Product Manager - Direct Debit & Alternate Payments

Job Description

Xplor Pay is building the payments infrastructure of the future — embedded, intelligent, and designed for the verticals we serve. As Product Manager for Direct Debit & Alternate Payments, you will own the end-to-end product strategy and execution for our UK (Bacs) and EU (SEPA) Direct Debit rails, while simultaneously leading our expansion into Open Banking, account-to-account (A2A), and emerging payment methods across the UK and European markets.

What You'll Do

Direct Debit Product Ownership (UK & EU)

• Own and evolve the product roadmap for Bacs Direct Debit (UK) and SEPA (EU), balancing merchant experience, operational efficiency, and regulatory compliance.
• Reduce failure rates, improve reconciliation flows, and drive down cost-per-transaction through product-led initiatives.
• Partner with Compliance and Legal to ensure adherence to UK FCA rules, EU PSD2/PSD3, GDPR, and scheme rules from Bacs, SEPA, and Pay.UK.
• Work with the Commercial team to package and price Direct Debit as a competitive embedded payment option for Xplor's vertical SaaS partners.

Open Banking & Alternate Payments

• Lead the product development of Open Banking payment initiation (PIS) and account information (AIS) services under UK Open Banking standards and EU PSD2/PSD3 requirements.
• Define the roadmap for A2A payments, Variable Recurring Payments (VRP), and Request-to-Pay (RtP) as these rails mature in the UK and EU.
• Evaluate and integrate alternate payment methods (e.g., iDEAL, Bancontact, SEPA Instant, PayTo equivalents) relevant to Xplor's merchant base.

Roadmap & Strategy

• Define quarterly and annual plans for the Direct Debit and Alternate Payments portfolio; maintain and communicate a rolling 12-month roadmap.
• Conduct competitive analysis across incumbent acquirers, neo-banks, and specialist payment providers operating in UK/EU markets.
• Present strategy, progress, and investment cases to the Embedded Payments executive leadership team.

Delivery & Stakeholder Management

• Drive agile delivery with cross-functional squads — engineering, design, data, and QA — using clear PRDs, user stories, and acceptance criteria.
• Build strong relationships with external scheme operators, banks, and open banking infrastructure providers.
• Serve as the internal centre of excellence on UK/EU payment rails — educating sales, customer success, and commercial teams.
• Monitor product health via dashboards covering transaction volumes, failure rates, settlement times, and revenue contribution.

AI-Augmented Product Practice

• Embed AI tools into every stage of the product lifecycle: use LLMs for rapid synthesis of merchant interview transcripts, competitor teardowns, and PRD first drafts; use AI coding assistants to prototype flows and validate API responses without full engineering overhead.
• Champion AI adoption within the Embedded Payments product team — document effective prompting patterns, share workflows, and help upskill peers.
• Use AI-powered analytics tools to monitor performance dashboards, surface anomalies in transaction data, and generate plain-language summaries for stakeholder updates.
• Stay current with the evolving AI tooling landscape relevant to product management — proactively evaluate and propose new tools that can increase team velocity.

Qualifications

Essential Requirements

• 3+ years of product management experience in fintech, payments, or financial services.
• Deep hands-on knowledge of Bacs Direct Debit (UK) — scheme rules, mandate management, AUDDIS/ARUDD processing, indemnity claims.
• Solid understanding of SEPA Direct Debit, payment rails, and EU clearing cycles.
• Demonstrated experience with Open Banking — either as a PM building PIS/AIS products or in a closely adjacent commercial or technical role.
• Fluency in PSD2, PSD3 (in progress), and UK Open Banking regulatory frameworks.
• Track record of shipping B2B or embedded payment products from discovery through to production at scale.
• Excellent written and verbal communication — able to write crisp PRDs, present to executives, and explain complex payment flows to non-technical stakeholders.
• Strong commercial instinct: comfortable with unit economics, pricing models, and revenue forecasting.

Desirable

• Experience with Variable Recurring Payments (VRP) or Request-to-Pay (RtP) in the UK.
• Exposure to SEPA Instant Credit Transfer (SCT Inst) or SEPA Payment Account Access (SPAA).
• Familiarity with GDPR data handling requirements as they apply to payment data.
• Prior experience in a scale-up or multi-market fintech environment.

Additional Information

What does it mean to work for Xplor?

Our five core values guide us from how we hire and recognise our team members to how we interact with our customers day to day:

• Find a better way
• Do the right thing
• Say it straight
• Win together
• Own the outcome

If these values sound like you, and describe people you want to work with, you will thrive at Xplor. As an Xplorer, you will be part of a global network of talented colleagues who will support your success. We look for commonalities and shared passions and give people the tools they need to deliver great work and grow at speed.

Ready to apply?

To start your application, please submit your resume, and we will be in touch as soon as we can. Please include the word "moonshot" at the top of your message to the Hiring Manager so that we know you took the time to read our job ad.

We kindly ask you to apply through our careers portal or external job boards (LinkedIn, Naukri, Indeed, etc) only. Please don't send your application via email. They will not be forwarded. 

More about us 

More than 130,000 businesses in 72+ countries rely on Xplor to run their day and get paid, processing over $47 billion in payments annually. Our connected ecosystem helps operators spend less time managing complexity and more time delivering the experiences that matter most. 

Xplor is backed by world-class investors Advent International, Battery Ventures, and Silver Lake. 

Good to know

To be considered for employment, you must be legally authorised to work in the location (country) you're applying for. Xplor does not sponsor visas, either at the time of hire or at any later time. 

To learn more about us and our products, please visit xplor.com/careers/. 

We also invite you to check out our Candidate FAQs for more information about our recruitment process xplor.com/recruitment-faqs/.

EEO and Artificial Intelligence

We believe in transparent hiring. We use an applicant tracking system that includes artificial intelligence enabled features to assist with the screening and assessment of job applications, such as candidate scoring or ranking. These tools support our recruitment process, but all hiring decisions are made by our recruitment team following human review. We do not rely on artificial intelligence to make final hiring decisions. Find our Candidate AI Usage guidelines here.

Xplor is committed to providing equal opportunities in employment and creating an inclusive work environment. We provide equal opportunities to all our employees and to all eligible applicants for employment in our company. We do not unfairly discriminate on any ground, including race, religion, color, ancestry, marital status, gender, sexual orientation, age, nationality, ethnic origin, disability or any other category protected by applicable law.

We make it a priority to respond to every applicant.