Manager - Payments, Partnerships & Fintech Ecosystems (Merchant Operations & Support)
Job Description
If you are looking to excel and make a difference, take a closer look at us…
Functional (job responsibilities)
Merchant Onboarding & Documentation
Oversee the end-to-end merchant onboarding process from application receipt to activation.
Ensure completeness, accuracy, and compliance of merchant documentation in accordance with internal policies, regulatory requirements, and risk guidelines.
Perform onboarding quality assurance reviews and ensure adherence to established turnaround times.
Continuously improve onboarding workflows to enhance merchant experience and operational efficiency.
Maintain merchant records and documentation repositories with proper governance and audit readiness.
Terminal Inventory Management & Deployment
Manage the inventory lifecycle of payment terminals and related devices.
Monitor terminal stock levels and forecast inventory requirements to support business growth.
Coordinate terminal provisioning, configuration, deployment, replacement, retrieval, and disposal activities.
Ensure accurate asset tracking and inventory reconciliation.
Work closely with vendors and logistics partners to ensure timely deployment and maintenance activities.
Establish controls to minimize asset losses and inventory discrepancies.
Merchant Enquiries & Support
Lead merchant support operations to ensure timely resolution of merchant enquiries, incidents, and operational requests.
Act as escalation point for complex merchant issues and service disruptions.
Monitor support performance metrics and customer satisfaction levels.
Drive root cause analysis and corrective actions for recurring merchant issues.
Ensure effective communication with merchants regarding operational matters, service updates, and issue resolution.
Vendor & Third-Party Operations Support
Manage operational relationships with external service providers, payment processors, terminal vendors, logistics providers, and outsourced partners.
Monitor vendor performance against contractual obligations and agreed service levels.
Coordinate issue resolution and operational escalations with third-party partners.
Participate in vendor reviews, performance assessments, and service improvement initiatives.
Ensure vendors comply with regulatory, security, and operational requirements.
SLA & Turnaround Time (TAT) Management
Establish, monitor, and report operational service level agreements and turnaround time performance.
Develop operational dashboards and performance reporting mechanisms.
Identify bottlenecks and implement process improvements to improve operational efficiency.
Ensure operational KPIs are consistently achieved across all merchant operations functions.
Lead service recovery initiatives where service levels are breached.
Regulatory Reporting & Compliance
Ensure timely and accurate submission of operational and regulatory reports.
Maintain compliance with regulatory requirements, scheme rules, and internal governance standards.
Support regulatory audits, internal audits, and compliance reviews.
Maintain operational policies, procedures, and controls documentation.
Ensure proper record management and audit trail maintenance.
Merchant & Vendor Payment Management
Manage operational processes relating to merchant payments, reimbursements, incentives, commissions, terminal charges, and vendor payments.
Ensure payment processing is accurate, timely, and properly authorized.
Perform reconciliation and exception management activities.
Investigate and resolve payment discrepancies and operational exceptions.
Collaborate with Finance teams to ensure payment governance and controls are maintained.
Operational Excellence & Continuous Improvement
Identify opportunities for automation, digitization, and process optimization.
Lead operational improvement projects and workflow enhancements.
Implement best practices to improve service quality, efficiency, and scalability.
Support new product launches and operational readiness initiatives.
Drive operational risk mitigation and control enhancements.
Managerial (team/group responsibilities)
Lead, coach, and develop the Merchant Operations & Support team.
Set clear performance objectives, KPIs, and development plans for team members.
Conduct regular performance reviews, coaching sessions, and capability-building initiatives.
Foster a high-performance, customer-centric, and service-oriented culture.
Ensure appropriate workforce planning, resource allocation, and succession planning.
Manage workload distribution to ensure operational efficiency and SLA adherence.
Promote continuous learning, knowledge sharing, and cross-functional collaboration.
Build team capabilities in merchant operations, compliance, customer service, and operational excellence.
Drive employee engagement and retention initiatives within the team.
Organizational (organizational responsibilities)
Collaborate effectively with Sales, Product, Risk, Compliance, Finance, Technology, Procurement, and Customer Service teams.
Support organizational strategic initiatives and transformation programs.
Ensure compliance with corporate governance, regulatory requirements, and internal policies.
Represent Merchant Operations in internal committees, project workgroups, and stakeholder discussions.
Contribute to budget planning, cost optimization, and operational efficiency initiatives.
Promote a culture of integrity, accountability, collaboration, and customer focus.
Act as a key stakeholder in business continuity planning and operational resilience initiatives.
Support enterprise-wide audit, compliance, and risk management activities.
Education/Qualification
- Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration, Finance, Banking, Operations Management, Information Systems, or a related discipline.
- Professional certifications in Project Management, Operations Management, Lean Six Sigma, or Payments Industry certifications would be an added advantage.
- Strong understanding of payment acquiring, merchant services, card acceptance, and digital payments ecosystem preferred.
Experience
- Minimum 8–12 years of relevant experience in Merchant Acquiring, Payment Operations, Banking Operations, FinTech Operations, or Transaction Banking.
- At least 3–5 years in a leadership or supervisory role managing operational teams.
- Proven experience managing merchant onboarding, merchant servicing, payment operations, terminal management, and vendor relationships.
- Experience in regulatory reporting, audit management, and operational governance.
- Demonstrated track record in operational transformation, process improvement, and service delivery management.
- Experience working with payment schemes, acquiring systems, terminal management systems, and merchant support environments is highly preferred.
Technical Skills
- Strong knowledge of merchant acquiring operations and payment acceptance ecosystem.
- Understanding of card schemes, payment processing, terminal operations, and merchant servicing.
- Strong operational risk and control management knowledge.
- Experience with workflow management systems, CRM platforms, and operational reporting tools.
- Advanced Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint, and data analysis capabilities.
Leadership Skills
- Strong people leadership and team management skills.
- Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.
- Strong stakeholder management and influencing capabilities.
- Excellent decision-making and problem-solving skills.
Core Competencies
- Customer-centric mindset.
- Operational excellence orientation.
- Analytical and detail-oriented.
- Strong communication and presentation skills.
- Process improvement and continuous improvement mindset.
- High level of integrity, accountability, and ownership.
- Ability to drive execution while balancing governance and compliance requirements.
For more job opportunities, please go to HLB Careers: https://hlb.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com/HLBCareers/
We appreciate your application and will be in touch with shortlisted candidates regarding next steps
About Hong Leong Bank
We are a leading financial institution in Malaysia backed by a century of entrepreneurial heritage. Providing comprehensive financial services guided by a Digital-at-the-Core ethos has earned us industry recognition and accolades for our innovative approach in making banking simpler and more effortless for our customers. Our digital and physical offerings span across a vast nationwide network in Malaysia, strengthened with an expanding regional presence in Singapore, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Cambodia, and China.
We seek to strike a balance between diversity, inclusion and merit to achieve our mission of infusing diversity in thinking and skillsets into our organisation. Candidates are assessed based on merit and potential, in line with our mission to attract and recruit the best talent available. Expanding on our “Digital at the Core” ethos, we are progressively digitising the employee journey and experience to provide a strong foundation for our people to drive life-long learning, achieve their career aspirations and grow talent from within our organisation.
Realise your full potential at Hong Leong Bank by applying now.