MasterCard is appointing Philip Panaino as its new division president for South Africa, effective from 6^th August (view press release). Based in Johannesburg, Panaino will be responsible for the company’s performance while ensuring the continued provision of electronic solutions to customers and cardholders across the country. He takes over from Anna Jones who has been appointed VP of emerging payments for MasterCard across the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region.

Previously, Panaino was COO at Smartec Technologies, a payments service technology organisation that provides 24 hour payment, pre-payment and ATM solutions. In this position he oversaw the development of acquisitions in new transaction flows and consumer payment capabilities including enhanced self-service, m-payments and contactless payment solutions.