Director – Acceptance & Merchants

About Us
Visa is a world leader in payments technology, facilitating transactions between consumers, merchants, financial institutions and government entities across more than 200 countries and territories, dedicated to uplifting everyone, everywhere by being the best way to pay and be paid.

At Visa, you'll have the opportunity to create impact at scale — tackling meaningful challenges, growing your skills and seeing your contributions impact lives around the world.

Join Visa and do work that matters – to you, to your community, and to the world. Progress starts with you.

Job Description

Team Summary:

Visa’s Acceptance & Merchants team is a client-facing organization responsible for expanding Visa acceptance, accelerating merchant payment volume and strengthening Visa’s position across China’s commerce ecosystem. The team develops and manages strategic relationships with leading merchants, acquirers, payment facilitators, technology platforms and other acceptance partners.

Working closely with Product, Solutions, Consulting, Risk, Operations, Finance, Legal and regional teams, the team converts market opportunities into scalable acceptance solutions and commercial outcomes. It also develops account strategies, sales narratives, partnership programs and deal support to make Visa the preferred network and growth partner for clients across China and Asia Pacific.

What a Director, Acceptance & Merchants does at Visa:

The Director will lead strategic account management and business development across priority merchants and acceptance partners in Mainland China. The role is accountable for building senior client relationships, developing growth strategies, converting opportunities into executable commercial plans and delivering measurable outcomes across payment volume, market share, acceptance expansion and value-added services.

Key responsibilities include:

• Build trusted relationships with clients at working and senior executive levels, connecting their business priorities with Visa’s strategic objectives and capabilities.
• Develop and execute account plans that increase Visa preference, merchant sales volume, market share and acceptance coverage across face-to-face and digital commerce.
• Identify and deliver growth opportunities in cross-border commerce, inbound acceptance, eCommerce, SMB acceptance and emerging payment experiences.
• Lead commercial discussions and deal development with merchants, acquirers, payment facilitators and technology partners, including business cases, financial models, negotiation and internal approvals.
• Coordinate solution design with Product and Solutions teams, including Visa Direct, tokenization, Click to Pay, instalments, contactless, transit, Scan to Pay and other acceptance capabilities where relevant.
• Support China-headquartered clients with regional or global expansion by coordinating Visa stakeholders and capabilities across multiple markets.
• Lead pipeline, portfolio and account-performance analysis, translating data into clear insights, priorities and actions to improve business results.
• Monitor market, client and competitor developments to shape Visa’s merchant and acceptance strategy in Mainland China.
• Lead cross-functional execution of complex initiatives, including launches of new acceptance features, services and programs across clients or markets.
• Act as the primary commercial point of contact for ongoing account matters and coordinate timely resolution of operational, risk, fraud, compliance and service issues.
• Develop reusable sales materials, client narratives, playbooks and templates that improve the quality and consistency of Visa’s engagement with merchants and acceptance partners.
• Provide leadership, coaching and clear direction to project teams, while fostering strong collaboration across functions, markets and regional teams.

Projects you will be a part of:

• Merchant and acceptance market analysis, including customer, sector and competitor insights.
• Strategic account planning and executive business reviews for priority merchants and acceptance partners.
• Programs to grow payment volume, market share, acceptance coverage and value-added services revenue.
• Cross-border, inbound, eCommerce, SMB, contactless, transit and emerging payment initiatives.
• Client pitches, commercial proposals, financial models, contract negotiations and deal governance.
• Cross-functional and multi-market launches involving Product, Technology, Risk, Operations and regional teams.

Visa requires at least 4 days in office, expectations of these days will be confirmed by your Hiring Manager.

Qualifications

What you will need:

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent qualification in business, commerce, finance, economics, technology or a related discipline.
• 12+ years of relevant experience in payments, merchant acquiring, financial services, technology platforms, eCommerce or strategic partnerships.
• Demonstrated experience managing complex merchant, acquirer, payment platform or technology-partner relationships and delivering commercial growth.
• Strong understanding of the China payments and commerce ecosystem, including merchant acceptance, acquiring, eCommerce and cross-border payments.
• Proven ability to develop account strategies, build business cases, negotiate commercial agreements and lead cross-functional execution.
• Strong analytical skills, financial acumen and proficiency in Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in Mandarin and English, with confidence engaging senior executives and diverse internal stakeholders.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and deliver high-quality work in a fast-paced, complex and sometimes ambiguous environment.
• A collaborative, accountable and highly motivated approach, with the judgment and resilience required to drive outcomes across organizational boundaries.

What will also help:

• Experience in merchant acquiring, acceptance solutions, payment networks or value-added services.
• Established relationships across China’s merchant, acquirer, eCommerce or payment-technology ecosystem.
• Experience leading regional or multi-market programs and coordinating global stakeholders.
• Postgraduate qualifications or relevant professional credentials.

Visa is an EEO Employer

Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability or protected veteran status. Visa will also consider for employment qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with EEOC guidelines and applicable local law.