Head of Bank Partnerships

Head of Banking & Payment Partnerships

Reporting Line: Chief Growth Officer (dotted line to Chief Compliance Officer on regulatory matters)
Seniority Level: Senior Leadership / Head of Function (VP-equivalent; individual contributor scaling into a team lead as the function grows)
Location: Fully remote. Frequent international travel required.
Experience Required: 10+ years in banking, payments, or cross-border financial infrastructure, incl. 3+ years with crypto/stablecoin or blockchain settlement rails

Summary:
The company is building the infrastructure layer for global cross-border payments, bridging traditional banking rails with blockchain-based settlement networks. This role owns the company’s global network of banking, payment rail, and on-chain settlement partners — taking partnerships from first outreach through signed agreement to live integration — and will build the partnerships function as the company scales.

Responsibilities:

• Strategy and planning: set banking/payment infrastructure strategy and partnership/rail expansion roadmap

• Partner sourcing and management: identify, evaluate, onboard correspondent banks, local payment rails, card networks, stablecoin/on-chain settlement providers globally

• Full partner lifecycle ownership: outreach, relationship-building, commercial terms negotiation, technical scoping, ongoing partner POC

• Web2/Web3 bridge: maintain fluency in both traditional rails (SWIFT, ACH, RTGS, card networks) and blockchain rails (stablecoins, on-chain settlement, on/off-ramps)

• Regulatory and compliance coordination with Compliance/Legal on licensing, AML/KYC, jurisdiction-specific requirements

• Cross-functional integration scoping with Product and Engineering

• Global outreach and liaison: represent the company with banks, schemes, regulators, industry bodies

• Function building: partner evaluation frameworks, negotiation playbooks, relationship management processes; hire/lead team as function grows

• Market and competitive intelligence on correspondent banking, real-time payments, stablecoin/blockchain settlement trends

Requirements:

• 10+ years in banking, payments, or fintech with track record sourcing/managing infrastructure or correspondent banking partnerships

• Demonstrated experience structuring/negotiating commercial agreements with banks, schemes, or card networks

• Working knowledge of cross-border payment mechanics: correspondent banking, SWIFT, local clearing/settlement, FX

• Direct, hands-on experience with stablecoins, blockchain settlement, or crypto on/off-ramp infrastructure

• Comfort operating across jurisdictions and regulatory regimes for banking/payments licensing

• Strong executive presence and negotiation skills

• Ability to work cross-functionally with Product, Engineering, Compliance

• Willingness to travel internationally regularly

Nice-to-Haves:

• Existing relationships with correspondent banks, payment schemes, or stablecoin issuers

• Prior experience at a cross-border payments, remittance, or crypto-native payments infrastructure company

• Experience building/scaling a partnerships function from scratch

• Familiarity with EMI, PI, MSB, or VASP licensing regimes across regions

• Language skills relevant to key growth corridors (Spanish, Arabic, Mandarin, Hindi)

Success Metrics:

• Number and quality of live banking/payment rail/on-chain settlement partnerships across target corridors

• Time from first outreach → signed agreement → live integration

• Cost/reliability improvements (FX spreads, settlement times, uptime)

• Geographic and rail diversification

• Regulatory standing across jurisdictions, zero material compliance findings