4 to 7 years in payments with direct exposure to transaction routing
Strong understanding of card acceptance drivers and inhibitors
Hands-on experience with a payment orchestration or routing platform
Confident presenting routing logic and AR analysis to senior non-technical stakeholders
Requirements:
Design, maintain, and continuously improve transaction routing logic across ACE's payment infrastructure
Own AR metrics across all active send markets and payment methods
Analyse decline patterns and identify root causes
Work with the analytics function to ensure performance data supports routing decisions
Job description
Payments Optimisation Manager
Payments & Banking Infrastructure
Location
UK or EU (Remote)
Reports To
Head of Payments & Banking Infrastructure
Department
Payments & Banking Infrastructure
Contract
Full-time
The Role
You will own transaction routing logic and acceptance rate performance across ACE's payment infrastructure. This means designing and maintaining routing rules, analysing decline patterns, and driving continuous improvement — working alongside analytics to identify opportunities and coordinating with technical teams to implement changes. The impact of this work is direct and measurable.
What You Will Own
Routing Logic
Design, maintain, and continuously improve transaction routing logic across ACE's payment infrastructure
Translate performance data into routing decisions, accounting for acquirer behaviour, corridor characteristics, and cost
Model the impact of proposed routing changes before implementation and monitor outcomes post-deployment
Maintain clear documentation of all active routing rules, rationale, and measured performance
Acceptance Rate Performance
Own AR metrics across all active send markets and payment methods, with accountability for performance against targets
Analyse decline patterns and identify root causes across acquirer behaviour, issuer rules, scheme mandates, and technical factors
Produce evidence-based recommendations and present findings to senior leadership
Flag AR deterioration quickly and drive remediation through the relevant internal teams
Cross-functional Input
Work with the analytics function to ensure performance data supports routing decisions — not to run operations
Serve as the internal subject matter expert on routing and AR, providing input to commercial negotiations and partner reviews
Feed performance insights back to the Head of PBI for leadership reporting and strategic decisions
What We Are Looking For
Essential
4 to 7 years in payments with direct exposure to transaction routing, acceptance rate management, or payment orchestration
Strong understanding of what drives and inhibits card acceptance — acquirer behaviour, issuer rules, scheme mandates, 3DS, technical configuration
Hands-on experience with a payment orchestration or routing platform
Able to translate performance data into clear, defensible business recommendations
Confident presenting routing logic and AR analysis to senior non-technical stakeholders
Desirable
Cross-border payments or multi-corridor environment experience
Familiarity with scheme rules and interchange structures as they relate to routing
Exposure to decline recovery strategies
Background working across multiple acquirers simultaneously
What We Offer
Competitive salary and package aligned to experience
High-ownership role with direct commercial impact in a growing international payments business
Executive visibility and genuine scope to shape how performance optimisation is done at ACE
