Product Manager - Direct Debit & Alternate Payments

## Company Description Xplor Technologies powers the experiences at the heart of everyday life. Through modern vertical software, embedded payments (Xplor Pay), and AI-powered capabilities, we help businesses in fitness, recreation, golf and club, field services, laundry, education, and other membership-based and service-based industries simplify operations, uncover insights, and elevate customer and member experiences. With Xplor Pay, we help businesses get paid quickly and securely – without hidden fees. We built the tech ourselves, and our platform delivers secure, transparent, fast, and accurate payments. And when you become part of our Xplor Pay Direct Sales team, you also become part of the personal connection that strengthens the relationship people have with Xplor products. ## Job Description Xplor Pay is building the payments infrastructure of the future — embedded, intelligent, and designed for the verticals we serve. As Product Manager for Direct Debit & Alternate Payments, you will own the end-to-end product strategy and execution for our UK (Bacs) and EU (SEPA) Direct Debit rails, while simultaneously leading our expansion into Open Banking, account-to-account (A2A), and emerging payment methods across the UK and European markets. ***What You'll Do*** **Direct Debit Product Ownership (UK & EU)** - Own and evolve the product roadmap for Bacs Direct Debit (UK) and SEPA (EU), balancing merchant experience, operational efficiency, and regulatory compliance. - Reduce failure rates, improve reconciliation flows, and drive down cost-per-transaction through product-led initiatives. - Partner with Compliance and Legal to ensure adherence to UK FCA rules, EU PSD2/PSD3, GDPR, and scheme rules from Bacs, SEPA, and Pay.UK. - Work with the Commercial team to package and price Direct Debit as a competitive embedded payment option for Xplor's vertical SaaS partners. **Open Banking & Alternate Payments** - Lead the product development of Open Banking payment initiation (PIS) and account information (AIS) services under UK Open Banking standards and EU PSD2/PSD3 requirements. - Define the roadmap for A2A payments, Variable Recurring Payments (VRP), and Request-to-Pay (RtP) as these rails mature in the UK and EU. - Evaluate and integrate alternate payment methods (e.g., iDEAL, Bancontact, SEPA Instant, PayTo equivalents) relevant to Xplor's merchant base. **Roadmap & Strategy** - Define quarterly and annual plans for the Direct Debit and Alternate Payments portfolio; maintain and communicate a rolling 12-month roadmap. - Conduct competitive analysis across incumbent acquirers, neo-banks, and specialist payment providers operating in UK/EU markets. - Present strategy, progress, and investment cases to the Embedded Payments executive leadership team. **Delivery & Stakeholder Management** - Drive agile delivery with cross-functional squads — engineering, design, data, and QA — using clear PRDs, user stories, and acceptance criteria. - Build strong relationships with external scheme operators, banks, and open banking infrastructure providers. - Serve as the internal centre of excellence on UK/EU payment rails — educating sales, customer success, and commercial teams. - Monitor product health via dashboards covering transaction volumes, failure rates, settlement times, and revenue contribution. **AI-Augmented Product Practice** - Embed AI tools into every stage of the product lifecycle: use LLMs for rapid synthesis of merchant interview transcripts, competitor teardowns, and PRD first drafts; use AI coding assistants to prototype flows and validate API responses without full engineering overhead. - Champion AI adoption within the Embedded Payments product team — document effective prompting patterns, share workflows, and help upskill peers. - Use AI-powered analytics tools to monitor performance dashboards, surface anomalies in transaction data, and generate plain-language summaries for stakeholder updates. - Stay current with the evolv…