Risk Director - Acquiring

Job Title: Risk Director - Acquiring

Term: 12 months

Location: Hanoi, Vietnam (on-site and client office)

Division: Acquiring (Cards & Payments)

Reports to: TBC

PURPOSE OF THE PROJECT

As the Risk Director Acquiring, the position holder will possess deep, hands-on experience across the full merchant risk lifecycle. This includes developing and executing acquiring risk strategies, as well as implementing the corresponding policies and procedures that guide risk management. The role requires expertise in merchant underwriting and onboarding processes to ensure proper assessment and approval of merchants. It also involves ongoing merchant activity monitoring and management to detect, prevent, and respond to risky behaviours. Strong knowledge of dispute management is essential to manage chargebacks and related issues effectively. In addition, the director must understand acquiring systems and technologies that support risk operations and decision making. Including managing third-party relationships, such as payment facilitators to ensure compliance, oversight, and alignment with overall acquiring risk standards and objectives.

Core Responsibilities and Accountabilities:

• Establish and maintain strategic risk policy frameworks, including the development and enhancement of risk policies, procedures, governance structures, and control mechanisms supporting merchant underwriting and onboarding.
• Define and manage risk appetite and exposure, including performing exposure calculations, conducting periodic portfolio reviews, and recommending actions to optimize portfolio risk performance.
• Oversee and enhance ongoing monitoring activities, ensuring effective deposit monitoring, fraud monitoring, dormancy and delinquency tracking, collections oversight, and chargeback monitoring, with timely implementation of required process or control changes.
• Lead scheme compliance efforts, advising clients on card scheme rules, regulatory requirements, and best practices for merchant acquirers, and ensuring alignment with industry standards.
• Drive fraud decisioning tool enhancements, owning the development and finalisation of Business Requirements Documents (BRDs) for updates or improvements to fraud decisioning platforms, and ensuring successful delivery in partnership with technical and operational stakeholders.

Knowledge and Experience:

• 12+ years of experience in payments, merchant acquiring, with strong focus on operational setup and execution as it relates to merchant lifecycle risk management.
• Relevant Bachelors level qualification, MBA preferred.
• Demonstrated ability to influence client organisations.
• Strong analytical and quantitative skills, ability to measure the financial/non-financial impact to a client.
• Conversant in fraud risk management systems and technology.
• Entrepreneurial mindset energised by the possibility of building a new business.
• Knowledge of the competitive environment across segments.
• Collaborative approach with internal and external partners.
• Resilient in navigating through ambiguity and translating the theoretical to applicable.
• A growth mindset that embraces creativity & optimism.

Mandatory Skills:

• Expertise in reviewing merchant portfolios, identifying potential risks, and implementing appropriate risk mitigation strategies.
• Deep understanding of the competitive environment, including the ability to shape differentiated strategies while navigating complex organisational structures.
• Ability to understand client needs, communicate effectively across varying levels of technical and executive audiences, build strong relationships, and influence both client and internal teams.

Preferred Skills:

• Managing projects and end-to-end programmes, including creating presentations, materials, and driving cross-functional collaboration.
• An understanding of payment systems, digital platforms, APIs, system workflows, security basics, and industry technologies.