Director, U.S. Merchant Business Development

Visa; Atlanta (GA); On-site; USD 152,000 - 287,000; Full time

Job summary

Visa is seeking a Director, U.S. Merchant Business Development to lead a portfolio of 20-25 strategic merchant relationships, driving revenue growth through product sales, co-brand opportunities, and VIK initiatives, with cross-functional collaboration.

You will negotiate complex agreements, build executive-level relationships, and guide account plans while leveraging AI-enabled tools to improve prospecting, pipeline coverage, and portfolio performance; travel up to 20% and in-office presence

Qualifications

• 10+ years of work experience with a Bachelor's Degree or at least 8 years with an Advanced Degree or at least 3 years with a PhD.
• Demonstrated success in strategic sales, business development, account management, and executive relationships.
• Experience with payments, co-brand programs, and CRM/sales analytics tools.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the primary Account Executive for a portfolio of 20-25 strategic merchant clients.
• Develop and execute account plans to strengthen relationships and drive revenue growth.
• Lead negotiations and manage commercial agreements with cross-functional teams.

Skills

Strategic sales

Executive presence

Communication

Influencing skills

Analytical thinking

Strategic thinking

Collaboration

Education

Bachelor's degree

Advanced degree (MBA/JD/MD)

PhD

Tools

Microsoft Dynamics

Microsoft Word

Microsoft Excel

Microsoft PowerPoint

Job description

About Us

Visa is a world leader in payments technology, facilitating transactions between consumers, merchants, financial institutions and government entities across more than 200 countries and territories, dedicated to uplifting everyone, everywhere by being the best way to pay and be paid.

At Visa, you'll have the opportunity to create impact at scale - tackling meaningful challenges, growing your skills and seeing your contributions impact lives around the world.

Join Visa and do work that matters - to you, to your community, and to the world. Progress starts with you.

Job Description

The Director, U.S. Merchant Business Development is responsible for managing a portfolio of approximately 20-25 strategic merchant relationships across the industry verticals managed by the U.S. Merchant team. This role serves as the primary Visa relationship owner, responsible for driving revenue growth, expanding executive relationships, and aligning client priorities with Visa's broad portfolio of products and services. In addition to an assigned portfolio, the Director may lead select high-value opportunities that emerge during the fiscal year.

The Director will develop and execute account strategies that grow Visa payment volume and revenue through product sales, Debit Routing Agreements, co-brand opportunities, Value-in-Kind (VIK) usage, and cash product sales. This individual will represent Visa to senior client stakeholders, lead complex commercial discussions, and coordinate cross-functional teams to deliver client and Visa objectives.

The role requires a strategic seller who can balance relationship management, pipeline development, and operational excellence while leveraging AI to improve sales productivity, portfolio management, and prioritization.

Essential Functions

The Director will:

• Serve as the primary Account Executive and relationship owner for a portfolio of 20-25 strategic merchant clients.
• Prioritize client opportunities and allocate time and resources based on revenue potential, strategic value, and likelihood of execution.
• Develop and execute account plans that strengthen client relationships, expand executive engagement, and drive revenue growth.
• Build executive-level relationships across clients' organizations, including payments, finance, treasury, loyalty, digital commerce, and technology teams.
• Lead the negotiation, execution, and ongoing management of commercial agreements, including Debit Routing Agreements and other strategic revenue-generating partnerships.
• Own the end-to-end management of Value-in-Kind (VIK) across applicable accounts, including opportunity identification, client engagement, execution, activation, and measurement of business outcomes.
• Prospect, qualify, and advance co-brand credit and debit opportunities in partnership with issuer and internal Visa stakeholders.
• Drive sales of Visa products, value-added services, consulting, data, risk, acceptance, and emerging commerce solutions, including agentic commerce.
• Build and maintain a robust pipeline of opportunities while meeting revenue, product adoption, and portfolio growth objectives.
• Maintain high-quality account, contact, pipeline, forecasting, and opportunity records within Microsoft Dynamics (MSD) and other sales management tools, ensuring strong data integrity and reporting accuracy.
• Utilize AI-enabled sales tools, automation, and data insights to improve prospecting, client engagement, portfolio coverage, pipeline management, and scalable programs such as VIK.
• Lead commercial negotiations and contract discussions in partnership with Legal, Finance, Pricing, Product, and other internal stakeholders.
• Coordinate cross-functional account teams to deliver a seamless client experience and maximize the value of Visa's relationship with assigned accounts.
• Provide strategic client, industry, and competitive insights to Visa leadership and product teams.
• Travel up to 20% of the time, generally averaging approximately one client-facing trip per month.

Visa requires at least 3 days in office, expectations of these days will be confirmed by your Hiring Manager.

Qualifications

Basic Qualifications

• 10 or more years of work experience with a Bachelor's Degree or at least 8 years of work experience with an Advanced Degree (e.g. Masters/ MBA/JD/MD) or at least 3 years of work experience with a PhD

Preferred Qualifications

• 12 or more years of work experience with a Bachelor's Degree or 8-10 years of experience with an Advanced Degree (e.g. Masters, MBA, JD, MD) or 6+ years of work experience with a PhD
• Experience in strategic sales, business development, account management, relationship development, payments, or related client-facing commercial roles.
• Experience supporting merchants within one or more industries represented across the U.S. Merchant organization is a plus.
• Demonstrated success managing executive-level client relationships and delivering revenue growth objectives.
• Strong understanding of the U.S. payments ecosystem, including merchants, issuers, acquirers, debit routing strategies, and co-brand programs.
• Experience negotiating and managing complex commercial agreements.
• Proven ability to develop pipeline, create executive-level business cases, and close complex opportunities.
• Experience leveraging CRM, sales management, AI-enabled productivity, and analytics tools to improve sales effectiveness and portfolio performance.
• Excellent executive presence, communication, presentation, and influencing skills.
• Strong analytical and strategic thinking capabilities with the ability to translate client needs into commercial opportunities.
• Highly collaborative, self-motivated, and results-oriented with the ability to operate effectively in a matrixed organization.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Dynamics, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.

Information for US Applicants

For roles located in the US, the estimated salary range for this position is $152,200 to $287,000 USD per year, which may include potential sales incentive payments (if applicable). Salary may vary depending on job-related factors which may include knowledge, skills, experience, and location. In addition, this position may be eligible for bonus and equity.

Visa has a comprehensive benefits package for which this position may be eligible that includes Medical, Dental, Vision, 401(k), FSA/HSA, Life Insurance, Paid Time Off, and Wellness Program.

Work Hours

Varies upon the needs of the department.

Travel Requirements

This position requires travel 5-10% of the time.

Mental/Physical Requirements

This position will be performed in an office setting. The position will require the incumbent to sit and stand at a desk, communicate in person and by telephone, frequently operate standard office equipment, such as telephones and computers.

Visa is an EEO Employer

Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability or protect veteran status. Visa will also consider for employment qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with the EEOC guidelines and applicable local law, including the requirements of Article 49 of the San Francisco Police Code.