Associate Director, Payments/Scheme Economics

About the role

Airwallex, the AI-native financial operating system used by more than 675,000 businesses, is looking for an Associate Director, Payments/Scheme Economics in Singapore. Reporting to the Head of Strategic Finance, you will own the integrity, visibility and management of Airwallex's payment costs, starting with card scheme fees and interchange fees across Visa and Mastercard. Over time the remit will expand to other card schemes, local payment methods and the broader payments cost base.

Key responsibilities

• Maintain deep expertise across scheme fees, interchange and network rules, interpreting scheme bulletins, operating regulations and fee schedules into financial, product and operational requirements.
• Translate scheme rules into fee tables, eligibility criteria and transaction-level logic, partnering with Product and Engineering so cost calculation, allocation and customer billing reflect current network rules.
• Establish governance, testing and controls, reconcile expected costs against actual network charges, identify anomalies and leakage and drive root-cause resolution.
• Build models and analytics across markets, products and payment methods to show unit economics, margin drivers and cost movements.
• Identify and execute cost and margin improvements through transaction qualification, BIN routing and cost configuration, and shape pricing and commercial decisions.
• Strengthen cost engines, fee allocation logic, dashboards and automated controls, applying AI and advanced analytics; act as escalation point for scheme pricing and rule questions with Visa, Mastercard and other partners.

Required profile

• 7+ years of relevant experience in payments, acquiring, issuing, card networks, payment infrastructure or related roles, ideally within a global PSP, acquirer, scheme, issuer or fintech.
• Deep knowledge of card payment economics, especially Visa and Mastercard interchange, scheme fees, transaction qualification and network rules.
• Strong analytical and quantitative skills, including transaction-level data, economic modelling and reconciliation of expected versus actual costs.
• Strong commercial judgment, attention to detail and strong cross-functional execution across Product, Engineering, Finance, Data, Operations and external partners.