Head of Risk Payment Aggregator (India)

Designation: Head of Risk

Function: Risk Management

Reporting to: Board Risk Committee / CEO

Location: India

Industry: Fintech / Digital Payments / Payment Aggregation

1. Role Overview

- The Head of Risk will be responsible for establishing, leading and strengthening the enterprise-wide risk management framework for the Payment Aggregator business in India.
- The role will oversee the identification, assessment, monitoring and mitigation of risks across merchant onboarding, transaction processing, payment settlements, fraud prevention, operational resilience, regulatory compliance and third-party relationships.
- The individual will ensure that the organisation maintains a robust risk governance framework aligned with RBI regulations, applicable payment ecosystem guidelines, industry best practices and the company's risk appetite, while enabling sustainable business growth.

2. Key Responsibilities A.

Enterprise Risk

Management & Governance

- Develop and implement a comprehensive Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) framework covering financial, operational, technology, fraud, regulatory and business risks.
- Establish the organisation's Risk Appetite Framework, risk policies, limits, control mechanisms and escalation matrix.
- Identify emerging risks and assess their potential impact on business operations, financial performance and reputation.
- Develop risk dashboards, KRIs (Key Risk Indicators), risk registers and periodic risk reports for senior management and the Board Risk Committee.
- Drive a strong risk culture across the organisation.

B. Merchant Risk & Underwriting

- Own the merchant risk management lifecycle, including merchant due diligence, onboarding, underwriting, periodic reviews and ongoing monitoring.
- Establish merchant categorisation and risk-rating methodologies based on business models, industry segments, transaction behaviour and regulatory requirements.
- Define underwriting policies, exposure limits, reserve requirements and settlement controls for high-risk merchants.
- Establish enhanced due diligence protocols for high-risk and restricted merchant categories.
- Monitor merchant concentration, unusual transaction patterns, chargebacks, refunds and settlement exposures.
- Ensure appropriate controls to prevent prohibited, fraudulent and potentially illegal merchant activities.

C. Transaction Risk & Fraud Management

- Develop and oversee transaction monitoring and fraud risk management frameworks.
- Implement preventive and detective controls to identify fraudulent transactions, account takeovers, identity fraud, card-not-present fraud, payment manipulation and other emerging fraud typologies.
- Leverage rules-based systems, machine learning, behavioural analytics and real-time monitoring tools to detect suspicious activities.
- Monitor fraud rates, chargeback ratios, transaction anomalies and suspicious merchant behaviour.
- Work closely with technology, product and operations teams to continuously enhance fraud detection capabilities.
- Establish appropriate fraud investigation,



incident management and loss mitigation processes.

D. Regulatory & Compliance Risk

- Ensure the risk management framework is aligned with applicable RBI guidelines governing Payment Aggregators, including PA authorisation and ongoing regulatory requirements.
- Oversee risk-related compliance with applicable RBI directions, including KYC, merchant due diligence, escrow account requirements, settlement timelines, data security and outsourcing requirements.
- Ensure appropriate governance and controls around customer data, payment data protection and applicable data localisation requirements.
- Work closely with the Compliance Officer and Legal team on regulatory inspections, audits, compliance reviews and remediation plans.
- Monitor regulatory developments and assess their implications for the business.
- Ensure timely closure of regulatory observations and risk-related audit findings.

E. Operational & Technology Risk

- Establish frameworks to identify and mitigate operational risks across payment processing, reconciliation, settlement, refunds and dispute management.
- Oversee risks relating to technology infrastructure, cybersecurity, system availability, business continuity and disaster recovery.
- Assess risks associated with API integrations, payment gateways, banking partners, processors and other third-party service providers.
- Drive operational risk assessments, control testing, incident reporting and root-cause analysis.
- Ensure robust business continuity and disaster recovery arrangements.

F. Settlement, Financial & Liquidity Risk

- Monitor merchant settlement exposures, escrow account risks, pending liabilities and potential financial losses.
- Establish controls around settlement cycles, reconciliation breaks, refunds, chargebacks and merchant payout processes.
- Monitor merchant exposure limits and ensure adequate safeguards against settlement-related losses.
- Work with Finance and Treasury teams to assess liquidity, counterparty and financial risks.
- Ensure effective monitoring and escalation of settlement exceptions and financial discrepancies.

G. Third-Party & Ecosystem Risk

- Establish a framework for assessing and monitoring risks arising from banking partners, payment processors, technology vendors, fintech partners and other outsourced service providers.
- Conduct risk assessments and periodic reviews of critical third-party relationships.
- Define appropriate contractual safeguards, service-level expectations and contingency arrangements.
- Monitor concentration and dependency risks across the payment ecosystem.

H. Risk Reporting & Stakeholder Management

- Present periodic risk updates, material incidents,



emerging risks and mitigation plans to the CEO, senior management and Board Risk Committee.
- Coordinate with Business, Product, Technology, Operations, Finance, Compliance, Legal and Internal Audit teams.
- Ensure risk considerations are embedded into new product launches, business expansion and strategic partnerships.
- Build and lead a high-performing risk management team.

3. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

- Reduction in fraud losses as a percentage of total transaction value.
- Merchant onboarding quality and underwriting effectiveness.
- Chargeback and dispute ratios.
- Reduction in settlement-related losses and reconciliation exceptions.
- Timely identification and mitigation of material risks.
- Regulatory and internal audit observation closure within agreed timelines.
- Effectiveness of transaction monitoring and fraud detection systems.
- Reduction in operational risk incidents and repeat control failures.
- Timely submission and quality of risk reporting to senior management and the Board.
- Effectiveness of enterprise-wide risk governance and control frameworks.

4. Qualifications & Experience

- Postgraduate qualification in Finance, Risk Management, Business Administration, Economics or a related discipline. Professional qualifications such as FRM, CFA, CA or equivalent would be advantageous.
- 1218 years of overall experience in risk management, financial services, banking, fintech or digital payments.
- At least 5 years of experience in a senior risk leadership role.
- Strong experience in payment aggregation, payment gateways, merchant acquiring, digital payments, cards or transaction processing.
- Demonstrated experience in merchant underwriting, fraud risk management, transaction monitoring and operational risk.
- Strong understanding of RBI regulatory requirements applicable to Payment Aggregators in India.
- Experience in building risk frameworks, policies, governance structures and risk monitoring capabilities.

5. Key Competencies

- Strategic risk leadership and business judgement.
- Strong understanding of India's digital payments ecosystem.
- Deep knowledge of merchant and transaction risk.
- Analytical and data-driven decision-making.
- Strong regulatory and governance orientation.
- Ability to balance risk management with business growth.
- Stakeholder management and influencing skills.
- Solid leadership, communication and team-building capabilities.
- Ability to manage complex and time-sensitive risk incidents.

6. Desired Candidate Profile

- The ideal candidate will be a seasoned risk professional with a strong understanding of India's payment ecosystem and regulatory environment. The candidate should have the ability to build a forward-looking risk management function that safeguards the organisation against financial, operational, fraud and regulatory risks while supporting innovation and scalable business growth.
- Experience in a regulated Payment Aggregator, Payment Gateway, merchant acquiring bank, card network or large-scale fintech environment will be particularly valuable.

📌 Head of Risk (New Delhi)
🏢 Pay10 India
📍 New Delhi