Merchant Support Lead

Merchant Support Lead

This is a remote position. About Approvely Approvely is a fast-growing payment platform focused on serving high-risk and underserved markets, including online gaming, fantasy sports, sweepstakes, and more. We're solving complex problems in compliance and payments with a user-first mindset. As a fast-moving startup with a collaborative culture, we're building a team that's passionate about delivering real solutions — and having fun while doing it. We're now hiring a Merchant Support Lead to take ownership of our merchant support operations and help scale a high-performing team from the ground up.

About the Role This is a high-impact, hands-on role for someone with 5–10 years of experience in merchant support, payment operations, or a related function. The Merchant Support Lead will be responsible for managing all merchant support requests, helping to resolve issues with acquiring banks, and assisting new customers through the onboarding process. Initially, you'll be an individual contributor — owning daily support requests, collaborating with sales to gather onboarding documents, and resolving complex issues with a sense of urgency. As the company grows, you'll hire and lead a support and onboarding team, define internal processes, and help us scale customer operations efficiently. This is a role for someone who's comfortable in a fast-paced environment with a high volume of support tickets, eager to identify efficiencies, and excited to lead a function from day one.

Key Responsibilities

• Merchant Support Operations
• Own all inbound merchant support tickets and requests
• Communicate with acquiring banks to resolve issues (e.g., bank account updates, funding delays, transaction declines)
• Investigate and troubleshoot transaction disputes, payment errors, and technical escalations
• Track and improve response and resolution times through better processes and internal collaboration
• Merchant Onboarding
• Partner with the Sales team to submit and track merchant applications
• Gather and organize required documents from merchants for underwriting
• Act as a liaison between the sales, operations, and underwriting teams to ensure merchants move smoothly through onboarding
• Help document onboarding processes and prepare for scaling this function with additional team support
• Team Building and Optimization
• Identify process improvements and implement scalable support workflows
• Develop SOPs for support and onboarding functions
• Build and manage a team of support and onboarding specialists as the business grows
• Monitor KPIs and customer satisfaction metrics to guide performance and improvements
• Cross-functional Collaboration
• Escalate high-risk or complex issues to compliance, banking partners, or tech teams as appropriate
• Collaborate with Product, Sales, and Customer Success teams to close the feedback loop on merchant experience
• Maintain close oversight of high-priority accounts and assist with escalations when needed

Requirements What We're Looking For

• 5–10 years of experience in merchant support, operations, onboarding, or payment services (experience with ISOs, PSPs, or acquiring banks preferred)
• Strong knowledge of the merchant lifecycle from onboarding to support and account updates
• Familiarity with CRM systems, ticketing platforms, and payment platforms
• Experience working in high-risk verticals or regulated industries is a plus
• Clear, professional communication skills (written and verbal)
• Comfortable in early-stage environments with ambiguity, speed, and high ownership
• Process-oriented and eager to build structure and scalability
• Preferred Qualifications
• Experience with chargebacks, RDR, ACH rejects, and PCI compliance
• Strong understanding of the payments ecosystem and acquirer/merchant relationships
• Prior experience building or managing a support team
• Familiarity with onboarding workflows and underwriting document requirements

Benefits What You'll Gain

• A leadership role at a rapidly scaling payments startup
• Opportunity to build and scale a department from day one
• Deep exposure to acquiring banks, compliance, and operational infrastructure
• A collaborative and fast-moving team with direct access to company leadership
• Remote flexibility, competitive pay, performance bonus, and health benefits
• A chance to shape how support and onboarding are done differently in this industry