Sr. Director, N.A. Visa Direct (NAVD) Head of Bank Sponsor

Visa is a world leader in payments and technology, with over 259 billion payments transactions flowing safely between consumers, merchants, financial institutions, and government entities in more than 200 countries and territories each year. Our mission is to connect the world through the most innovative, convenient, reliable, and secure payments network, enabling individuals, businesses, and economies to thrive while driven by a common purpose – to uplift everyone, everywhere by being the best way to pay and be paid.

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Senior Director – N.A. Visa Direct – Head of Bank Sponsor

Visa Direct is an exciting payment service that Visa provides to clients (issuers, acquirers, processors, merchants and service providers) to facilitate Money Movement (funds transfers and disbursements) to Visa accounts in the U.S. and around the world using push payment technology. Visa Direct consumer and business applications include person-to-person money transfer, person-to-micro-business (P2MB) transfer, marketplace payouts, gig economy participant payouts, funds disbursement (e.g. insurance claims, online gaming winnings) to money-in and money-out online brokerage and neo-bank use-cases and more.

The Senior Director – N.A. Visa Direct (NAVD) Head of Bank Sponsor role will be a key member of the N.A. Visa Direct team defining bank sponsor partnership and enablement strategy to expand Visa Direct money movement through traditional and non-traditional channels. This leader will support key strategic initiatives within Visa Direct that include: Bank Sponsor Expansion: identifying, establishing and expanding bank partner sponsorship for strategic use-cases and flows (XB, wallet and account) - by working with bank sponsors and financial institutions to expand sponsorship of domestic and cross-border clients (merchants, enablers) in N.A., to close offering gaps, supporting strategic merchant deployments and optimizing process barriers.  A special focus will be on owning, defining and expanding bank sponsor enablement of domestic and cross border use-cases and flows including push-to-card (P2C), push-to-wallet (P2W) and push-to-account (P2A), account managing select new and existing bank sponsor/financial institution accounts, partnering with Visa Sales and Account Management to identify and establish BIN sponsor relationships and agreements with new bank sponsors/entities, champion Visa Direct initiatives with bank partners (and their clients) and leading various strategic efforts to expand Visa Direct adoption.

The Senior Director – N.A. Visa Direct Head of Bank Sponsor will be tasked with creating a deep understanding of client needs, market conditions and industry trends and align Visa Direct offerings.  They will develop industry insights and best practices, lead and support key client engagements, be accountable for meeting key metrics such as revenue (AANR),transaction growth and use-case/new flows sponsorship expansion and end point establishment (P2A-W), will partner with sales, product, commercialization, marketing, legal and others to help Visa win RFP’s, and play an active role in attracting new talent and growing a team.  The Senior Director – N.A. Visa Direct Head of Bank Sponsor will be an integral part of forming a point of view and helping develop our Bank Sponsor strategy to grow our engagements and business.

Key characteristics of the candidate include being comfortable working and engaging in a matrix organization, exceedingly self-motivated with a proactive attitude, and an innately inquisitive nature.  Visa is looking for an individual that is a thought leader in payments with a proven track record of success in fast-paced environments with demanding timelines. 

This is a critical position in the N.A. Visa Direct organization reporting to the Vice President – N.A. Channel Partners.

Responsibilities: 

• Lead strategic initiatives for bank sponsor enablement within Visa Direct, with a focus on developing and executing high-impact strategies that drive adoption, optimize operations, and expand the ecosystem across domestic and cross-border flows.
• Own and manage key bank sponsor relationships, particularly those processing over 5 million transactions annually. This includes building trusted partnerships with senior decision-makers, establishing structured engagement cadences, and driving continuous performance improvement and growth.
• Serve as the primary relationship manager for strategic financial institutions, ensuring alignment with Visa Direct’s objectives, resolving operational challenges, and identifying opportunities for expansion and innovation.
• Partner closely with Visa Sales and Account Management teams to identify, engage, and onboard new bank sponsors. Support deal structuring, contract negotiation, and long-term relationship development.
• Develop tailored account plans for each sponsor, incorporating business goals, product roadmaps, and performance metrics to ensure mutual success and sustained engagement.
• Support commercialization and solutioning efforts by collaborating with product and GTM teams to deliver scalable solutions that meet sponsor needs and accelerate time-to-market.
• Evangelize Visa Direct offerings through training, advisory sessions, and strategic communications to raise awareness and deepen sponsor commitment.
• Represent Visa Direct externally at industry events, panels, and client forums to promote thought leadership and strengthen the sponsor ecosystem.

Collaborate cross-functionally with Legal, Marketing, Strategy, and Business Operations to ensure seamless execution of initiatives and delivery of best-in-class client experiences

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

Basic Qualifications

• 10 or more years of relevant work experience with a Bachelor's Degree or 2 or more years of experience with an Advanced Degree (e.g. Masters, MBA, JD, MD) or 2 years of work experience with a PhD
• 5-10 years of leadership and team building experience
• Expert level PowerPoint and advanced level Excel skills
• Excellent communication, story-telling and presentation skills
• Critical thinker, strong organization skills, highly engaged and detail oriented
• Capacity to summarize findings from data, curiosity to deep dive on root cause of trends, and ensure highest level of quality, rigor in market analysis
• Ability to identify key strategic issues and to generate and deliver creative and innovative solutions to challenges and opportunities
• Strong team player, self-motivated and the ability to work independently at coordinating cross functional activities
• Obtain buy-in and proactively escalate issues at critical instances with cross functional and senior management

Preferred Qualifications

• 15+ years of relevant work experience with a Bachelor's Degree or 4 or more relevant years of experience with an Advanced Degree (e.g. Masters, MBA, JD, MD) or 9+years of experience with a PhD
• Payments, the payments ecosystem (financial institutions, acquirers, processors, fintechs, payfacs, etc.) and banking experience.
• Strong curiosity about faster payments and a desire to roll up your sleeves to help take open-ended and ambiguous areas of interest and help to bring clarity to the team.
• Excellent communication, storytelling and presentation skills. The role will require extensive collaboration with multiple cross functional teams, clients and senior leaders
• Account Management and partnership management experience is essential, including working with payments ecosystem.
• Product management experience with a focus on client solutions, functional specifications for new products and/or new feature development is ideal.

Work Authorization: Permanent Authorization to work in the U.S. is a precondition of employment for this position. Visa will not sponsor applicants for work visas in connection with this position

Relocation: This role does not provide relocation assistance.

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 a new hire into this position is 207,600.00 to 301,150.00 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.