Head of Payments

Our client is seeking a Payments expert to lead the operational buildout, compliance oversight, and performance of its payments business. Our client owns a bank and is building a proprietary payments gateway that connects directly to the card brands. The company is a SaaS solution that serves multiple vertical markets, creating a need for a payments leader who understands gateway infrastructure, card brand relationships, card brand compliance, and scalable payment operations. This person will partner closely with Engineering, Finance, Legal, Risk, Support, and executive leadership to build a compliant payments environment that supports long-term growth.

What You Will Do:

• Oversee the buildout of a proprietary payments gateway that connects directly to the card brands.
• Serve as the internal payments expert for card brand rules, network requirements, compliance standards, registration requirements, and operating procedures.
• Build and manage direct relationships with card brands, processors, service partners, suppliers, and internal bank stakeholders.
• Lead the development and expansion of a centralized payments platform serving a SaaS solution across multiple vertical markets.
• Partner with Engineering on payment architecture, gateway functionality, platform reliability, and operational scalability.
• Define and maintain policies, controls, documentation, and procedures tied to payment operations, card brand compliance, processor requirements, and risk management.
• Ensure compliance with applicable regulations, card network rules, PCI standards, AML, KYC, fraud prevention practices, and security requirements.
• Identify operational issues, compliance gaps, processor risks, and process inefficiencies that limit scale or increase exposure.
• Partner with Legal, Risk, Finance, Product, Engineering, and business leaders to support compliant payments growth.
• Define, track, and report payment KPIs, financial metrics, compliance indicators, and operational performance metrics.
• Manage processor, card brand, and vendor requirements, including reviews, reporting, issue resolution, and ongoing performance management.
• Build scalable tools, documentation, reporting processes, and operating procedures to support the payments business.

What You Bring:

• Experience building and scaling payment products, platforms, proprietary gateways, or centralized payments operations.
• Direct relationships with major card brands.
• Strong understanding of card brand rules, compliance, certification, registration, operating requirements, and network standards.
• Experience supporting or building a payments gateway, acquiring platform, or direct card brand connectivity.
• Experience overseeing payment operations, reconciliation, reporting, onboarding, support, chargebacks, payouts, and processor requirements.
• Knowledge of payment flows, payment architecture, integrations, pricing structures, card networks, card present and card not present payments, and alternative payment methods.
• Experience managing processors, service partners, suppliers, card brands, and internal bank stakeholders.
• Experience with fraud controls, compliance, PCI standards, network rules, AML, and KYC.
• Cross-functional experience with Product, Engineering, Finance, Legal, Risk, Support, and executive leadership.