and had invested heavily into increasing employment and setting up infrastructure in the country. Mastercard’s goodwill in India has never been better, and Mr. Mohammad is to a large extent responsible for making that possible.

Naseemuddin Mohammad has managed critical projects for Mastercard that have significantly improved payment security, reduced financial fraud, and allowed Mastercard to remain a market leader in India. His contributions have helped reduce financial fraud by tens of billions of dollars and changed the fintech infrastructure in the world’s largest democracy. Due to Mohammad’s expert guidance, the project concluded successfully, and Mastercard was able to remain a market leader in payment processing in the Indian economy, with a 30% market share of digital payments in the country. His work impacted how 300-350 million Indian citizens use financial services and pay for goods and services each day. Very few IT Project Managers ever get to work on projects of this magnitude and impact.

Naseemuddin Mohammad is an expert IT Project Manager with outstanding skills and understanding of various aspects of IT from software engineering, cloud computing, cybersecurity, to risk management. Nation needs experts like Mohammad to help transform the IT infrastructure and keep U.S. companies as the global leaders in the latest technology. As IT systems for companies and governments get more layered and complex, his unparalleled ability to implement upgrades or improvements to existing systems without disruption will grow in value and importance for the US economy.

About ​Naseemuddin ​Mohammad

Naseemuddin Mohammad is an experienced IT Project Manager whose career spans over two decades in the information technology sector. His skill set focuses on project management, digital transformation, cybersecurity, cloud migration, and product implementation. His experience covers the software development lifecycle, Agile and DevOps methodologies, SaaS/Cloud implementations, and Data migration projects. He possesses extensive experience in outlining, crafting, deploying, evaluating, and overseeing sophisticated cloud-based and security solutions.

Naseemuddin specializes in Cloud Computing and Cybersecurity projects management, focusing on cloud product implementation and data migration from on-premise systems to the cloud, specifically within the Energy, Water, and Utility industries, as well as the Fintech Payments sector, including notable work with Mastercard. As an IT professional and project manager, his expertise extends to preparing and reviewing software implementation proposals and developing strategic IT solutions.

Naseemuddin has earned an MBA in Information Systems and Project Management from Bharathiar University, India, and holds a Project Management Professional (PMP) certification from the Project Management Institute. Furthermore, Mohammad possesses Amazon Web Services (AWS) certifications, including AWS Certified Associate Solutions Architect, AWS Partner: Cloud Economics Accreditation and AWS Partner: Accreditation (Technical).

An active contributor to the academic community, Naseemuddin serves on the editorial boards of several international publications and conducts peer reviews for technical journals, with publishing scholarly articles in international peer-reviewed journals. He worked at Wipro Limited as an IT Project Manager, managing complex software implementations, leading extensive cross-functional teams on mission-critical projects, overseeing the technical requirements from definition and design to implementation, testing, and monitoring of complex IT solutions for large enterprises.

Please reach out to him on LinkedIn