Location: Dubai, UAE

Company: Kamel Pay

Industry: Fintech | Digital Payments

About Kamel Pay

Kamel Pay is a UAE-based fintech and has received the IPA from the Central Bank of the UAE for Retail Payment Services (RPS) and Stored Value Facilities (SVF). We are building a unified payment ecosystem that enables businesses to manage payroll, corporate spend, and B2B payments seamlessly, empowering financial inclusion and digital transformation across the region.

As we expand our acquiring and merchant services portfolio, we are seeking an experienced Head of Acquiring to design, launch, and scale our acquiring business line across the region.

Role Overview

The Head of Acquiring will be responsible for building and leading Kamel Pay’s acquiring operations and merchant acceptance strategy—covering onboarding, risk, pricing, compliance, settlement, and partner management. The ideal candidate will have first-hand experience in setting up or scaling an acquiring business at a fintech, PSP, or licensed RPS company.

Key Responsibilities

Strategy & Leadership

· Develop and execute the overall acquiring strategy for Kamel Pay in alignment with the company’s commercial and regulatory roadmap.

· Establish and manage partnerships with schemes (Visa, Mastercard), payment gateways, and merchant aggregators.

· Define go-to-market models for merchant onboarding, acceptance channels, and settlement frameworks.

· Work closely with the CEO, CCO, and CTO to integrate acquiring with existing RPS/SVF offerings.

Operations & Compliance

· Oversee acquiring operations, merchant risk, chargeback management, and settlement reconciliation.

· Ensure compliance with CBUAE RPS rulebooks, scheme mandates, and PCI-DSS standards.

· Design and implement operational workflows, KPIs, and SLAs for the acquiring function.

Technology & Integration

· Collaborate with technology teams to define requirements for acquiring platforms, merchant portals, and reporting dashboards.

· Evaluate and manage relationships with technology vendors, switches, and processors.

Commercial & Partnerships

· Build and manage the merchant portfolio across key verticals such as retail, e-commerce, transport, and hospitality.

· Negotiate interchange rates, MDR structures, and commercial agreements with partners.

· Drive P&L ownership and revenue targets for the acquiring business.

Requirements

· Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in business, Finance, or Technology.

· 7+ years of experience in merchant acquiring, RPS operations, or payment gateway management.

· Proven track record of building or scaling acquiring functions within fintech’s, PSPs, or banks.

· Deep understanding of CBUAE regulations, scheme rules, settlement flows, and merchant risk frameworks.

· Strong commercial acumen with hands-on experience in merchant onboarding, contracting, and pricing.

· Excellent stakeholder management skills — ability to work cross-functionally with compliance, tech, and commercial teams.

Preferred Experience

· Prior involvement in a founding or early stage acquiring team

· Exposure to both card and non-card payment methods (e.g., wallets, QR payments, direct debits).

· Familiarity with cross-border settlements and multi-currency acquiring.

Why Join Us

At Kamel Pay, you’ll help shape the next generation of digital payments in the UAE and beyond. You’ll be part of a dynamic team building a regulated fintech from the ground up, with the agility of a startup and the governance of a licensed financial institution.