Manager – Merchant Acquisition & Partnerships

ShopSe Digital Finance; Mumbai; On-site; INR 1,200,000 - 1,400,000; Full time

Job summary

ShopSe Digital Finance in Mumbai is hiring a Merchant Acquisition Manager to drive the expansion of our merchant acceptance network across online payments (gateway, SDKs, APIs) and offline channels (POS, QR, sound-based payments). You will target mid-market and enterprise merchants, negotiate MDRs and processing fees, and guide onboarding through go-live and activation to maximize transaction velocity.

You should have 4–8 years of B2B sales experience in payments or fintech, a strong network in

Qualifications

• 4–8 years of documented B2B sales, enterprise business development, or alliance management in fintech.
• Experience with payment networks, PSPs, or payment aggregators is preferred.
• Experience negotiating MDRs and processing fees is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Identify, prospect, and acquire mid-market, D2C, e-commerce, and enterprise merchants across target verticals (Retail, Travel, Healthcare, Education, SaaS, and Gig Economy).
• Manage the full enterprise/B2B sales cycle from cold outreach and discovery to solution demonstration, commercial closing, and contract execution.
• Build strategic partnerships with platform integrators, ecommerce platforms (Shopify, WooCommerce, Magento), ERP vendors, and system integrators to establish inbound acquisition funnels.
• Conduct detailed consultations to map merchant checkout flows, payment pain points, and settlement cycles to the company's aggregator solutions.
• Structure commercially competitive yet margin-positive contracts, balancing MDR, platform fees, setup costs, settlement timeframes, and liabilities.
• Cross-sell value-added financial products, including instant payouts, recurring billing/e-mandates, BNPL/EMI integrations, working capital financing, and fraud mitigation tools.
• Coordinate with Technical Solutions / Integration Engineering for API and SDK deployment; navigate KYC/KYB, MCC classification, and regulatory standards.
• Track pipeline velocity to minimize onboarding turnaround time and prevent drop-offs; own merchant activation and volume ramp-up for first 60–90 days post-go-live.
• Analyze transaction analytics, route optimization, and failover configurations to troubleshoot integration issues and ensure high authorization rates.
• Handoff stabilized, high-performing accounts to the KAM team with comprehensive performance and revenue profiles.

Skills

B2B sales

Enterprise sales

Partnership development

Negotiation

Payment gateway

REST APIs

SDK integration

KYC/KYB familiarity

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Business, Marketing, Finance, Computer Science, or a related field

MBA preferred

Job description

4 - 8 years

Full-Time

Role Overview

The Merchant Acquisition Manager is responsible for driving the expansion of our merchant acceptance network across online (Payment Gateway, SDKs, checkout APIs) and offline/omnichannel (Smart POS, QR, soundboxes, sound-based payments) channels. This individual will identify high-growth merchants, navigate enterprise and mid-market commercial discussions, negotiate Merchant Discount Rates (MDR) and processing fees, and oversee smooth onboarding through go-live and activation. The primary mandate is scaling Total Payment Volume and expanding the company’s digital payments market share.

Key Responsibilities

1. Business Development & Pipeline Generation

• Identify, prospect, and acquire mid-market, D2C, e-commerce, and enterprise merchants across target verticals (Retail, Travel, Healthcare, Education, SaaS, and Gig Economy).
• Manage the full enterprise/B2B sales cycle from cold outreach and discovery to solution demonstration, commercial closing, and contract execution.
• Build strategic partnerships with platform integrators, e-commerce platforms (Shopify, WooCommerce, Magento), ERP vendors, and system integrators to establish inbound acquisition funnels.

2. Solution Consulting & Commercial Negotiation

• Conduct detailed consultations to map merchant checkout flows, drop-off pain points, payment failure rates, and settlement cycles to the company's aggregator solutions.
• Structure commercially competitive yet margin-positive contracts, balancing MDR, platform fees, setup costs, settlement timeframes ( , , instant payouts), and chargeback liabilities.
• Cross-sell value-added financial products, including instant payouts, recurring billing/e-mandates, BNPL/EMI integrations, working capital financing, and fraud mitigation tools.

3. Onboarding, Integration & Go-Live Management

• Partner with the Technical Solutions / Integration Engineering team to ensure seamless API and SDK deployment on merchant platforms.
• Coordinate with Risk, Compliance, and Underwriting teams to navigate Know Your Customer/Business (KYC/KYB), Merchant Category Code (MCC) classification, and regulatory compliance standards.
• Track pipeline velocity to minimize onboarding turnaround time (TAT) and prevent drop-offs between contract signing and the first live transaction.
• Own merchant activation and volume ramp-up for the first 60–90 days post-go-live to guarantee transaction velocity and wallet-share dominance.
• Analyze transaction analytics, success rates, route optimization, and failover configurations to troubleshoot early integration issues and ensure high authorization rates.

Handoff stabilized, high-performing accounts to the Key Account Management (KAM) team with comprehensive performance and revenue profiles

Required Qualifications & Experience

• Education: Bachelor’s degree in Business, Marketing, Finance, Computer Science, or a related field; MBA is preferred.
• Experience: 4–8 years of documented B2B sales, enterprise business development, or alliance management experience within a Payment Aggregator (PA), Payment Gateway (PG), Merchant Acquiring Bank, or Fintech company.
• Domain Knowledge:
• Comprehensive understanding of online and offline payment rails (Cards, UPI, Net Banking, Wallets, NACH/e-mandates, POS, Soundbox).
• Sound knowledge of interchange economics, card brand scheme rules (Visa, Mastercard, RuPay), and central bank payment aggregator regulations.
• Familiarity with technical integration mechanics (REST APIs, webhooks, mobile SDKs, server-to-server calls).
• Sales Track Record: Consistent history of meeting or exceeding quarterly and annual net revenue.
• Communication & Negotiation: Exceptional presentation, objection handling, and contract negotiation capabilities.
• Established network of executive and operational contacts within mid-market and enterprise D2C, retail, or tech ecosystems.