Risk Operations Manager – Merchant Risk

As we continue to scale our payment and merchant ecosystem, we are looking for a Risk Operations Manager – Merchant Risk to strengthen our merchant risk management framework and ensure that merchants onboarded and transacting through our platforms remain within acceptable risk parameters.This is a hands-on role combining merchant underwriting, transaction risk management, fraud detection, portfolio monitoring and risk operations.Key Responsibilities1. Merchant Risk Assessment & UnderwritingLead risk assessment and underwriting of new merchants across different business models, industries, jurisdictions and payment products.Review merchant KYB/KYC information, corporate structures, beneficial ownership, business activities, website/app presence, transaction flows and source of funds where applicable.Assess merchant risk across factors including:Business model and industry riskGeographic and jurisdictional exposureTransaction characteristics and expected volumesProduct/service riskFraud and chargeback exposureFinancial and operational riskRegulatory and reputational riskAML/CFT and sanctions-related risk indicatorsEstablish appropriate merchant risk ratings, transaction limits, reserves, velocity controls and other risk mitigation measures.Escalate high-risk or unusual merchants to Risk/Compliance for enhanced due diligence or approval.2. Ongoing Merchant MonitoringMonitor the merchant portfolio to identify changes in business activity, transaction patterns and emerging risk indicators.Conduct periodic and event-driven merchant reviews based on risk level and predefined triggers.Identify unusual changes in:Transaction volumeAverage transaction sizeRefund ratesChargeback ratesGeographic distributionPayment methodsCustomer behaviourProduct/service mixInvestigate merchants whose actual transaction behaviour materially deviates from their approved business profile.Recommend appropriate actions including enhanced monitoring, transaction restrictions, temporary suspension or termination.3. Fraud & Transaction Risk ManagementDevelop and operate merchant-level transaction risk controls to detect potential fraud, abuse and suspicious activity.Work with Risk Product / Engineering teams to develop and optimise transaction monitoring rules, risk thresholds and automated alerts.Analyse transaction patterns and merchant behaviour to identify emerging fraud typologies.Investigate suspicious transaction activity and determine appropriate operational actions.Monitor fraud losses, chargebacks, refunds and other merchant-related risk metrics.Identify opportunities to improve detection accuracy while minimising false positives and unnecessary friction for legitimate merchants.4. Chargeback & Payment RiskMonitor merchant chargeback, dispute, refund and fraud performance.Identify merchants with deteriorating payment performance and proactively implement remediation measures.Establish risk thresholds and escalation triggers for high-chargeback or high-refund merchants.Work with Payments Operations, Finance and Commercial teams on merchant remediation and loss recovery.Analyse root causes of payment disputes and recommend preventive measures.5. Risk Operations & Case ManagementOwn day-to-day merchant risk investigations and ensure cases are reviewed and resolved within defined SLAs.Establish clear investigation procedures, escalation matrices and decision-making frameworks.Maintain complete and auditable documentation of merchant risk decisions.Ensure consistent application of risk policies across merchant onboarding, monitoring and remediation.Conduct quality assurance reviews to identify gaps in risk decisions and operational processes.Support incident management and urgent merchant risk escalations.6. Risk Policy, Controls & Process ImprovementDevelop and continuously improve merchant risk policies, procedures and operational playbooks.Define merchant risk segmentation and risk appetite criteria together with Risk and Compliance leadership.Review existing controls and identify opportunities for automation and process optimisation.Partner with Product, Engineering and Data teams to enhance merchant risk tooling and dashboards.Support the development of automated merchant risk scoring and decisioning frameworks.Conduct periodic reviews of risk rules to ensure they remain effective against evolving fraud and payment risk patterns.7. Risk Analytics & ReportingDevelop and maintain merchant risk dashboards and management reporting.Monitor key risk indicators including:Merchant approval / rejection ratesHigh-risk merchant volumesFraud ratesChargeback ratesRefund ratesTransaction decline ratesRisk alert volumesLoss ratesMerchant concentration riskRisk review turnaround timeProvide regular portfolio risk reporting and insights to senior management.Identify emerging trends and recommend appropriate risk appetite or control adjustments.8. Cross-Functional Stakeholder ManagementWork closely with Compliance / AML, Payments Operations, Product, Engineering, Finance, Sales and Customer Support to manage merchant risk.Partner with Commercial teams to balance business growth with appropriate risk controls.Provide risk guidance during the launch of new merchant products, payment methods, markets and business models.Act as a key risk escalation point for complex merchant cases.Support internal audits, compliance reviews and regulatory examinations relating to merchant risk management.RequirementsExperienceBachelor's degree in Risk Management, Finance, Business, Economics, Accounting, Data Analytics or a related discipline.5–8 years of relevant experience in merchant risk, payment risk, fraud risk, transaction monitoring, acquiring, payment operations, fintech or financial services.Experience managing merchant onboarding and ongoing merchant risk monitoring is highly preferred.Experience in a payment institution, PSP, acquirer, fintech, bank, card network or digital asset company is advantageous.Strong understanding of merchant fraud, payment risk and chargeback management.Experience managing risk operations teams or leading risk operations projects is preferred.Technical & Analytical SkillsStrong ability to analyse large volumes of transactional and merchant data.Comfortable working with risk dashboards, transaction monitoring systems and case management tools.Strong Excel/Google Sheets skills; SQL, BI or data analytics experience is a strong advantage.Ability to translate data and risk signals into clear operational decisions.Experience designing risk rules, thresholds, scoring models or monitoring frameworks is preferred.Risk KnowledgeStrong understanding of several of the following:Merchant underwritingKYB/KYC and merchant due diligenceFraud detection and preventionTransaction monitoringChargeback and dispute managementPayment fraudMerchant monitoringAML/CFT riskSanctions and adverse media riskRisk-based merchant segmentationPayment processing and acquiringDigital payment / fintech riskKnowledge of Singapore's payment services regulatory environment and MAS AML/CFT requirements is an advantage. MAS expectations include ongoing monitoring of business relationships and scrutiny of transactions against a customer's known business and risk profile.CompetenciesStrong risk judgement – able to make sound decisions under uncertainty and balance commercial considerations with risk appetite.Analytical thinking – able to identify patterns and connect seemingly unrelated risk indicators.Attention to detail – strong discipline in reviewing merchant information and documenting decisions.Problem solving – able to investigate complex merchant and transaction issues independently.Ownership – takes accountability for risk decisions and operational outcomes.Communication – able to explain risk decisions clearly to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.Stakeholder management – comfortable challenging business stakeholders when risk concerns arise.Execution-oriented – able to operate effectively in a fast-paced, high-growth environment.Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)Merchant risk review SLA achievementAccuracy and consistency of merchant risk decisionsFraud loss rate / merchant fraud exposureChargeback and dispute rateHigh-risk merchant identification effectivenessFalse-positive rate of risk controlsRisk incident response and resolution timeQuality and completeness of merchant risk documentationEffectiveness of merchant monitoring controlsReduction in preventable merchant-related lossesTimely implementation of risk control enhancementsSuccessful automation and process improvement initiativesWhat We OfferOpportunity to build and scale merchant risk operations within a high-growth fintech environment.Exposure to payments, cross-border transactions, digital assets and emerging financial products.High level of ownership and direct exposure to senior Risk, Compliance, Product and Business stakeholders.Opportunity to build and improve merchant risk frameworks, processes and technology from the ground up.Fast-paced, international and highly collaborative working environment.