Visa/Mastercard Relationship Manager

About The Client Our client is a well-established international financial holding with a strong presence in the fintech and payments industry. Currently, they are launching their own acquiring business and building a dedicated team to support this strategic direction. The company holds principal memberships with major card schemes and aims to establish robust internal processes for long-term growth. About The Role As a Visa/Mastercard Relationship Manager, you will be responsible for managing the company’s direct relationships with Visa and Mastercard. In this critical role, you will oversee IPS setup and maintenance, serve as an internal consultant on scheme regulations, and ensure all operations across teams align with card scheme rules. The ideal candidate brings strong expertise in acquiring, especially in high-risk verticals, and is comfortable working across compliance, operations, and product teams. Key Responsibilities

• Lead and manage IPS setup and ongoing operations with Visa and Mastercard.
• Act as the primary liaison with card schemes for all operational and strategic matters.
• Serve as an internal advisor on Visa/Mastercard scheme rules across departments.
• Ensure full compliance of company operations with IPS and scheme regulations.
• Translate regulatory updates and scheme requirements into actionable internal procedures.
• Track and implement scheme mandates, deadlines, and compliance changes.
• Support principal membership maintenance and represent the company in scheme communications.
• Collaborate cross-functionally to ensure scheme readiness and operational efficiency.
• Monitor acquiring processes to optimize performance and compliance.

Requirements

• 3+ ears of experience in acquiring, card scheme operations, or payment infrastructure
• Experience in managing joint projects with Visa and Mastercard.
• Solid understanding of acquiring flows, merchant onboarding, transaction routing, and risk management.
• Proven experience working with Visa and Mastercard directly.
• Familiarity with IPS rules, scheme certification processes, and performance monitoring.
• Experience working in high-risk verticals (e.g. gaming, crypto, adult, financial services) is highly desirable.
• Fluency in both English and Russian is required.

Soft Skills

• Excellent communication and cross-functional coordination abilities
• Analytical, structured, and detail-oriented.
• Ability to manage complexity in a fast-paced regulatory environment.
• Confident decision-making and the ability to challenge constructively.

What We Offer

• High-impact strategic role in a fast-growing payments company.
• Opportunity to design and own Visa/Mastercard processes from the ground up.
• Remote work with flexible schedule (EU time zone preferred).
• Supportive, international team and leadership.
• Competitive compensation package.

This is a unique opportunity to take ownership of a critical function and shape the acquiring strategy within a fast-growing fintech organisation.