Director of Payments

At Scalapay, we’re shaping a culture with high standards, independent and critical thought, innovation, ownership, and continuous learning. We operate in a fast-moving, tech-driven environment, and we’re looking for people who thrive in change, think boldly, and take initiative.
If you’re ready to put your potential to the test in a hiring process designed to spotlight exceptional talent, this is your chance to stand out and grow with one of Europe’s most ambitious fintech teams.
#MakeItHappen #PlayAsATeam #StayCurious #FocusOnCustomer.
Mission:

Scalapay is a regulated Payment Institution providing Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) services across European markets. As a fast-growing fintech operating under strict compliance requirements (DORA, PCI‑DSS, GDPR), we serve millions of customers and thousands of merchants across Italy, France, and other European countries.
The Director of Payments will lead Scalapays payment strategy and commercial operations, driving optimization across our multi‑processor payment infrastructure and banking relationships. Reporting to the CTO and having a matrix reporting relationship to the CEO of Scalapay IP (our regulated entity), this role will focus on payment economics, vendor negotiations, and strategic partnerships while collaborating closely with the Payment Domain engineering team. This is a strategic and commercial role focused on maximizing payment performance, minimizing costs, and building the financial infrastructure to support our consumer lending expansion.
Key Responsibilities:

Define and execute payment strategy to maximize authorization rates while minimizing costs
Own payment economics including processor fees, interchange optimization, and cost attribution
Develop business cases and ROI analysis for payment initiatives and infrastructure investments
Lead strategic decisions on payment routing, processor selection, and payment method expansion
Drive payment performance analytics and KPI reporting to executive team
Identify and evaluate emerging payment technologies and market opportunities
Commercial Management & Negotiations

Lead commercial negotiations with payment processors on pricing, terms, and SLAs
Manage payment vendor relationships and contract renewals
Negotiate interchange fees, scheme fees, and processing rates
Build business cases for processor additions, changes, or consolidations
Drive cost optimization initiatives across payment stack (target: 5‑% reduction annually)
Establish and manage payment vendor governance and performance reviews
Core Banking & Settlement Strategy

Define merchant payout strategy leveraging SEPA rails and core banking platform
Optimize settlement economics including timing, costs, and working capital impact
Lead core banking platform vendor relationship and commercial optimization
Support loan securitization from a payment and settlement infrastructure perspective
Drive treasury efficiency through improved settlement processes and reconciliation
Partner with Finance on payment operations P&L management
Banking Relationships & Infrastructure

Build and maintain relationships with banking partners supporting SEPA operations
Lead strategic decisions on banking infrastructure and correspondent banking relationships
Support securitization facility requirements with robust payment reporting and operations
Navigate EU banking ecosystem (TARGET2, EBA Clearing) for optimal payment execution
Drive compliance with SEPA scheme rules and EU banking regulations
Represent Scalapay in banking industry forums and with financial institution partners
Stakeholder Management & Leadership

Partner with Product, Business, and Commercial teams on payment strategy alignment
Provide regular updates to CTO and executive team on payment performance and commercial opportunities
Represent payment function in board and investor discussions
Communicate complex payment economics and trade‑offs to non‑technical stakeholders
Build internal knowledge and capability around payment operations and economics
Required Qualifications

Experience

10+ years in payments, fintech, or financial services with progressive responsibility
5+ years in strategic/commercial payment roles (payment strategy, vendor management, business development)
Proven track record leading commercial negotiations with payment processors and banking partners
Experience managing multi‑million dollar payment budgets and P&L responsibility
Direct experience with regulated financial services environments (Payment Institution, Bank, EMI)
History of driving payment optimization and cost reduction initiatives
Experience supporting securitization or asset‑backed lending operations (preferred)
Background in strategy consulting, investment banking, or corporate development (bonus)
Commercial & Strategic Expertise

Deep understanding of payment economics including interchange, scheme fees, and processing costs
Expert knowledge of payment processor commercial models and pricin