Product Owner - Card Acquiring (Riga)

🌍 About the Company

Our client is a large and well known licensed EU bank that provides modern banking infrastructure for FinTech companies, payment institutions, e-commerce businesses, and other digital-first companies.

Combining traditional banking expertise with a FinTech-native approach, the bank provides solutions including Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS), e-commerce acquiring, payment infrastructure, safeguarding accounts, lending, and business banking services.

💼 About the Role

As an Acquiring Product Owner, you will take ownership of the bank's card acquiring products, ensuring their development, commercial performance, regulatory compliance, and continuous improvement.

This role combines product management, payment processing expertise, and cross-functional leadership. You will work closely with Technology, Operations, Risk, Compliance, Finance, Sales, and external partners to deliver acquiring solutions that meet business objectives, customer needs, and card scheme requirements.

The ideal candidate brings a combination of banking and FinTech experience, with a strong understanding of the acquiring ecosystem, including high-risk merchant acquiring.

The position is based in Riga, with onsite work during the probation period and a hybrid working arrangement afterwards.

🔍 Responsibilities:

• Take ownership of acquiring products, including their development, performance, and continuous improvement;

• Manage product priorities and coordinate delivery across Technology, Operations, Risk, Compliance, Finance, Sales, and other stakeholders;

• Ensure acquiring products comply with Visa and Mastercard rules, scheme requirements, certifications, and mandates;

• Coordinate product changes, scheme updates, and acquiring-related implementation projects;

• Work closely with processors, gateways, and other payment partners to support acquiring operations and product development;

• Oversee acquiring-related processes, including 3DS, fraud prevention, chargebacks, and settlement, in collaboration with relevant teams;

• Monitor product economics and profitability, including processing fees, scheme fees, processor and gateway costs, fraud and chargeback costs, revenue, and margins;

• Prepare and assess business cases, evaluating commercial impact, customer value, costs, and return on investment;

• Identify opportunities to optimise acquiring products, improve operational efficiency, and strengthen commercial performance;

• Lead cross-functional initiatives, align stakeholders, set priorities, and drive decisions without necessarily having direct line management responsibility;

• Support the development of acquiring solutions for e-commerce businesses and merchants operating across different risk segments;

• Monitor market developments, acquiring trends, and card scheme changes to identify product improvement opportunities.

🎓 Requirements:

• Proven experience as an Acquiring Product Owner, Product Manager, Project Manager, or in a similar role within fintech, payments, or financial services;

• Strong knowledge of Visa and Mastercard rules, scheme compliance, acquiring requirements, certifications, and mandates;

• Solid understanding of the acquiring business and payment processing ecosystem, including processors, gateways, fraud, 3DS, chargebacks, and settlement;

• Experience leading cross-functional teams and coordinating Technology, Operations, Risk, Compliance, Finance, Sales, and other stakeholders to deliver product outcomes;

• Strong people and stakeholder leadership skills, with the ability to align teams, set priorities, drive decisions, and deliver results without necessarily having direct line management responsibility;

• Strong understanding of product economics and cost management, including processing and scheme fees, processor/gateway costs, fraud and chargeback costs, revenue, margins, and ROI;

• Ability to build and assess business cases and make product decisions based on commercial impact, customer value, and profitability;

• Strong analytical, communication, and problem-solving skills, with a structured and hands-on approach;

• High level of ownership and accountability;

• Experience with high-risk card acquiring, combined with an understanding of both banking and FinTech environments;

• Ability to work onsite in Riga during the probation period, with a hybrid arrangement afterwards.

🤝 Key Competencies:

• Strong product ownership and commercial mindset;

• Cross-functional leadership and stakeholder management;

• Analytical thinking and sound decision-making;

• Strong organisational and prioritisation skills;

• Proactive problem-solving and execution focus;

• High level of ownership and accountability.

✨ The Employer offers:

• Opportunity to work within a fully licensed EU bank combining traditional banking expertise with a modern FinTech approach;

• Ownership of acquiring products with direct impact on business performance and profitability;

• Exposure to Visa and Mastercard schemes, payment processing infrastructure, and acquiring product development;

• Close collaboration with Technology, Risk, Compliance, Finance, Sales, and senior stakeholders;

• Opportunity to contribute to the development and improvement of the bank's acquiring solutions;

• Hybrid working arrangement after the probation period, with an office-based start in Riga.

If you understand the acquiring business, can connect technical and regulatory requirements with commercial priorities, and are ready to take ownership of acquiring products within a modern banking environment, this role is a strong next step.