Head of Merchant Acquisition

The Head of Merchant Acquisition is responsible for building, scaling, and leading the merchant acquisition engine for the organization. This role oversees strategy, planning, partnerships, execution, and performance of all merchant onboarding activities across segments—from small retailers and MSMEs to mid-market and enterprise merchants. The role requires a mix of strategic leadership, data-driven decision making, strong commercial acumen, and the ability to develop a high-performing sales force that can deliver aggressive acquisition and activation targets. The position entails playing the lead role to establish & run a fully functional QR Merchant Acquisition and Support Platform for Telenor Microfinance Bank. TMB is the leading FinTech in Pakistan backed by a large global partnership with immense focus on Technology.

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Develop and own the national merchant acquisition strategy, aligned with overall business objectives and revenue goals.
• Segment the merchant market (micro, SME, mid-market, enterprise, eCommerce) and design distinct acquisition playbooks for each segment.
• Identify and prioritize high-value merchant ecosystems (FMCG, retail chains, fuel, pharma, F&B, transport, education, healthcare, marketplaces, etc.).
• Build multi-quarter expansion, activation, retention, and throughput plans, including quarterly/yearly budgets for merchant acquisition.
• Develop scalable QR and acceptance platforms that can support merchant onboarding across all sectors.
• Lead execution of end-to-end merchant onboarding, including lead generation, documentation, KYC, and activation.
• Implement efficient processes for pipeline management, site visits, conversion tracking, and productivity optimization.
• Maintain strong merchant relationships to drive growth, retention, and transaction throughput.
• Present and position appropriate solutions to onboard new merchants and partners.
• Collaborate with product and marketing teams to ensure merchant-level promotions and customer pull mechanisms.
• Identify and close partnerships with distributors, aggregators, merchant ERP providers, PSPs/PSOs, payment gateways, and hardware providers (POS, QR tools).
• Build strategic relationships with national retail chains and enterprise merchants to expand the acceptance footprint.
• Ensure merchant onboarding complies with regulatory requirements (SBP, AML/KYC, audit controls).
• Develop and enforce SOPs for sales operations, documentation handling, fraud prevention, and dispute resolution.
• Establish quality control checks on onboarding data, acceptance tools, and sales integrity.
• Identify bottlenecks in onboarding workflows and revamp processes to improve turnaround time and execution efficiency.
• Optimize online/offline monitoring rules and work with stakeholders to enhance the platform’s infrastructure performance.
• Use analytics to optimize the merchant funnel (lead → onboarded → active → transacting → high-volume).
• Run A/B tests and productivity experiments to improve conversion rates, throughput, and sales team efficiency.
• Analyze merchant economics (CAC, payback periods, LTV) to drive informed commercial decisions.
• Prepare regular business reviews and forecasts for acquisition, revenue, and productivity targets.
• Lead, expand, and coach a nationwide team of acquisition managers, regional leads, field sales, and key account managers.
• Set clear KPIs for acquisition, activation, and productivity; manage team performance through reviews and rapid-cycle feedback.
• Build a strong sales operations and enablement function to support field execution.
• Ensure continuous training on product knowledge, compliance, sales pitches, and merchant lifecycle management.
• Manage multiple cross-functional initiatives and foster effective communication across internal and external stakeholders.
• Ensure effective communication with internal and external stakeholders on progress, challenges, and initiatives.
• Develop procedures and controls to promote smooth information flow and alignment across teams
• Incumbent shall be responsible to adhere by Easypaisa Bank Behaviors in all aspects of his/her work conduct

Direct Reports:

• Regional team heads
• 40-50 contractual Business development officers

Role Relationship

Internal

• Operations
• Products Team
• Regional Sales Team
• Technology (Planning, Development)

External

• New potential merchants
• Vendors to support new acquisitions

Knowledge and Experience

Education: Master’s Degree

Experience:

• 10+ years experience in merchant acquisition, fintech, payments, telecom, FMCG sales, or financial services.
• 5+ years in a leadership role managing large teams and multi-city operations.
• Proven track record in scaling merchant networks or sales channels (tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands).
• Experience with POS, QR, acceptance hardware, Schemes (Visa/Mastercard/etc), online payment integrations, or merchant financing is a major plus.
• Strong understanding of merchant lifecycle, CLM, onboarding compliance, and throughput optimization.

Behavioral Skills & Competencies:

• Experience in product management, campaigns, writing processes and creating solutions
• Ability to construct market segments and drive QR focused campaigns
• Proficient in MS Office (MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint) and campaign tools
• Deep understanding of merchant acquiring business
• Written and verbal communication skills
• Vendor management & Negotiation skills.
• Ability to handle pressure situations
• Team Management Skills
• Project Management
• Quick to learn and dynamic personality