Airwallex
Senior Manager, Financial Partnerships, Card Issuing & Acquiring, EMEA
How your CV stacks up
Upload your CV to see how well it fits this job role
?%
Senior Manager, Financial Partnerships, Card Issuing & Acquiring, EMEA
##About Airwallex
Airwallex is the only unified payments and financial platform for global businesses. Powered by proprietary infrastructure and software, we empower over 200,000 businesses worldwide — including Brex, Rippling, Navan, Qantas, SHEIN, and many more — enabling seamless management of business accounts, payments, spend management, treasury, and embedded finance at scale.
Our team of 2,200+ professionals operates across 26 global offices, backed by investment from leading firms such as T. Rowe Price, Visa, Mastercard, Robinhood Ventures, Sequoia, Salesforce Ventures, DST Global, and Lone Pine Capital. Valued at $8 billion, we’re pioneering the future of global banking. If you’re ready to take on ambitious work and build transformative impact, join us.
##Attributes We Value
We seek groundbreaker builders with founder-like energy, driven by real impact, accelerated learning, and true ownership. You demonstrate industry expertise and high-level reasoning, are moved by our mission and principles, and operate with speed, judgment, curiosity, and decisiveness. Collaborative, humble, and technically adept, you’re capable of zero-to-one innovation, bringing ideas to life end-to-end while leveraging AI to enhance problem-solving.
Our team tackles high-visibility, complex challenges rapidly, growing your career while shaping the future of global banking. If this resonates with you, start building what’s next.
##About The Team
The Financial Partnerships team at Airwallex drives strategic relationships with key financial institutions and fintech partners globally, focusing on:
- Expanding our payment network
- Enhancing service offerings
- Driving mutual growth for Airwallex and partners
We collaborate closely with internal and external stakeholders to deliver cutting-edge financial solutions, ensuring our customers have access to best-in-class global services. Join a team valued for creativity, agility, and results.
##The Role
As Senior Manager, Financial Partnerships, Card Issuing & Acquiring, EMEA, your mission is to scale Airwallex’s card issuing and acquiring business by:
- Building and managing global relationships with card networks (Visa, Mastercard, American Express) and regional/local schemes.
- Facilitating market entry and unlocking strategic network partnerships.
- Collaborating with cross-functional teams to drive innovation, compliance, and revenue initiatives.
- Building brand visibility through brand representation and event participation.
Reasons to use Rodeo
Start with a chat, not a search bar
Grad scheme, placement, apprenticeship? Not sure what you want yet — that's fine. Your agent talks it through with you and turns "I have no idea" into a shortlist.
It searches the market for you
Every day your agent scans the market matching roles against what actually matters to you, not just keywords on a CV.
Only hits
No noise. No "maybe this fits." Just roles with a clear explanation of why they're right — and where to focus when applying.
This position is based in London.
##Responsibilities
- Network Partnerships: Build and manage relationships with card networks and local schemes to drive issuing/acquiring expansion.
- Market Entry: Support licensing, regulatory compliance, and program implementation in new markets, including network integration and operations (e.g., Frontend, VASP registrations).
- Strategic Execution: Identify opportunities to:
- Collaborate on features/ownership of products and revenue streams with network partners.
- Optimize transaction economics (e.g., interchange rates).
- Segment and manage card portfolios based on cost/profitability (e.g., interchange revenue, origination pricing).
- Streamline product launches across networks/global geographies (e.g., Spain, Italy).
- Actively engage with commercial teams to craft marketing cycles (e.g., card subscriptions loads).
- Initiate cross-brand journeying with commercial/card divisions.
- Negotiation: Negotiate and finalize partnership agreements, including joint value-add models and infection operational details.
- Brand Representation: Lead Airwallex’s positioning at:
- Network card happy hours with clients (Visa, Mastercard).
- Industry conferences (e.g., FedWorld Africa summit).
- Internal Collaboration: Align with Product, Legal, Compliance, Finance, and Commercial teams to develop and execute strategies, analyse data, and drive commercial alignment (e.g., strategic/annual business planning).
##Who You Are
###Minimum Qualifications
| Experience/Criterion | Requirement/Scope |
|---|---|
| Card Industry Background | Minimum of 7 years working with payment networks, card schemes, issuers, acquirers, or gateway providers. |
| Business Acumen | Deep understanding of card network dynamics, including acquisition (merchant absorptive costs, transaction flow), and revenue economics (origination, interchange rates, cross-sell pricing). |
| Partnership Execution | Proven track record of building and leading financial industry partnerships in high-growth, tech-driven environments. |
| Negotiation & Management | Strong ability to negotiate terms, manage global teams, and structure commercial agreements. |
| Cross-Functional Collaboration | Experience bridging legal, compliance, product, and go-to-market teams for strategic alignment. |
| International Experience | Ability to manage cross-border relationships (teams, carriers, or regulatory bodies) with diverse stakeholders. |
| Communication & Adaptability | Excellent stakeholder management, negotiation nuances, and pressure handling under rapid change or crafting and managing new compliance zones. |
| Innovative Problem-Solving | Ability to challenge status quo with curiosity-driven solutions (two-sided markets, revenue sharing, hybrid programmes). |
Get help with your application
Your very own career expert that helps elevate your application to the next level.
###Preferred Qualifications (Not mandatory but highly valued)
- Previous tenure at a global fintech startup, pre-IPO company, or cyber firm.
- Experience architecting partnerships for new geographies (e.g., EMEA expansion into frontier markets).
- Industry thought leadership with regional speaking engagements or whitepapers/authorship on card business optimisation.
- Familiarity with merchant acquiring or country-specific portfolios/economics.
##Applicant Safety & Equal Opportunity Note
-
Fraud Prevention: We will never ask for bank details, sensitive IDs (e.g., passport copies), or payments during the application/recruitment process. All correspondence will originate from @airwallex.com emails. Apply exclusively via careers.airwallex.com or our LinkedIn page.
-
Unsolicited Resumes: Airwallex does not engage third-party recruiters or search firms unless expressly agreed. Unsolicited submissions are deemed to accept our terms.
-
Employment Standards: Airwallex is an equal opportunity employer. Decisions are based on merit, qualifications, skills, and talent. We cannot favour gender, ethnicity, disability, personal status, or any other protected characteristic. If accommodations are needed, please disclose your requirements early in the process.
“It took my CV and asked me questions relevant to understanding what kind of jobs to suggest for me. Suggestions were almost perfect. Jobs were exactly what I’ve been looking for.”
Jessica, London
Skills
Location