Nikhil Kawishwar

About Nikhil Kawishwar

I am a seasoned financial services strategy and transformation consultant with ~9 years of experience across top-tier consulting and global payments advisory, specializing over time in digital payments, transaction approval optimization, fraud, risk, and operating‑model transformation.I began my career in management consulting, working on growth strategy, cost transformation, and digital proposition design for financial services and fintech clients. This foundation shaped my ability to approach complex problems with structured thinking, commercial rigor, and execution focus.Over the last several years, I have deepened my specialization in the global card payments ecosystem, advising issuers, acquirers, fintechs, and merchants across transaction approval optimization (Authentication & Authorization), fraud strategy, and digital payments enablement.My experience spans EEMEA, SEA, and APAC, where I have led engagements covering- Issuer & Acquirer Approval Optimization (Authentication and Authorization Flow)- Fraud Strategy, Governance & Target Operating Models - Digital Payments & Tokenization Adoption - Product Commercialization & EnablementI have led and delivered engagements resulting in- €1M+ and USD 1M+ revenue and uplift opportunities - Material approval uplift with fraud reduction - Enterprise-scale fraud and digital operating modelsI combine classic strategy consulting and data-driven decision making skills with hands‑on payments and risk domain expertise, helping clients deliver measurable business impact spanning from approval uplift (revenue growth) and fraud reduction (cost reduction) to scalable digital operating models.I am particularly interested in Dubai and broader EEMEA roles at the intersection of strategy, payments, risk, and digital banking, working with banks, fintechs, and ecosystem players to build resilient, future‑ready payment platforms.

Experience

1. Engagement Manager

   Mastercard

   Mar 2026 — Present · Gurugram, IN

   Leading payments and risk transformation engagements, owning client engagement and delivery oversight. Focused on Transaction Approval, Fraud & Risk Optimization and Digital Payments Innovation across tokenisation and emerging commerce models.

Education

• Savitribai Phule Pune University

  Bachelor of Technology - B.Tech, Computer Science Engineering

  2011 — 2015

• Management Development Institute, Gurgaon

  Master of Business Administration - MBA, Marketing & Finance

  2018 — 2020

Skills

• C
• Management
• C
• Microsoft Office
• Data Analysis
• Java
• Html
• Microsoft Word
• Research
• Sql
• Powerpoint
• Microsoft Excel
• Windows