Senior Merchant Underwriting Specialist
Satispay · Barcelona, Catalonia
About us
Traditional banking has never really given you control over your financial life. Satispay exists to change that: to empower people through finance. That means making financial services easy and accessible for over 6.5M users. We started with payments, then benefits, investing, cards... and we’re not done. Not even close. We follow the same logic every time: find a real problem, solve it properly, then look for the next one. The destination? To build the most loved financial platform in the world. If you own outcomes rather than tasks, stay close to what users need, and refuse to wait for someone else to fix what's broken — you'll find people here who work exactly in the same way. And together, you'll build something worth being proud of.
What you'll be doing
As our Senior Merchant Underwriting Specialist in Barcelona, you'll bring strong merchant underwriting and card acquiring expertise to the launch and evolution of our POS and acquiring proposition. Reporting to the KYB Manager, you will serve as a senior point of reference for complex cases—designing, implementing, and continuously improving our merchant underwriting, KYB, and onboarding frameworks to turn regulatory and partner requirements into clear, scalable processes.
Here's what that looks like in practice:
- Contribute to the merchant underwriting and onboarding framework - Shape the end-to-end KYB, underwriting, and merchant onboarding process for POS and card acquiring, from eligibility assessment and information collection to final approval.
- Shape merchant eligibility and underwriting controls - Define risk-based eligibility criteria, required checks, enhanced due diligence triggers, restricted or out-of-appetite activities, MCC considerations, and escalation paths for acquiring merchants.
- Translate regulatory, PayFac, and partner requirements - Convert regulatory obligations alongside requirements from our acquiring model and external acquiring partner into practical KYB processes, controls, and data requirements.
- Develop procedures and playbooks - Build clear operating procedures, decision frameworks, checklists, and playbooks that enable the team to work consistently and confidently.
- Contribute to product requirements and testing - Represent KYB needs in process and product design, translate operational requirements into clear specifications, and participate in UAT to verify that new tools and flows support the intended controls.
- Build team capability - Develop and deliver training on merchant acquiring, onboarding risks, partner requirements, and the practical application of new policies and procedures.
- Support post-launch process improvement - Analyse transaction, operational, and risk data alongside quality findings and case trends to assess framework effectiveness, spot friction, and refine controls, procedures, and guidance.
- Support future scale - Evolve the framework beyond initial launch to support new merchant segments and broader KYB initiatives as our acquiring proposition grows.
- Partner across the organisation - Bring merchant underwriting and onboarding expertise to the POS and acquiring programme, collaborating with Product, Compliance, FinCrime, Legal, Risk, Operations, and our external acquiring partner.
- Support complex acquiring decisions - Apply specialist judgment to unusual, higher-risk, or unclear merchant cases, guiding decisions and escalations within the agreed framework.
Who we're looking for
This role needs someone who brings deep ownership in merchant acquiring underwriting, thrives on turning complex regulatory and partner rules into practical workflows, and knows how to balance strong risk controls with a smooth merchant experience.
- Experience - At least 5 years in merchant acquiring, ideally gained within an acquirer, Payment Facilitator, PSP, or another regulated payments environment.
- Merchant KYB & underwriting - Direct experience with merchant KYB, onboarding, or acquiring underwriting, including assessing business models, merchant activities, ownership structures, and risk indicators.
- Card-present ecosystem - Strong understanding of card-present acquiring, including PayFac and sub-merchant models, MCCs, merchant and shop setup, card-scheme considerations, and partner onboarding requirements.
- Acquiring lifecycle risks - Solid working knowledge of risks across the acquiring lifecycle, including merchant fraud, bust-out risk, refunds, disputes, chargebacks, reserves, and scheme exposure.
- Process & framework design - Demonstrated track record of designing or materially improving operational processes, policies, controls, procedures, and escalation frameworks.
- Regulatory & technical translation - Ability to turn complex regulatory, partner, and technical requirements into simple, executable operational solutions.
- Product collaboration - Experience working with Product teams on requirements, workflows, tools, or UAT.
- Cross-functional leadership - Confidence operating as a senior individual contributor and subject-matter expert in a fast-paced, cross-functional environment, influencing decisions without formal authority.
- Stakeholder management - Strong communication skills paired with a pragmatic, risk-based mindset that protects the business while keeping merchant experience and scalability in focus.
- Data-driven mindset - Confidence using operational and risk data, quality findings, and case trends to back up recommendations and drive improvements.
- Language - Full professional proficiency in English.
Don't worry if you don't tick every box. We believe in the power of different viewpoints and strengths. Your unique perspective is important as we build something special: if you're passionate and can make a difference, we truly encourage you to apply.
CareAbout: how we support your impact
We move fast, and evolution never stops. It’s a fun ride, but it can be challenging. To make sure our people truly thrive, we’re committed to making their lives easier, both in the office and out in the world. That’s why we created CareAbout:
- ❤️ Health: private insurance for you and your family, psychological support with Serenis, mental health workshops.
- 💰 Financial resources: Stock Option Plan, meal vouchers, relocation support if you’re moving countries.
- ⚙️ Growth and development: professional development programs, internal mobility, language courses with Preply.
- 🌱 Flexibility: unlimited PTO, hybrid working policy*, flexible working hours.
- 👨👩👧 Family: enhanced parental leave, additional leave for child sickness.
*We embrace three days per week in-office (Tuesday and Thursday + 1 of your choice), with the option to request extra remote time.
Equal opportunity employer
At Satispay, we're proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and inclusion, welcoming individuals of all backgrounds. This opportunity is open to everyone, regardless - for instance - of race, colour, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, and national origin. Join us in a workplace where everyone belongs!
Learn more about us
Curious what it's actually like here? Our values and pillars shape how we work every day: explore them here https://www.satispay.com/en-it/work-at-satispay/.
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