Head of Institutional Channels

Key Responsibilities

Strategy & Business Development

• Develop and execute the institutional channel strategy, expanding partnerships with banks, card schemes (Visa/Mastercard), acquirers, clearing and settlement networks, remittance and stablecoin providers;
• Identify and enter new channels and markets (Southeast Asia, APAC and beyond), driving channel coverage and scaled growth across multi-currency acquiring, issuing and collection.

Commercial Negotiation & Onboarding

• Lead commercial negotiations of institutional agreements (pricing, settlement cycles, security deposits, service levels), driving signing and implementation;
• Manage the full channel onboarding lifecycle (KYB, technical integration, testing and go-live), ensuring partnerships meet the company's compliance and risk requirements.

Channel Product & Routing

• Partner with Product and Engineering to optimise transaction routing, success rates and settlement efficiency, productising channel capabilities for reuse;
• Monitor channel stability and cost structure, continuously optimising unit transaction cost and capital efficiency.

Channel Operations & Relationship Management

• Establish channel operations mechanisms (reconciliation, discrepancy handling, chargeback/dispute coordination) to ensure transaction continuity and merchant experience;
• Maintain senior-level relationships with institutional partners, organising regular business reviews and joint growth plans.

Compliance & Regulatory Alignment

• Work with Compliance and Risk to ensure channel partnerships meet the MAS Payment Services Act and AML/KYC, sanctions screening and other regulatory requirements;
• Support licence applications, maintenance and regulatory inspections with channel-related compliance materials and evidence.

Market Intelligence & Industry Network

• Track trends in cross-border payments, card scheme rules, clearing networks, providing channel strategy recommendations;
• Represent the company in industry events and ecosystem initiatives, raising its influence across the institutional landscape.

Team Leadership

• Build and lead the institutional channels team from scratch, establishing goals, processes and performance mechanisms;
• Coordinate collaboration across Singapore, Hong Kong and Shenzhen to build a specialised regional channel capability centre.

Requirements

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or above in Finance, Economics, International Trade, Business Management or related disciplines;
• 8+ years of institutional channels / business development experience in cross-border payments, banking, acquiring or fintech, including 3+ years of team management (outstanding candidates may be considered with 5+ years of relevant experience and 2+ years of management);
• Hands-on experience in channel partnerships with licensed payment institutions, banks or card schemes.

Professional Skills

• Solid knowledge of acquiring, cross-border collection/remittance and issuing flows, familiar with Visa/Mastercard scheme rules and clearing and settlement systems (SWIFT, local clearing, FAST/PayNow, etc.);
• Strong institutional-level commercial negotiation and contract management skills, able to independently drive direct bank connections and channel onboarding;
• Understanding of FX, settlement cycles and funding cost structuring and optimisation;

Compliance & Governance

• Knowledge of Singapore MAS payment regulations and AML/KYC, sanctions screening requirements;
• Experience in payment licence applications, maintenance or regulatory engagement is preferred.

Language & Soft Skills

• Fluent in English as the working language (Singapore office working language); proficiency in Chinese is a plus (for collaboration with China HQ, Hong Kong and Shenzhen teams);
• Excellent cross-cultural communication and senior stakeholder management, comfortable in a fast-paced, multi-market environment;
• Results-driven, with an entrepreneurial mindset to build from zero to one.

Nice to Have

• Senior-level network within banks, card schemes or major acquirers;
• Regional institutional channel expansion experience in APAC;
• Prior experience in a licensed financial institution in Singapore, familiar with MAS inspections and audit processes.