Zahir Khoja | General Manager of North America - Afterpay
Zahir Khoja is the General Manager for Afterpay North America, the leading retail installment payments
innovator and one of the fastest growing global fintech companies.
With more than 20 years of experience in sales, Zahir comes to Afterpay from Mastercard where he
served as the Executive Vice President, Global Merchant Solutions and Partnerships from 2017 - 2021. In
this capacity, Zahir was responsible for developing and executing solutions that enabled new growth
opportunities for stakeholders such as acquirers, merchants, consumers, government and other
ecosystem partners through the use of innovative payment solutions and enhanced consumer
experiences.
Zahir joined Mastercard in 2012 as the Chief Executive Officer for Mobile Payment Solutions (MPS), a
joint venture between Mastercard and SMART Hub Inc. where he was responsible for deploying
mobile solutions in Brazil, Argentina, Egypt, Indonesia, Philippines, India and Turkey. In 2015, Zahir
relocated to Dubai to lead the Middle East and Africa Market Development team for Mastercard.
Prior to Mastercard, Zahir served as the Executive Director for Mobile Commerce at Roshan,
Afghanistan’s leading total communications provider and President for M-Paisa, Afghanistan’s first
commercially licensed mobile money service. This has earned him global recognition for his contribution
for driving financial inclusion in the country. He has also won several awards for his work in Afghanistan,
including the 2011 GSMA Best Mobile Money for the Unbanked. Zahir was also instrumental in setting
up the Afghanistan Mobile Money Operators Association (AMMOA) with support from USAID and the
Central Bank of Afghanistan. Prior to this, Zahir held several additional senior-level positions at Virgin
Mobile, TELUS and Pepsi Cola in Canada.
Zahir currently serves as a board advisor for Kudos, an online social recognition platform and a board
advisor for Vintro, a technology platform that bridges the gap between entrepreneurs and leaders.
Zahir currently lives in San Francisco, California and is married to Nafissa with two amazing daughters,
Khaliya and Inarah. In his spare time, he enjoys travelling the world, cooking, ice skating, and is an avid
fan of the NHL Vancouver Canucks!
