Merchant Acquisition Manager

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and execute merchant acquisition strategies targeting SMEs, retailers, FMCG distributors, and other high-potential businesses.
• Identify priority markets, transport hubs, shopping complexes, and underserved locations for merchant onboarding.
• Recruit, train, and manage a large field sales team of agents and Direct Sales Agents (DSAs).
• Set sales targets, monitor agent performance, and implement initiatives to improve productivity.
• Drive POS deployment, merchant onboarding, transaction volumes, and active account usage.
• Promote cross-selling of deposits, loans, insurance, and other relevant banking products.
• Develop strategic partnerships with payment aggregators, banks, trade associations, and corporate clients.
• Secure bulk POS deployment opportunities with businesses such as supermarket chains and petrol stations.
• Monitor merchant activity, reactivate dormant accounts, and improve merchant retention.
• Ensure full compliance with KYC, AML, CBN regulations, and internal policies.
• Track and report on merchant acquisition, transaction volumes, revenue, and field team performance.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Marketing, Finance, Economics, or a related field. An MBA or relevant professional certification is an advantage.
• Minimum of five years' experience in merchant acquisition, agency banking, fintech, or payments sales.
• Proven experience managing large field sales teams, preferably 50 or more agents.
• Demonstrated success in meeting aggressive sales targets and driving merchant and transaction growth.
• Experience securing strategic partnerships and bulk deployment deals.
• Strong knowledge of merchant acquiring, POS deployment, agency banking, and digital payments.
• Proficiency in sales pipeline management, territory planning, CRM tools, and performance reporting.
• Good understanding of KYC/AML requirements and CBN guidelines.
• Strong leadership, negotiation, relationship management, and analytical skills.
• Knowledge of merchant ecosystems in Lagos, Ibadan, and Kano is required; experience in agent network liquidity management is an advantage.