VP, Head of PayFac

Fiserv • Alpharetta, GA

6d

About The Position

The Vice President, Head of PayFac-as-a-Service leads the strategy, product, and commercialization of Fiserv’s Payment Facilitator-as-a-Service offering within Merchant Solutions. The offering provides clients with a modular partnership path to payment facilitation, enabling embedded payment capabilities and participation in the flow of funds without requiring clients to build a full Payment Facilitator operating model. The role defines how capabilities are delivered across the acquiring value chain while preserving registered-party accountability, network obligations, and Fiserv’s risk appetite.

Reporting to the SVP, Global Product Strategy, the Vice President owns the product vision, operating-model spectrum (Full-Service, Managed, and Fiserv-led PayFac), delegation and risk framework, and commercial packaging and pricing model. The role works closely with Risk, Compliance, Legal, Technology, Sales, and Product Marketing to bring configurable, network-compliant payment facilitation propositions to market. Operational activities may be shared or delegated, but accountability remains anchored to registered parties across the value chain.

The position leads a global organization spanning product, delegation and risk design, onboarding and underwriting, and commercial enablement. It establishes operating governance, performance measures, oversight and contracting models, and drives cross-functional execution and go-to-market activity.

Requirements

• 14+ years of experience in payments, merchant acquiring, payment facilitation, fintech, financial services, or related fields.
• 8+ years of progressive leadership experience managing global teams and enterprise-scale initiatives.
• Deep, demonstrable expertise in the Payment Facilitator/PayFac model, merchant acquiring, and the acquiring value chain, including onboarding, underwriting, risk, compliance, processing, funding, settlement, and servicing.
• Strong working knowledge of network rules and regulatory frameworks, including Mastercard/Visa Service Provider registration, AML/sanctions, KYC/KYB, MATCH, and chargeback/dispute regimes.
• Proven experience designing delegation, risk, and control frameworks that balance operational flexibility with registered-party accountability.
• Experience defining commercial packaging, pricing, and go-to-market models for platform or managed-services offerings.
• Demonstrated success influencing executive leadership and driving cross-functional alignment across Product, Risk, Compliance, and Legal.
• Strong analytical, strategic planning, and executive communication skills.
• Advanced PowerPoint and Excel skills.
• Bachelor’s degree required.

Nice To Haves

• MBA or advanced degree.
• Direct experience standing up or scaling a PayFac, PayFac-as-a-Service, or embedded-payments business.
• Familiarity with Fiserv acquiring platforms, Commerce Hub, and merchant onboarding/risk systems.
• Experience preparing Board, Investor Relations, or executive-level strategic and risk materials.
• Knowledge of AI-driven onboarding/risk tooling and modern product development practices.

Responsibilities

• Own the global end-to-end PayFac-as-a-Service product strategy and multi-year roadmap, defining target client segments, use cases, and value propositions.
• Define the core capability proposition and determine baseline offerings and optional modules across onboarding, risk, compliance, processing, funding, reporting, and servicing.
• Translate market demand and client needs into a product and capability catalogue, and champion the offering as a partnership path for clients seeking payment capabilities without building a full operating stack.
• Own the operating-model spectrum, enabling clients to choose between Full-Service PayFac, Managed PayFac, and Fiserv-led PayFac-as-a-Service models.
• Define delegation and qualification rules, including which low- and medium-risk activities qualified clients may execute.
• Establish responsibility assignments across the acquiring value chain, classifying activities as client-owned, delegable/shared, or Fiserv-retained.
• Validate final responsibility allocations against legal role, Service Provider registration, funds flow, control design, and Fiserv risk appetite.
• Own the delegation risk framework, assessing delegability based on funds exposure, decision authority, regulatory and network impact, registration dependency, data and system access, and oversight feasibility.
• Define retained authority and risk appetite, including merchant approval and exceptions, funds access and payout control, settlement accountability, MATCH decisions, network reporting submission, and PF sponsorship authority.
• Ensure high-risk capabilities, including AML/sanctions decisions, underwriting authority, and settlement, are retained or tightly controlled; ensure delegated activities have appropriate qualification, monitoring, evidence, and escalation controls.
• Maintain registered-party accountability and oversight across the value chain, including qualification, evidence, monitoring, escalation, and intervention rights for delegated activities.
• Partner with Risk, Compliance, and Legal to secure approvals and align with Mastercard, Visa, and other network rules.
• Define global product requirements for merchant onboarding, KYC/KYB, underwriting analysis, and merchant activation while balancing client-led workflows with Fiserv decision authority and controls.
• Oversee fraud and portfolio monitoring, disputes and chargebacks, and merchant servicing capabilities within a shared-execution model with defined thresholds and intervention rights.
• Govern reconciliation inputs, operational reporting, and network-reporting submission with clear ownership and validation.
• Define the commercial model, including platform pricing and separately priced services, modules, or controls.
• Own service packaging and pricing strategy, and structure client-tailored Fiserv-led, Shared Service, and Full-Service offerings to match client capabilities, controls, and risk profiles.
• Partner with Product Marketing on positioning, launch readiness, portfolio narratives, and commercial enablement.
• Lead go-to-market strategy with Sales and Partnerships, translating company strategy into client propositions and proposal strategies.
• Align Product, Technology, Risk, Compliance, Legal, Finance, and Operations around shared priorities and measurable business outcomes.
• Lead the operating rhythm, including QBRs, MBRs, operating reviews, and roadmap reviews, and ensure clear decisions, ownership, and follow-through.
• Drive executive communications and stakeholder alignment on strategy, progress, and risk posture.
• Establish oversight and contracting requirements for evidence, reporting, audit, intervention, and remediation rights.
• Define and monitor KPIs, onboarding and portfolio performance, risk indicators, and commercial outcomes.
• Drive accountability for execution against strategic objectives, network obligations, and portfolio commitments.
• Build and lead a high-performing global PayFac-as-a-Service organization spanning product, delegation and risk design, onboarding and underwriting, and commercial enablement.
• Develop talent and future leaders through coaching, mentoring, and career development.
• Create a collaborative operating model across product, technology, risk, compliance, legal, sales, and operations teams.
• Influence senior executives and stakeholders without direct authority to achieve enterprise outcomes.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Executive