Head of Payments (Nigeria)

Purpose of the Role

Nigeria is one of the largest and most operationally complex payment markets in Africa.
Unstable banks. Heavy reliance on bank transfers and local wallets. Strict antifraud controls. Constant restrictions from PSPs and banks.

The purpose of this role is simple:
users in Nigeria must always be able to deposit and withdraw funds using familiar and trusted local methods.

If a user cannot pay quickly and conveniently, this is not a market issue.
It is a payments failure.

1. Nigeria Payment Architecture

• Design a bank-first / wallet-first payment architecture.

• Build fallback scenarios for NIP or key bank degradation.

• Minimize pending states and repeated attempts.

2. PSPs, Wallets, and Banks

• Own relationships with local PSPs and fintech providers.

• Rapidly rotate providers when performance degrades or blockings occur.

• Control limits, caps, delays, and reversals.

3. Performance and Stability

• Success rates across NIP and wallet-based payments.

• Deposit coverage across the market.

• Time-to-Credit and Time-to-Withdrawal.

• Hands-on resolution of pending and failed transactions.

4. Risk and Antifraud

• Work closely with Fraud and Risk teams.

• Control mass account blockings.

• Balance growth with payment stability.

5. Operational Readiness

• Design and execute anti-crisis scenarios.

• Support Customer Support during peak payment incidents.

• Direct communication with Product and Tech teams.

• Deposit Success Rate (NIP / wallets).

• Deposit Coverage (% of players with at least one working method).

• Uptime of key payment methods.

• Time-to-Recovery after failures.

• GGR uplift driven by payment improvements.

Must-Have:

• Proven hands-on payments experience in Nigeria.

• Practical experience with NIP and local banks.

• Background in high-risk industries: gambling, betting, crypto.

• Strong understanding of bank-first UX.

• Willingness and ability to operate in an unstable environment.

Strong Plus:

• Existing contacts with local PSPs and banks.

• Broader West Africa experience (Ghana, Kenya as an addition, not a replacement).

• Proven cases of restoring payment flows after mass blockings.

• You have only worked with card payments.

• You have never operated in bank-transfer-dominated markets.

• You avoid crisis-driven decision making.

• One of the most high-volume and complex payment markets in Africa.

• Full autonomy over payments in the region.

• Direct impact on company revenue.

• Competitive compensation + performance bonuses.

• Minimal bureaucracy. Maximum ownership and accountability.