Card Provider Manager / Scheme Manager (f/m/d)

Solaris is a tech company with a full German banking license. Our Banking-as-a-Service platform enables businesses to offer their own financial products. With our straightforward APIs, our partners can access and integrate a wide range of solutions such as digital banking, payments, cards, identification and lending services. As a market leader we are driven by bringing transformational change to the financial services industry.

We love what we do and we love our team. We are 400+ people from over 60 nationalities - a unique blend of techies, fintech enthusiasts, bankers and entrepreneurs from various industries. Our routines are built around genuinely valuing and exchanging different perspectives as well as actively sharing knowledge as we drive our business as a team. We believe and invest in personal growth.

Your Team

As a key member of Solaris Cards Product Team and reporting to the Head of Cards Product, you will own the commercial, operational, and scheme-facing workstreams that keep our card products compliant, scalable, and cost-efficient. You’ll align internal stakeholders and external partners (schemes and providers), translate complex requirements into executable work, and steer delivery from concept to rollout, while maintaining "bank-grade” governance and documentation.

Your Role

• Own provider and scheme relationships; align priorities, scope, and delivery across internal teams and external partners.
• Collaborate closely with senior product management to oversee provider relations, including cost control and optimization. This includes leading strategic negotiations and initiatives to significantly reduce costs and enhance service quality.
• Orchestrate the end-to-end technical lifecycle of Visa/Mastercard mandates, covering everything from BIN management and card configuration to regulatory scheme reporting.
• Rigorously monitor and enforce compliance with regulatory requirements in card-based payments. Coordinate technical and operational implementation within interdisciplinary working groups alongside partners and major schemes, including Mastercard and Visa.
• Gain in-depth knowledge regarding the content of provider and third-party agreements. Influence and lead negotiations to secure favorable terms for Solaris.
• Drive continuous service improvement by monitoring, reviewing, and remediating SLAs for mission-critical partners like Nexi, Apata, and Exceet.
• Establish and maintain strong relationships with key internal teams to coordinate business activities.
• Conduct routine tasks necessary for maintaining productive provider relationships and proactively identify opportunities for improvement and innovation in the provider relationship, leading to enhanced business outcomes.
• Proactively engage with providers and third parties to address and resolve business-level issues.
• Document and regularly update processes and procedures relevant to the business domain.

We'd love to see

Depending on your level of experience, your responsibilities and scope of role will range. We don’t care much about fancy titles, but rather about real personal and professional development, as laid out in our learning framework. Let’s figure together out how you can contribute to our team.

• 5+ years in card issuing as Cards Provider/Scheme Manager, Cards Business Manager, or Cards-focused Technical Program Manager.
• Deep technical expertise in card programs, value-added services, and the underlying system landscape (processors, ledgers, and gateways), with a mastery of global Scheme Rules and compliance mandates.
• Strong mastery of scheme rules/mandates and compliance requirements; ability to execute scheme-driven change lifecycles.
• Contract negotiation and contract/SLA management expertise with third-party providers.
• Strong financial acumen: cost control, budgeting, commercial evaluation, and PO governance.
• Data analytics and reporting skills for SLA/operational performance, decision support, and stakeholder updates.
• Proven track record in deriving complex business requirements and transforming them into project-oriented, optimized technical processes that improve operational efficiency.
• Strong stakeholder management and communication
• Professional English language skills at business level. German is a strong advantage.

Benefits

• Home office budget.
• Learning & development budget of €1000 per year and a transparent growth framework to support your career goals.
• Competitive salary and a variable remuneration program.
• Monthly meal allowance.
• Deutschland ticket subsidy.
• 28 vacation days, increasing by 2 days after 2 years and 3 days after 3 years with Solaris.
• Opportunity to work abroad for up to 12 weeks per year.

While job ads usually paint an ideal picture of a candidate, studies show that most applicants meet an average of 60% of the criteria. Unfortunately, many promising candidates tend to apply only if they meet all the criteria. So if you think you have what it takes, but don't necessarily meet every single item in the job description, please contact us anyway. We'd love to talk with you and find out if you might be a good fit for us.

At Solaris, we are committed to nurturing an inclusive environment, where all Solarians feel valued, respected and supported. We are dedicated to building a diverse workforce that reflects the diversity of our communities. We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of color, ethnicity, religion, sex, origin, disability, marital status, citizenship, or gender identity. We are proud to be an equal opportunity workplace. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please let us know.

Information on data processing:

To all recruitment agencies: Solaris does not accept unsolicited agency resumes. Please do not forward resumes to our jobs alias, Solaris employees or any other venture in our ecosystem. Solaris is not responsible for any fees related to unsolicited resumes.

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