Visa Direct Ecosystem Development Director

Company Description

Visa is a world leader in payments technology, facilitating transactions between consumers, merchants, financial institutions and government entities across more than 200 countries and territories, dedicated to uplifting everyone, everywhere by being the best way to pay and be paid.

At Visa, you'll have the opportunity to create impact at scale — tackling meaningful challenges, growing your skills and seeing your contributions impact lives around the world. Join Visa and do work that matters — to you, to your community, and to the world.

Progress starts with you.

Job Description

Role Overview

The Visa Direct Ecosystem Development Director will lead regional ecosystem enablement and expansion for Visa Direct . This role is accountable for issuer and partner readiness, acceptance quality, operational performance, and compliance across key domestic and cross‑border use cases.

The Director will define and execute ecosystem strategy, drive market expansion with issuers, acquirers, enablers, and partners, and ensure the Visa Direct ecosystem operates with high performance, regulatory integrity, and scalability. The ideal candidate brings deep payments expertise, strong ecosystem leadership capabilities, and a structured, analytical approach to solving complex operational and policy challenges.

Key Responsibilities

Ecosystem Strategy, Expansion & Partnerships

• Define and own the regional Visa Direct ecosystem strategy, spanning issuer, acquirer, enabler, and partner enablement.
• Develop and execute multi‑year ecosystem growth plans and OKRs, covering enablement, acceptance, performance, compliance, and revenue outcomes.
• Lead ecosystem expansion initiatives and market openings in partnership with Product, Technology, Risk, Compliance, Client Services, Licensing, and Commercialization teams.
• Partner with issuers, processors, and technology providers to support implementation, activation, and scaling of Visa Direct
• Identify cross‑endpoint synergies to  improve ecosystem efficiency.
• Support activation of cross‑border payment corridors, ensuring market readiness, regulatory alignment, and smooth technical integration.

Issuer & Partner Ecosystem Enablement

• Lead issuer and partner readiness across the full Visa Direct endpoint portfolio, ensuring consistent acceptance and operational execution.
• Serve as a Visa Direct product ecosystem SME, guiding clients through technical, operational, and compliance requirements.
• Work closely with regional and in‑market teams, Account Executives, and Client Services to support client onboarding, activation, and ongoing ecosystem health.
• Translate complex ecosystem requirements into clear, actionable guidance for issuer and partner stakeholders.

Governance, Policy & Compliance Enablement

• Ensure ecosystem readiness in alignment with Visa rules, product guides, mandates, and policy frameworks across domestic and cross‑border flows.
• Drive issuer and partner adherence to network standards, technical specifications, and compliance requirements in collaboration with Legal, Risk, AML, Compliance, Finance, and Product teams.
• Support rule governance activities, including approvals, waivers, regulatory initiatives, and policy interpretations.
• Assess ecosystem and partner impacts of rule, policy, and regulatory changes and define compliant, scalable solutions.
• Act as the regional focal point for assessing issuer readiness for product enhancements, rule updates, and ecosystem changes.

Readiness, Performance & Optimization

• Monitor and manage ecosystem performance and readiness, including approval rates, fraud and risk metrics, data integrity, and operational health.
• Lead issuer acceptance and performance optimization initiatives, including  new and emerging Visa Direct use cases.
• Oversee post‑launch monitoring and continuous improvement efforts to ensure seamless, scalable ecosystem performance.
• Drive data‑driven initiatives to improve acceptance quality, consistency, and operational resilience across endpoints.

Cross‑Functional Leadership & Client Advocacy

• Partner with global and regional product teams to ensure ecosystem readiness for new capabilities, releases, and innovations.
• Collaborate across ecosystem, risk, compliance, technology, and client service teams to deliver high‑quality, scalable Visa Direct execution.
• Act as a strong client advocate, balancing commercial growth with operational discipline, compliance, and ecosystem sustainability.

This is a hybrid position. Expectation of days in office will be confirmed by your Hiring Manager.

This role is not eligible for immigration/sponsorship, including but not limited to J-1, F-1, CPT, or OPT and employment-based sponsorship such as: H-1B, H-1B1,E-3, O-1, TN and any EAD card holders that may need assistance in the future.

This role is not eligible for relocation.

Qualifications

Basic Qualifications
• 10 or more years of work experience with a Bachelor’s Degree or at least 8 years of work experience with an Advanced Degree (e.g. Masters/ MBA/JD/MD) or at least 3 years of work experience with a PhD

Preferred Qualifications
• 12 or more years of work experience with a Bachelor’s Degree or 8-10 years of experience with an Advanced Degree (e.g. Masters, MBA, JD, MD) or 6+ years of work experience with a PhD
• Deep expertise in the payments industry.
• Strong understanding of digital money movement ecosystems, including card, push to wallet, and push to account flows.
• Solid knowledge of issuer and/or account portfolio performance drivers, including P&Ls, authorization strategies, fraud and risk management, and relevant regulation.
• Good working knowledge of payment schemes, banking regulations, financial crime, and crypto adjacent considerations.
• Proven ability to identify operational, technical, and standards based synergies across endpoints and translate them into executable guidance.
• Experience partnering with legal, compliance, risk, AML, and product teams on rules based and regulatory initiatives.
• Strong structured thinking, analytical problem solving, and communication skills, with the ability to influence senior stakeholders.
• Client focused mindset with experience guiding complex issuer and partner organizations through readiness and change.
• Ability to manage multiple workstreams within a global, matrixed environment.

Additional Information

Work Hours: Varies upon the needs of the department.

Travel Requirements: This position requires travel 5-10% of the time.

Mental/Physical Requirements: This position will be performed in an office setting.  The position will require the incumbent to sit and stand at a desk, communicate in person and by telephone, frequently operate standard office equipment, such as telephones and computers.

Visa is an EEO Employer.  Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability or protected veteran status.  Visa will also consider for employment qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with EEOC guidelines and applicable local law.

Visa will consider for employment qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with applicable local law, including the requirements of Article 49 of the San Francisco Police Code.

U.S. APPLICANTS ONLY: The estimated salary range for this position is 192,300.00 to 307,600.00 USD per year, which may include potential sales incentive payments (if applicable). Salary may vary depending on job-related factors which may include knowledge, skills, experience, and location. In addition, this position may be eligible for bonus and equity. Visa has a comprehensive benefits package for which this position may be eligible that includes Medical, Dental, Vision, 401 (k), FSA/HSA, Life Insurance, Paid Time Off, and Wellness Program.