Product Manager - Payments/Acquiring (Consultant)

Product Manager – Payments/Acquiring 

About the RoleWe're looking for a Product Manager who deeply understands how acquirer 
systems work end to end — not just at the application/UI level, but across the backend 
processing stack. You'll own the product lifecycle for our acquiring platform, working 
closely with engineering, compliance, risk, and merchant/partner teams to build and evolve 
systems that handle real money movement at scale. 

Key Responsibilities 
• Own the product roadmap across the full acquiring stack — merchant onboarding, 
authorization, transaction processing, clearing, settlement, reconciliation, and 
chargebacks/disputes. 
• Get into the technical weeds: understand message flows (ISO 8583/20022), 
switch/routing logic, ledger and settlement engines, and how transactions move 
between merchant, acquirer, network, and issuer. 
• Own and drive requirements around clearing file generation — including Base II 
(Visa) clearing files and Mastercard, Amex clearing files — with a solid grasp of file 
structures, record types, and data elements within these scheme files. 
• Translate scheme (Visa/Mastercard/RuPay etc.), network, and regulatory 
requirements into detailed backend and system-level product specs. 
• Partner closely with engineering on system architecture decisions — not just feature 
requests — for authorization, capture, clearing, settlement, and refund flows. 
• Work with risk and compliance teams on underwriting, fraud, and dispute 
management workflows, understanding the backend systems that power them. 
• Define and track product/system metrics — approval rates, settlement TAT, 
reconciliation breaks, dispute ratios, system latency and uptime. 
• Manage relationships with card networks, banking partners, and processors, including 
technical/integration discussions on clearing and settlement file exchange. 

Requirements 
• 4–8 years of Product Management experience with genuine end-to-end exposure to 
acquirer systems — able to speak fluently about both the merchant-facing product and 
what happens underneath it (switching, ledgers, clearing, settlement, reconciliation). 
• Strong knowledge of Visa and Mastercard clearing and settlement files from the 
acquirer side, including Base II clearing file generation and Mastercard clearing file 
formats, along with the specific data elements/fields within these scheme files (TCR 
record structures, data element numbers, mandatory vs. conditional fields, etc.). 
• Strong working knowledge of payment message flows and protocols (ISO 
8583/20022), authorization/clearing/settlement cycles, and how acquiring processors 
integrate with networks and issuers. 
• Comfortable reading system/API specs and scheme file specifications, and discussing 
architecture trade-offs directly with engineering — this is not a purely front-end/UX
facing PM role. 
• Familiarity with card network rules, PCI-DSS, and payment compliance frameworks. 
• Strong analytical skills; comfortable working with data and logs to debug transaction, 
clearing, and reconciliation issues. 
• Excellent stakeholder management across technical and non-technical teams. 
• Hands-on experience troubleshooting or reconciling Base II / Mastercard clearing file 
mismatches or settlement breaks. 

Nice to Have  
• Prior experience at a payment aggregator, acquirer, or acquiring bank in a role with 
direct exposure to backend clearing/settlement processing systems. 
• Exposure to international payment schemes and cross-border settlement. 
• Background in engineering or systems design before moving into product.