Manager – Acquiring Risk

Pine Labs Malaysia; Kuala Lumpur; On-site; MYR 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Pine Labs Malaysia is seeking a Senior Manager Merchant Acquiring Risk to lead operational risk across our card acquiring business in Southeast Asia. You will guide KYB, onboarding risk, AML/CFT, chargebacks, and governance to protect the platform, customers, and partner banks.

You will drive data-led risk operations, develop real-time decisioning and automation, and collaborate with Technology and Compliance to embed risk into day-to-day decisions across markets in SEA.

Qualifications

• Experience in risk management within payments, acquiring, fintech, or financial services.
• Deep knowledge of merchant risk, transaction fraud, AML/CFT, chargebacks.
• Experience engaging with card schemes and regulators in SEA.

Responsibilities

• Execute KYB and merchant due diligence across SEA markets.
• Operate onboarding risk scoring tools and perform watchlist checks.
• Review high-risk onboarding cases per governance thresholds.
• Monitor real-time and batch transaction monitoring for fraud.
• Maintain risk rules and velocity controls with Tech/Data teams.
• Prepare MIS, dashboards, and management reporting.
• Support AML/CFT risk framework across markets (MAS, BNM, etc.).
• Oversee end-to-end chargeback and dispute operations per scheme rules.
• Engage with regulators and market bodies on risk matters.

Skills

Merchant onboarding risk

Transaction monitoring

AML/CFT

Fraud analytics

Risk governance

Regulatory engagement

Education

Bachelor's degree

Risk/Fraud certifications (advantageous)

Job description

We at Pine Labs are looking for those who share our core belief - “Every Day is Game day”. We bring our best selves to work each day to realize our mission of enriching the world through the power of digital commerce and financial services.

Role Purpose

The Senior Manager Merchant Acquiring Risk is responsible for leading and executing the operational risk framework across Pine Labs’ card acquiring business, supporting secure scale across Southeast Asia. The role oversees key elements of the risk lifecycle including merchant onboarding risk, transaction monitoring, AML controls, chargeback and dispute management, ensuring alignment with regulatory and network standards.

As the acquiring business grows in scale, complexity, and transaction velocity, this role plays a critical part in protecting the platform, customers, and partner banks from fraud, misuse, financial loss, and operational risk. The Senior Manager/Manager is expected to drive continuous improvement in risk controls and contribute to the evolution from traditional rule‑based systems to intelligent, data‑led and AI‑enabled risk operations, embedding automation and real‑time decisioning into day‑to‑day risk management.

Responsibilities we entrust you with:

1. Merchant Onboarding & KYB Risk

Execute and manage KYB (Know Your Business) and merchant due diligence processes across assigned SEA markets, ensuring adherence to internal policies and regulatory expectations.

Apply defined merchant risk segmentation and tiering frameworks based on factors such as MCC, transaction volumes, and geography.

Operate and monitor automated onboarding risk scoring tools and workflows, including watchlist checks and adverse media screening.

Review and elevate high‑risk onboarding cases in line with defined approval and governance thresholds.

Support continuous improvement of onboarding controls through data analysis and feedback from fraud and AML outcomes.

Set and enforce policies for merchant approval, conditional approval, and decline, in line with scheme and regulatory requirements

Establish ongoing merchant monitoring cadences with periodic reviews and trigger‑based re‑evaluation

Operate and manage real‑time and batch transaction monitoring systems to detect fraud, unusual patterns, and policy violations across assigned merchant portfolios.

Implement and maintain risk rules, velocity controls, and threshold parameters as defined in collaboration with Technology and Data teams.

Monitor alerts, oversee transaction investigations, and ensure timely escalation, actioning, and closure in line with SOPs.

Support model and rule optimization efforts by providing operational insights, false‑positive feedback, and emerging fraud patterns.

Track and report key metrics including Fraud Losses, Alert volumes and False positive rates and detection effectiveness

Prepare regular MIS and support audits, scheme reviews, and management reporting.

