Head of Payments, Acquiring & Cards

Industry: Banking

Job Summary

Our client is an International Commercial Bank seeking a highly experienced and strategic professional to lead its Payments, Acquiring, and Cards business. The role will focus on strengthening the Bank's payment ecosystem, driving commercial growth, and improving profitability across Retail, SME, and Commercial Banking.

The Head of Payments, Acquiring & Cards will lead and institutionalize the Bank's integrated payments business covering Merchant Acquiring (including Payment Facilitators), Card Issuance (Debit & Credit), ATM & Acceptance Infrastructure, and Scheme & Network Governance.

This role carries full P&L accountability and is responsible for transforming Payments into a profitable, compliant, and sustainable business franchise while integrating merchant, consumer, and network ecosystems.

Mai Responsibilities:

Merchant Acquiring & Ecosystem Management

• Build and manage a commercially sustainable merchant portfolio.
• Oversee Payment Facilitator (PF) onboarding and sub-merchant governance.
• Ensure compliance with MCC standards and payment scheme requirements.
• Lead POS, QR, and SoftPOS deployment strategies and profitability.
• Optimize MDR pricing and merchant profitability.

Card Issuance & Portfolio Growth

• Define and execute Debit and Credit Card growth strategies.
• Improve card activation, usage, and spend per active card.
• Optimize issuer interchange economics and portfolio profitability.
• Align card growth with merchant acceptance expansion.

Scheme & Network Relationship Management

• Manage relationships with Visa and Mastercard.
• Oversee scheme monitoring, compliance, and remediation programs.
• Negotiate processing economics and maintain strong network credibility.

ATM & Infrastructure Management

• Optimize ATM fleet performance and channel profitability.
• Ensure ROI discipline across payment infrastructure investments.

Payments Analytics & Governance

• Monitor payment business profitability and unit economics.
• Conduct profitability analysis by merchant segment, channel, geography, and card type.
• Establish pricing structures and margin governance controls.

Main Requirements:

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Finance, Banking, Economics, or related field.
• Minimum 15–20 years of experience in Payments, Merchant Acquiring, and Card Issuance.
• Strong experience managing Visa and Mastercard relationships.
• Deep understanding of MDR, interchange, payment economics, and acquiring business.
• Experience managing Payment Facilitators and merchant governance.
• Proven commercial leadership and full P&L management experience.
• Experience in the Cambodian banking market is highly preferred.
• Strong negotiation, analytical, and stakeholder management skills.

Preferred Profile

• Senior Payments leader from a leading commercial bank or regional financial institution.
• Strong exposure to acquiring business, ecosystem monetization, and payment network management.