Manager - Payments, Partnerships & Fintech Ecosystems (Merchant Operations & Support)

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Functional

Merchant Onboarding & Documentation

• Oversee the end-to-end merchant onboarding process from application receipt to activation.

• Ensure completeness, accuracy, and compliance of merchant documentation in accordance with internal policies, regulatory requirements, and risk guidelines.

• Perform onboarding quality assurance reviews and ensure adherence to established turnaround times.

• Continuously improve onboarding workflows to enhance merchant experience and operational efficiency.

• Maintain merchant records and documentation repositories with proper governance and audit readiness.

Terminal Inventory Management & Deployment

• Manage the inventory lifecycle of payment terminals and related devices.

• Monitor terminal stock levels and forecast inventory requirements to support business growth.

• Coordinate terminal provisioning, configuration, deployment, replacement, retrieval, and disposal activities.

• Ensure accurate asset tracking and inventory reconciliation.

• Work closely with vendors and logistics partners to ensure timely deployment and maintenance activities.

• Establish controls to minimize asset losses and inventory discrepancies.

Merchant Enquiries & Support

• Lead merchant support operations to ensure timely resolution of merchant enquiries, incidents, and operational requests.

• Act as escalation point for complex merchant issues and service disruptions.

• Monitor support performance metrics and customer satisfaction levels.

• Drive root cause analysis and corrective actions for recurring merchant issues.

• Ensure effective communication with merchants regarding operational matters, service updates, and issue resolution.

Vendor & Third-Party Operations Support

• Manage operational relationships with external service providers, payment processors, terminal vendors, logistics providers, and outsourced partners.

• Monitor vendor performance against contractual obligations and agreed service levels.

• Coordinate issue resolution and operational escalations with third-party partners.

• Participate in vendor reviews, performance assessments, and service improvement initiatives.

• Ensure vendors comply with regulatory, security, and operational requirements.

SLA & Turnaround Time (TAT) Management

• Establish, monitor, and report operational service level agreements and turnaround time performance.

• Develop operational dashboards and performance reporting mechanisms.

• Identify bottlenecks and implement process improvements to improve operational efficiency.

• Ensure operational KPIs are consistently achieved across all merchant operations functions.

• Lead service recovery initiatives where service levels are breached.

Regulatory Reporting & Compliance

• Ensure timely and accurate submission of operational and regulatory reports.

• Maintain compliance with regulatory requirements, scheme rules, and internal governance standards.

• Support regulatory audits, internal audits, and compliance reviews.

• Maintain operational policies, procedures, and controls documentation.

• Ensure proper record management and audit trail maintenance.

Merchant & Vendor Payment Management

• Manage operational processes relating to merchant payments, reimbursements, incentives, commissions, terminal charges, and vendor payments.

• Ensure payment processing is accurate, timely, and properly authorized.

• Perform reconciliation and exception management activities.

• Investigate and resolve payment discrepancies and operational exceptions.

• Collaborate with Finance teams to ensure payment governance and controls are maintained.

Operational Excellence & Continuous Improvement

• Identify opportunities for automation, digitization, and process optimization.

• Lead operational improvement projects and workflow enhancements.

• Implement best practices to improve service quality, efficiency, and scalability.

• Support new product launches and operational readiness initiatives.

• Drive operational risk mitigation and control enhancements.

Managerial

• Lead, coach, and develop the Merchant Operations & Support team.

• Set clear performance objectives, KPIs, and development plans for team members.

• Conduct regular performance reviews, coaching sessions, and capability-building initiatives.

• Foster a high-performance, customer-centric, and service-oriented culture.

• Ensure appropriate workforce planning, resource allocation, and succession planning.

• Manage workload distribution to ensure operational efficiency and SLA adherence.

• Promote continuous learning, knowledge sharing, and cross-functional collaboration.

• Build team capabilities in merchant operations, compliance, customer service, and operational excellence.

• Drive employee engagement and retention initiatives within the team.

Organizational

• Collaborate effectively with Sales, Product, Risk, Compliance, Finance, Technology, Procurement, and Customer Service teams.

• Support organizational strategic initiatives and transformation programs.

• Ensure compliance with corporate governance, regulatory requirements, and internal policies.

• Represent Merchant Operations in internal committees, project workgroups, and stakeholder discussions.

• Contribute to budget planning, cost optimization, and operational efficiency initiatives.

• Promote a culture of integrity, accountability, collaboration, and customer focus.

• Act as a key stakeholder in business continuity planning and operational resilience initiatives.

• Support enterprise-wide audit, compliance, and risk management activities.

Education/Qualification

• Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration, Finance, Banking, Operations Management, Information Systems, or a related discipline.
• Professional certifications in Project Management, Operations Management, Lean Six Sigma, or Payments Industry certifications would be an added advantage.
• Strong understanding of payment acquiring, merchant services, card acceptance, and digital payments ecosystem preferred.

Experience

• Minimum 8-12 years of relevant experience in Merchant Acquiring, Payment Operations, Banking Operations, FinTech Operations, or Transaction Banking.
• At least 3-5 years in a leadership or supervisory role managing operational teams.
• Proven experience managing merchant onboarding, merchant servicing, payment operations, terminal management, and vendor relationships.
• Experience in regulatory reporting, audit management, and operational governance.
• Demonstrated track record in operational transformation, process improvement, and service delivery management.
• Experience working with payment schemes, acquiring systems, terminal management systems, and merchant support environments is highly preferred.

Technical Skills

• Strong knowledge of merchant acquiring operations and payment acceptance ecosystem.
• Understanding of card schemes, payment processing, terminal operations, and merchant servicing.
• Strong operational risk and control management knowledge.
• Experience with workflow management systems, CRM platforms, and operational reporting tools.
• Advanced Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint, and data analysis capabilities.

Leadership Skills

• Strong people leadership and team management skills.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.
• Strong stakeholder management and influencing capabilities.
• Excellent decision-making and problem-solving skills.

Core Competencies

• Customer-centric mindset.
• Operational excellence orientation.
• Analytical and detail-oriented.
• Strong communication and presentation skills.
• Process improvement and continuous improvement mindset.
• High level of integrity, accountability, and ownership.
• Ability to drive execution while balancing governance and compliance requirements.

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