Head of Payment Risk and Operations

Overview

Location: Ireland

Employment Type: Full time

Location Type: Remote

Department: Compliance & Payments

Compensation: $110K - $170K

About WeTravel

Hi! I'm Zaky, Co-founder and Chief Operating Officer at WeTravel. Over the past 11 years, I've focused on building the leading vertical SaaS for the $300B multi-day travel segment, helping tour companies manage their operations from A to Z. At WeTravel, I lead compliance, payment partnerships, and people functions, working closely with talented teams to drive impact across the business.

Multi-day travel businesses (think 7-day safari in the Serengeti or 5-day scuba diving in the Galapagos) use WeTravel as their all-in-one platform to manage sales processes, collect payments, and run the back office.

We monetize as a vertical SaaS for these multi-day travel businesses through transaction volume. This is possible because our clients trust WeTravel as their agent of payees, accepting payments from travelers on behalf of the travel businesses. WeTravel also acts as the merchant of record, processing the payments and handling the chargebacks. Therefore, it is essential that we protect our user funds from any bad actors, while ensuring that the funds move smoothly from pay-in (travelers) to payout (travel businesses and their suppliers).

Your role

You will join the company at a pivotal moment. As the company scales and transacts billions of USD, we have transformed from a SaaS company to a payment/fintech company. You will work closely on any payment-related topic with the following people and teams: Product Manager - Payments, Engineering Manager - Payments, COO (commercial and compliance matters of payments), and your KYC and Payment Operations teams (risk and operational matters of payments).

• In-house KYC/KYB and Payment Operations teams: KYC/KYB - robust due diligence on travel businesses worldwide; Payment Operations - monitor transactions and coordinate with PSPs to escalate and resolve issues
• Tools and systems: e.g., Persona for KYC/KYB automation, Stripe's Radar for fraud prevention
• Daily security oversight: CEO and COO monitor the security of user funds and work with Product and Engineering to keep funds safe

Your mission and objectives

Your mission is to ensure user funds flow securely and smoothly from pay-in to payout while supporting growth and revenue. You will drive two areas:

• Payment Risk & Fraud Management
  • Identify risks from pay-in to payout and protect against bad actors
  • Perform due diligence and risk assessment on new and existing clients
  • Run rapid escalation for fraud incidents
• Payment Operations
  • Manage disputes/chargebacks and fund recovery from delinquent accounts
  • Resolve operational issues on pay-in and payout with PSPs

Moving forward, you will manage and build:

• In-house KYC/KYB and Payment Operations teams
• KYC/KYB: due diligence on travel businesses joining as WeTravel clients
• Payment Operations: monitor transactions, escalate, and coordinate with PSPs
• Tools and support: use systems like Persona and Stripe Radar; oversee security with leadership

Your Daily Activities

We expect an owner mentality to build and run the Payment Risks and Operations organization. Example daily activities include:

• Develop a payment risk management strategy
• Manage daily operations of KYC/KYB and Payment Operations teams (and possibly a Risk/Compliance team)
• Monitor red flags and escalate with stakeholders
• Coordinate case management and communication of fraud incidents
• Coordinate with PSPs to resolve payout issues (e.g., additional compliance documents)
• Review accounts with negative balances due to chargebacks and recover funds
• Build dashboards to evaluate risk scores
• Update Prohibited Businesses lists based on PSP requirements
• Review new KYC/KYB SOPs for new segments
• Provide compliance documents to PSPs
• Manage annual filing of 1099K forms for applicable clients

Benefits

• Competitive salary
• Full-time - Fixed Term Contract (as International Contractor)
• Generous Time to Recharge - unlimited paid time off
• Amsterdam Program - visit HQ in Amsterdam for 2-4 weeks annually
• Remote work up to 4 weeks per year
• Annual team off-site
• Extensive paid family leave
• Three paid volunteer days per year
• Onboarding program and equipment support
• Language support and international teamwork

Important notices

• As a member of our international team, you'll work full-time under a B2B contractor agreement, with monthly payments in USD
• Legal right to work in Ireland required; we do not sponsor visas or relocation

Ready to build something meaningful? Apply now.

Equal Opportunities

WeTravel is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. We welcome applicants from all backgrounds and perspectives. If you're excited about this opportunity and believe you're a good fit, we encourage you to apply and join us in transforming the travel industry!