Payment Program Manager – Card Issuing (m/f/d)

Description

Pliant is a modular B2B payments platform that combines commercial card issuing, payment accounts, FX, and spend management in one system — adapting to existing setups rather than requiring customers to replace them.

Businesses across industries such as travel, e-commerce, and insurance use Pliant to manage complex payment workflows with cards, backed by credit lines Pliant underwrites itself.

Fintechs and software platforms embed Pliant's payment infrastructure into their own products, from API-based Cards-as-a-Service to fully white-label solutions. Banks use Pliant's Card & Spend OS, the customer-facing interface, on their own infrastructure to run card programs.

Founded in 2020 and headquartered in Berlin, Pliant serves 5,000+ businesses and 40+ partners across Europe and the United States. A principal member of Visa and Mastercard, Pliant issues commercial cards in 13 currencies across 32 countries — under its own European e-money license and with licensed partners in the UK and US.

Learn more at www.getpliant.com

ABOUT THE ROLE

Our Payment Programs team designs, launches and runs Pliant's card programs across Europe and the US. That includes our own commercial card products and the programs we build with banking and fintech partners.

As a Payment Program Manager , you'll own card program implementations from start to finish. That covers scheme and partner setup, digital wallet launches, testing and go-live. Once a program is live, you'll keep it compliant and running well. You'll work closely with card schemes, banking partners, processors and vendors. Internally, you'll partner with Product, Engineering, Compliance, Risk, Finance and our Commercial teams.

This is a hands-on individual contributor role. It suits someone who has already taken several card programs live, can run them independently, and wants real ownership in a fast-growing fintech.

Responsibilities

• Card Program Implementation
• Lead the launch of new card programs, products, markets and currencies, from scoping and requirements through to production release.
• Manage scheme and partner onboarding across Visa and Mastercard, including BIN and product setup and the related scheme submissions.
• Plan and coordinate end-to-end testing with our partners and sign off programs before launch.
• Coordinate physical and virtual card launches, including card design approvals and production with external vendors.
• Digital Wallets & Tokenisation
• Drive digital wallet launches such as Apple Pay and Google Pay, from issuer onboarding and certification through to go-live.
• Extend existing wallet programs to new products, BINs and markets.
• Monitor wallet and tokenisation performance and work with partners to resolve issues.
• Compliance & Program Health
• Keep our programs aligned with scheme rules, mandates and new releases, and translate changes into clear actions.
• Contribute to recurring scheme and partner reporting.
• Work with Compliance and Fraud teams on program-level controls, and support escalations and audits when needed.
• Stakeholder & Project Management
• Be the main point of contact for your programs, both internally and externally.
• Translate business and partner needs into clear requirements for Product & Engineering.
• Manage several projects in parallel, keep an eye on dependencies and risks, and give stakeholders clear, regular updates.
• Continuous Improvement
• Improve and document how we launch and run programs, so they become faster and more repeatable.
• Use AI and automation tools to reduce manual work across the team.
• WHAT YOU’LL BRING
• 4–7 years of experience in payments, including at least 3 years of hands-on card program implementation at an issuer, processor, program manager or card-issuing fintech.
• Hands-on experience launching and managing programs with both Visa and Mastercard.
• Experience launching digital wallets and tokenisation, ideally including an Apple Pay issuer launch.
• A solid understanding of the card lifecycle, including authorisation, clearing and settlement, 3DS and tokenisation, as well as physical card production.
• A track record of delivering several multi-stakeholder projects at the same time, with clear ownership and reporting.
• Technical fluency. You're comfortable with API documentation, transaction data and test results, and working day to day with engineers.
• A structured, proactive way of working. You flag risks early and document as you go.
• Fluent English, written and spoken.

Requirements

• An established network within the card schemes and the wider issuing ecosystem.
• Experience with commercial card products, such as corporate, travel or virtual cards, and multi-currency programs.
• Exposure to European and Global card programs.
• Proficient SQL or data analysis skills.

Benefits

• The opportunity to work in a growing team with big responsibilities that thrives on a strong exchange of knowledge and excellence
• Attractive remuneration
• Flat hierarchy and transparent communication in a relaxed, professional atmosphere
• Opportunity to develop your talent in a dynamic team with ambitious goals
• Flexibility and possibility to work remotely
• Monthly mobility benefit
• Wellhub Membership
• Pliant Card with monthly credit to explore the product and enjoy food with colleagues
• Pliant is an equal opportunity employer. We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds, identities and abilities, and are committed to an inclusive hiring process. If you need any accommodations during the interview process, please let us know.
• At Pliant we use the Ashby AI Criteria to assist with looking over resumes against our job qualifications for this role. All final decisions are made by our Talent Team and Hiring Team.
• A human is behind these processes. Ashby does not automatically reject candidates or make final hiring decisions. Our teams review all results and make the final hiring decision with every candidate that applies.