We’re supporting a growing international fintech company in hiring an experienced Head of Risk to lead and further develop the company’s risk management function during an important stage of business growth.
The company operates in the acquiring and payments space, providing payment solutions to merchants across international markets. As the business continues to scale, the risk function will play a critical role in supporting sustainable growth, strengthening merchant risk management, and ensuring robust financial, operational, and regulatory controls.
This role offers the opportunity to shape and develop a scalable risk management framework, influence merchant onboarding and portfolio strategy, and strengthen fraud prevention, chargeback management, and compliance with Visa and Mastercard requirements.
Working closely with executive leadership and teams across Compliance, AML, Operations, Finance, Sales, and Technology, the Head of Risk will have significant influence on how the company balances commercial growth with effective risk management.
This opportunity is well suited for an experienced payments or acquiring risk professional who enjoys building processes, taking ownership of strategic decisions, and helping shape the risk infrastructure of a growing international fintech company.
Location: Remote
Employment Type: Full-Time
Product: Acquiring / Payment Processing
Focus: Merchant Risk, Underwriting, Fraud Prevention & Portfolio Management
Language: Fluent English required
Compensation: Competitive, depending on experience and expertise
What You’ll Do
- Lead and develop the Risk Department, including risk analysts and monitoring specialists
- Develop and implement the company’s acquiring risk strategy
- Establish and maintain merchant risk management policies, procedures, and underwriting standards
- Make risk decisions regarding merchant onboarding, restrictions, reserve requirements, processing limits, and account termination in line with the company’s risk appetite
- Assess and approve merchants across diverse risk verticals, business models, and international markets
- Monitor merchant portfolio quality and proactively identify emerging financial, operational, and reputational risks
- Monitor fraud levels, chargeback ratios, transaction decline rates, and financial losses across the merchant portfolio
- Manage reserves, security deposits, rolling reserves, processing limits, and other risk mitigation measures
- Ensure compliance with Visa and Mastercard requirements, policies, and risk monitoring programmes
- Oversee participation in card scheme monitoring programmes, including VAMP, MATCH, and other related initiatives
- Collaborate closely with Compliance, AML, Sales, Operations, Finance, and Technology teams to support effective risk management across the business
- Prepare risk reporting and portfolio analysis for executive management, board members, regulators, and payment partners
- Support regulatory reviews, audits, and assessments conducted by regulators, card schemes, and external auditors
- Lead, mentor, and develop a team of risk managers, analysts, and monitoring specialists
What You Bring
- Higher education in Finance, Economics, Mathematics, Risk Management, or a related field
- 7+ years of experience in banking, acquiring, payments, fintech, or financial services
- At least 3 years of experience leading and developing risk teams
- Deep understanding of:
- Acquiring and payment processing
- Merchant underwriting and portfolio risk management
- Fraud prevention and monitoring
- Chargeback processes
- Visa and Mastercard regulations
- Diverse merchant sectors and risk profiles
- Experience managing international merchant portfolios and cross-border payment flows
- Strong analytical and decision-making skills with the ability to balance commercial growth and risk management
- Experience presenting risk matters to senior stakeholders and executive management
- Fluency in English
Nice to Have
- Experience working within an acquiring bank, PSP, PayFac, or EMI
- Experience interacting with regulators and international payment schemes
- Knowledge of PCI DSS and information security frameworks
- Experience building or scaling risk functions in a fast-growing payments environment
Why Join?
- Opportunity to shape and lead the risk function of a growing acquiring business
- Direct influence on merchant strategy, portfolio growth, and risk appetite
- High visibility and collaboration with executive leadership
- Exposure to international merchants across diverse risk verticals
- Entrepreneurial and fast-moving environment with significant ownership
- Remote working model, offering flexibility while maintaining close collaboration with key stakeholders
- Competitive compensation package aligned with your experience and expertise
- Health insurance after successful completion of the probation period
- Additional paid days off system
Interested? Let’s talk. Reach out and we’ll share more about the company, the setup, and next steps.