3. AML / CFT Compliance

Execute the AML / CFT risk framework for the acquiring business in line with internal policies and regulatory requirements across respective countries.

Ensure day‑to‑day compliance with local AML regulations in markets such as Singapore and Malaysia,

Manage STR / SAR identification, documentation, and filing workflows, ensuring accuracy, timeliness, and completeness.

Conduct and support Enhanced Due Diligence (EDD) reviews for: High Risk merchants and high risk MCCs and High‑risk geographies and corridors

Act as the operational point of contact for AML audits, regulatory queries, and internal reviews, supporting data and evidence preparation.

Support delivery of AML training and awareness sessions for operations and business teams.

Manage end‑to‑end chargeback and dispute operations, including prevention, representment, and arbitration, in line with card‑scheme rules.

Monitor and apply defined chargeback thresholds and early warning triggers (e.g., Visa VAMP, Mastercard ECP) across assigned merchant portfolios.

Perform detailed analysis of:

Chargeback reason codes

Market‑specific exposure and ratios

Work closely with merchant‑facing and operations teams to Flag merchants with rising chargeback ratios

Execute representment strategies to:

Prepare regular MIS and dashboards for internal reporting and audits.

5. Risk Governance & Reporting

Support development and ongoing maintenance of the risk appetite statement for the SEA acquiring business by providing data inputs and risk insights.

Assist in operating risk governance forums, committees, and reporting cadences by preparing agendas, materials, and action trackers.

Produce regular risk dashboards and MIS covering fraud losses, AML metrics, chargebacks, disputes, and operational risk indicators.

Maintain and update the risk register, ensuring key risks are:

Identified and documented

Accurately rated

Linked to defined mitigation and ownership plans

Partner with Product, Operations, and Compliance teams to embed risk considerations into day‑to‑day decision‑making.

Promote awareness of risk policies and controls across operational teams.

6. Regulatory & Market Engagement

Support engagement with financial regulators across SEA markets (e.g., MAS, BNM, OJK, BSP, BOT) on risk‑related and compliance matters.

Ensure operational readiness for local regulatory requirements, including:

Licensing conditions

Ongoing reporting obligations

Market‑specific operational risk controls

Coordinate responses to regulatory queries, audits, and inspections by preparing data, documentation, and evidence packs.

Track regulatory changes and elevate relevant updates and impact assessments to senior risk leadership.

Support participation in industry forums, working groups, and scheme‑led discussions as required.

What matters in this role:

6–8 years of experience in risk management within payments, acquiring, fintech, or financial services.

Bachelor’s degree required with any related certifications in Risk, AML, Fraud, or Payments are advantageous.

Deep domain expertise in at least three of: merchant risk, transaction fraud, AML/CFT, chargebacks.

Demonstrated experience managing acquiring risk portfolios in Southeast Asian markets

Hands‑on knowledge of Visa and Mastercard operating rules, chargeback programs (VAMP, ECP), and compliance frameworks

Experience engaging with card schemes and financial regulators in the Malasia or SINGAPORE

Proven track record of building and leading cross‑functional risk teams in a fast‑paced, high‑growth environment

Strong analytical skills with experience using data‑driven approaches to risk decision‑making

Experience in a payments processor, acquirer, or payment facilitator (PayFac) environment

Familiarity with PCI‑DSS requirements and their intersection with operational risk

Regional language capabilities in addition to English

What we Value in Our people

You take the shot: You Decide Fast and You Deliver Right

You are the CEO of what you do: you show ownership and make things happen

You own tomorrow: by building solutions for the clients and doing the right thing

You sign your work like an artist: You seek to learn and take pride in the work you do

About Pine Labs Malaysia

Pine Labs is a leading merchant commerce omnichannel platform across India, Southeast Asia, and UAE. Our deep technology is designed to empower businesses and fuel their entrepreneurial spirit. We build and host a roster of fintech products, from digital payments to loyalty solutions. To learn more, please visit https://www.pinelabs.my/.

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