Acquiring Risk Underwriter

Role Summary

The Risk Underwriter is responsible for assessing merchant risk during the acquiring onboarding process and making risk based underwriting decisions. The role requires strong understanding of merchant business models, acquiring risk, credit exposure, fraud, chargeback and card scheme requirements.

The underwriter is expected to independently assess merchant risk, identify key risk drivers, recommend appropriate mitigation measures, and balance risk control with customer experience and business enablement.

Key Responsibilities

1. Conduct end-to-end risk assessment for merchants during onboarding, including KYB/KYC information, business model, products and services, website and online presence, transaction flow, target markets and other relevant risk factors.
2. Assess different merchant business models and acquiring use cases, including but not limited to E-commerce, Travel, Platform / Marketplace, Subscription, Digital Goods and Payment Link.
3. Evaluate merchant credit and fulfilment risk based on expected TPV, fulfilment period, historical processing performance, refund and chargeback history, financial condition and other relevant information.
4. Make clear underwriting recommendations in accordance with Risk Policy and Underwriting Framework, including Approve, RFI, Escalate or Decline, and recommend appropriate risk mitigation measures such as Rolling Reserve, Settlement Terms, Processing Limits or other controls.
5. Understand key card scheme, acquiring channel and compliance requirements, and identify when a case should be escalated for EDD, Compliance, Legal or Card Scheme Review.
6. Independently assess complex or incomplete cases, identify material risk gaps, determine what additional information is required, and recommend practical mitigation rather than relying solely on standard checklists.
7. Work closely with Sales, Product, Compliance, Operations and other stakeholders to explain risk concerns, provide clear rationale for underwriting decisions, and support commercially viable solutions where risks can be appropriately mitigated.
8. Maintain clear underwriting documentation, decision rationale and audit trails, and support re-underwriting or periodic risk reviews where required.
9. Identify recurring risk patterns and operational issues from case reviews, and provide feedback to improve Risk Policy, Onboarding Strategy, decision rules and underwriting processes.

Qualifications

• 3–5 years of experience in Risk / Underwriting, including at least 3 years of Merchant Underwriting experience within an Acquirer, PSP, PayFac or payment institution.
• Strong understanding of international acquiring and merchant onboarding.
• Experience reviewing cross-border merchants and complex business models.
• Good understanding of merchant credit risk, fraud risk, chargeback risk and card scheme requirements.
• Ability to review financial information and historical processing statements.
• Strong analytical and independent decision-making skills.
• Strong stakeholder management and communication skills.
• Professional working proficiency in English.
• Experience in complex verticals such as Travel, Marketplace / Platform, Subscription or Digital Goods is preferred.