Senior Payments Operations Manager

We’re Capital on Tap 👋 💳 Capital on Tap started because small businesses were underserved. Big banks were slow, their products weren't fit for purpose, and small business owners often couldn't access what they needed. We set out to fix that. Today we're a financial platform - not just a credit card company. We offer a best-in-class business credit card, SME-focused spend management platform, a savings product that hit £1 billion in funds within its first year, and a growing suite of tools and financial products that make running a small business easier. 1,000+ employees, £20bn in annual card spend, 200,000+ customers, 17,000+ Trustpilot reviews averaging 4.7 stars, and we're profitable. We’ve done a pretty good job so far, but we’re just getting started! 📍 Manchester | 🏢 3 days per week in office Payment Operations/Customer Operations 🚀 You will be the first person in our brand new payments and cards team at Capital on Tap. You will be responsible for the execution, reconciliation, and troubleshooting of multi-currency payment rails and card infrastructure across the US and UK markets What You’ll Be Doing 🗃️ Take full accountability for architecting and running our newly created Payment Operations department in a fast paced environment, converting strategic business goals into a nimble, highly efficient, and customer-centric operational reality. Manage daily transaction workflows, clearing real-time payment queues and resolving exceptions across Faster Payments and CHAPS infrastructure to maintain optimal intraday liquidity and uninterrupted payment flows. Manage and scale card operations, taking frontline accountability for payment recalls, and the end-to-end offline payment chargeback dispute pipeline. Oversee the operational execution of the UK Direct Debit scheme, ensuring robust controls are in place to manage the indemnity claim process efficiently while protecting business balances. Build and oversee strong control frameworks to reduce financial loss and operational risk. Act as the primary operational contact for critical partners (e.g., ClearBank, Pay.UK), driving daily scheme compliance, monitoring infrastructure health, and resolving complex transaction bottlenecks. Define and track KPIs to measure performance Serve as the final frontline escalation point for payment system outages or processing drops, driving quick resolution and conducting post-incident reviews to prevent future issues. Our Values & Culture 🌞 Just Pilot: We never settle for “good enough”. We pilot new ideas fast, ask questions to figure it out, and scale quickly. Why Not Today? Fast is as slow as we go - speed and simplicity gives us a competitive advantage. Be a Buddy: We tap in from day one to help the team, we do the right thing even if it’s hard. Owners and Dates: We don’t chase people. If you own a task and agree to a date, the expectation is that it gets done. Feedback: We want our employees to flourish, so we regularly provide direct and constructive feedback. We’re Looking For 🔎 Substantial leadership experience in financial services and card/payments scaling, with deep structural knowledge of UK and US domestic clearing systems (Faster Payments, CHAPS, Fedwire, ACH) and frontline settlement mechanisms, specifically optimised for high-velocity, high-value business and corporate transactions. An adaptable and pragmatic leader with a hands-on, solutions-driven approach to problem solving. A proven track record of leading high-performing teams in a fast-paced environment. An analytical thinker skilled in interpreting complex data and driving evidence-based decision-making. Interview Process 🤝 Stage 1: 30 minutes with a Talent Partner Stage 2: 60 minutes with a Head of Stage 3: 60 minutes with the Customer Operations Director Diversity & Inclusion 🌈 We welcome, consider and encourage applications from anyone who shares our commitment to inclusivity. Join us in creating a space where authenticity thrives, and everyone can do their be…