Client Implementation Manager (Card Issuing)

We are looking for a Client Implementation Manager (Card Issuing) to take client card issuing implementations from planning through to launch and closure. You will be the client’s main point of contact throughout onboarding - running kickoff and progress meetings, guiding them through card program setup and API integration, coordinating internally across engineering, product, compliance, and support, and keeping the documentation trail that audits depend on. Card issuing knowledge is a core requirement for this role: you will be expected to hold credible conversations with clients about BINs, card programs, authorization flows, and card lifecycle from day one.

Key Responsibilities:

• Manage client card issuing implementations end to end - from planning and kickoff through launch and formal project closure.
• Build and maintain project plans, timelines, milestones, dependency maps, and risk and issue trackers.
• Act as the client’s main point of contact, providing regular, clear progress updates to both client teams and internal leadership.
• Run kickoff meetings, progress check-ins, and post-launch reviews, and build strong working relationships with client stakeholders.
• Coordinate across engineering, product, compliance, risk, and support to keep delivery on track and unblock issues early.
• Guide clients through card program setup - BIN ranges and structures, product codes and card profiles, limits, fee configuration, and authorization parameters.
• Guide clients through technical setup - issuing API integration, environment and system configuration, credentials, webhooks, and user access.
• Coordinate issuing dependencies across BIN sponsors, schemes, card bureaux, and third-party vendors, including certification, personalisation, and card production and fulfilment timelines.
• Support client user acceptance testing: prepare test plans covering card lifecycle and transaction scenarios, coordinate test card provisioning, track defects to resolution, and confirm results before go-live.
• Plan and coordinate go-live - cutover steps, readiness checks, go/no-go criteria, and hypercare immediately after launch.
• Ensure implementations meet applicable regulatory and scheme requirements (PCI DSS, SCA/PSD2, Visa and Mastercard rules), working with Compliance where needed.
• Hand over documentation, configuration detail, and known issues to Support at project closure.
• Maintain clear and complete records - project plans, status reports, meeting notes, decisions, and sign-offs - to meet audit and compliance requirements.

Skills & Experience:

• Experience: 3+ years in implementation, project management, or client delivery within fintech, banking, or payments.
• Working knowledge of card issuing - card programs and BIN structures, card lifecycle (issuance, activation, replacement, closure), authorization flows, and issuer processing concepts.
• Understanding of how card issuing platforms are configured and integrated, and of the dependencies involved in bringing a card program to market.
• Working knowledge of REST APIs and technical client onboarding.
• Strong organisational skills, with the ability to run multiple client implementations in parallel without losing detail.
• Strong written and spoken English, with the ability to communicate clearly with both technical teams and executive stakeholders.
• Confident running client-facing meetings and managing expectations across competing priorities.
• Structured problem-solving skills, including the ability to investigate issues through to root cause.
• Detail-oriented, with a high standard for documentation, record-keeping, and compliance.
• Collaborative, and comfortable working across departments and functions.
• Curious about technology and interested in how financial services platforms, integrations, and digital products work.
• Motivated by ownership and accountability, taking pride in seeing projects through from concept to successful delivery.
• Practical use of AI tools and LLMs to support the delivery workflow - drafting plans and status updates, summarising meetings, and preparing documentation - with the judgement to validate their output.
• Comfortable working in a remote, distributed team across time zones.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Hands-on experience implementing or onboarding clients onto a card issuing or issuer processing platform.
• Experience at an issuer, BIN sponsor, processor, program manager, or fintech running its own card programs.
• Exposure to multiple card product types - debit, credit, prepaid, commercial, or virtual.
• Familiarity with scheme certification processes and BIN registration.
• Awareness of digital wallet provisioning (Apple Pay, Google Pay) and network tokenization.
• Familiarity with settlement, reconciliation, disputes, and chargeback processes.
• Experience with project and collaboration tooling (Jira, Confluence, Asana, Smartsheet, or equivalent).
• Experience in a consultancy or professional-services environment working across multiple clients.
• Project management certification (CSM, PRINCE2 Foundation, CAPM, or equivalent).

What we value?

• Technical excellence - delivering high-quality, maintainable, and scalable code.
• Problem-solving mindset - approaching challenges with creativity and precision.
• Collaboration & communication - working effectively with cross-functional, remote-first teams.
• Leadership & mentorship - guiding peers, sharing knowledge, and championing best practices.
• Adaptability - being comfortable stepping into back-end work when business needs arise.

About Payforge

Payforge is a specialist professional-services company focused exclusively on payments and fintech. We help clients deliver high-quality, scalable technology solutions in an evolving global financial landscape.

Equal Opportunity Statement

Payforge is proud to be an equal-opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration without regard to race, colour, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or veteran status. We welcome applicants from all backgrounds.