Senior Product Manager - Payments (Issuing & Acquiring)

Scalapay is the Southern European Leader in the Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) sector. We are on a mission to deliver the most customer-friendly financial products for our clients. As part of our dynamic finance team, you'll collaborate with top professionals in the field and contribute to our innovative financial solutions.

The mission:

As Senior Product Manager - Payments (Issuing & Acquiring) at Scalapay, based in our Milan office, you will drive the development and implementation of our acquiring and issuing strategy.
Reporting directly to the Chief Technology Officer (CTO), you will play a pivotal role, ensuring that our payment solutions are best-in-class in terms of performance and cost.
On the acquiring side, you will work closely with payment vendors (acquirers, orchestrators, gateways) and other strategic partners to empower a multi-acquiring strategy aimed at increasing acceptance rates and operational efficiency. You will constantly screen the market for new opportunities (open banking, account-to-account, DLs) which can expand our reach or optimise our operating costs.
On the issuing side, you will collaborate with our main partner Visa and other stakeholders to support our strategic initiatives to expand our solutions via card.
Collaboration with cross-functional teams including Product, Engineering, Marketing, Compliance, and our Partnership team will be key to your success. 

You will:

• Payment Architecture Design: Maintain and improve the current payment architecture of the acquiring business guaranteeing a deep knowledge of technical and technological expertise
• Operational Excellence: Oversee the day-to-day operations of our payments system, ensuring high performance and security.
• Cost Ownership and Performance Monitoring: Establish and monitor key performance indicators (KPIs) related to reducing cost per payment transaction.
• Compliance Setup: Ensure that acquiring and issuing solutions comply with the regulatory framework of a payment institution.
• Partnership Development: Build and maintain strong relationships with payment processors, acquirers, issuers, local payment gateways, vendors, and other relevant partners.
• Strategic Leadership: Develop and execute a comprehensive payments strategy that supports Scalapay’s business objectives and expansion plans.
• Innovation and Optimization: Identify and implement opportunities for enhancing and optimising our payment infrastructure and processes.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Work closely with Product and Engineering teams to develop and launch new payment features and services that align with customer and market needs.
• Risk Management: Identify and mitigate risks associated with payment operations, ensuring robust fraud prevention measures are in place.
• Stakeholder Communication: Regularly communicate payment strategy, progress, and performance to senior leadership and key stakeholders.

You’ll be great for this role if you:

• Hold a Bachelor’s degree in Business, Finance, Technology, or a related field; advanced degree or MBA is a plus.
• Have a minimum of 7-10 years of experience in the payments industry.
• Possess a proven track record of leadership in payments strategy and operations.
• Have a strong understanding of payment processing, acquiring, issuing, local payment gateways and related technologies.
• Excel at building strong relationships with multiple internal and external stakeholders .
• Possess strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to make data-driven decisions.
• Are adept at working in a fast-paced, dynamic environment.
• Hold excellent communication skills, both written and verbal.
• Are fully work-proficient in English, and speak any other additional languages, especially Italian (strong asset).

Why you should join Scalapay:

• Competitive salary and benefits package.
• The opportunity to work with a dynamic and innovative team in the heart of Milan.
• A flexible and inclusive work environment that values diversity and work-life balance.
• Opportunities for professional growth and development within a fast-growing fintech company.

Recruitment process:

1. A  chat with someone from our Talent Team
2. First interview with the CTO to deep dive into your experiences, better understand your motivation and and explore your business acumen in the product world
3. An interview with our CFO 
4. A case study to prepare at home to test your hard skills, and present to our Head of Product, CTO & CFO.
5. A final chat with Simone, our CEO, that will share our vision and values with you