Mastercard has announced the appointment of Rajesh Mani as the new Country Manager for Sri Lanka & Maldives. Rajesh took office earlier in March this year, succeeding Santosh Kumar, who has transitioned to another position within Mastercard.

In his new role, Rajesh will bring over two decades of extensive background in the payments and fintech sectors to bear, along with his experience in government engagement, to further cultivate Mastercard’s position as a preferred partner for government, financial institutions, digital players and merchants in Sri Lanka & Maldives - important markets for Mastercard, given their growth potential and the Sri Lankan government’s supportive policy pushes towards digitalization. 

In his last position in Singapore, Rajesh led Mastercard’s delivery of domestic payment system infrastructure enhancements in Indonesia, which won the global CEO award in 2018. In addition, he actively led a number of Mastercard’s high impact digital partnerships with key digital clients in Southeast Asia, including Grab, Gojek and Shopee. 

Rajesh will report to to Vikas Varma, Chief Operating Officer, South Asia, Mastercard. Speaking about the appointment, Vikas said: “I’m very confident that Rajesh’s multi-faceted payments background will be of great value to our customers, partners and the team in Sri Lanka & Maldives. As these markets continue to develop and evolve rapidly, Rajesh is very well placed to support our partners towards building a vibrant digital ecosystem in these geographies.”

“These are challenging times for both countries and I am assuming responsibility at a time when Mastercard has a substantial role to play in supporting the government and communities we operate in. Sri Lanka & Maldives are in a state of significant momentum for Mastercard. Over the years, we have built up a strong base of active digital engagements with key partners, in addition to expanding our powerful suite of data analytics advisory services. Coupled with our core strengths as a payments technology innovator, I believe we are very well positioned to bring deep and broad value to the overall ecosystem, especially in these times as both nations fight the socio-economic impact of COVID-19. I am honored to have this opportunity, and I’m looking forward to working with the government, all of our customers, partners and stakeholders to support Sri Lanka & Maldives’ vison of digital transformation, financial inclusion for citizens and their overall evolution towards cashless economies,” said Rajesh Mani, Country Manager, Sri Lanka & Maldives, Mastercard.

Rajesh has been with Mastercard for over six years, in both in-market as well as regional roles. Before heading to Singapore, Rajesh was Mastercard’s account relationship lead for South India and parts of West India and was instrumental in establishing Mastercard’s Bangalore office. Prior to Mastercard, Rajesh held leadership positions at Airtel, American Express and ITC, and has also been a successful entrepreneur.