Payments Partnerships Manager

Details

Airbnb was born in 2007 and has grown to support a global community of hosts and guests. To power this community, Airbnb is building a world-class payments platform that supports 191 countries, 63 currencies, connects dozens of payment providers and banks, and processes billions of dollars per year. The Payments Partnerships Manager will lead payments partnerships across the partner lifecycle to support pay-ins and network initiatives, partner relationship management, business development, incident management, network compliance, and cross-functional collaboration.

Responsibilities

• Serve as a subject matter expert on global payments (card networks, acquirers, processors, payment methods).
• Analyze and understand Airbnb’s total cost of payments including composition of costs; lead authorization improvement and performance initiatives across markets.
• Work with analytics, finance, and operations teams to provide actionable insights and performance reports.
• Develop strategies to drive outcomes with partners in the payments ecosystem (banks, networks, processors, fintechs) to support processing needs, drive user acquisition and bookings, and lower processing costs.
• Maintain strong working knowledge of card network rules (e.g., Visa, Mastercard, Amex, Discover) and ensure partner compliance.
• Manage day-to-day relationships with a portfolio of payment partners (processors, acquirers, networks, PSPs).
• Serve as primary liaison for partner communications, ensuring alignment on operational and strategic goals.
• Support regular business reviews with partners, including performance updates, issue tracking, and roadmap discussions.
• Escalate and coordinate partner issue resolution by working cross-functionally with platform product, operations, customer support, and other teams.
• Identify opportunities to expand or enhance payment capabilities through new or existing partnerships.
• Contribute to market research and partner assessments to support decisions around new integrations or services.
• Lead negotiations and execution of commercial agreements in collaboration with senior stakeholders and legal teams.
• Monitor industry trends and competitor partnerships to inform internal strategy.
• Lead partner coordination during operational incidents, service disruptions, or degraded performance.
• Partner with technical and operational teams to perform root cause analysis and define preventive actions where partners are implicated.
• Act as connector between external partners and internal stakeholders across product, engineering, finance, and operations.
• Provide partner insights to influence product development and operational planning.
• Participate in cross-functional projects to launch new payment features, geographies, or customer experiences.

Requirements

• 10+ years of experience in the payments industry with a focus on partnerships, product, or consulting.
• Experience integrating large-scale processing platforms and global payment methods.
• Knowledge of card and non-card payments ecosystems.
• Proven analytical skills, particularly regarding payments cost drivers and approval optimization.
• History of interacting with stakeholders across the payments value chain, including issuers, acquirers, networks, fraud and risk management providers.
• Comfortable driving partner discussions and negotiations to improve payments economics and product performance.
• Excellent communication skills, attention to detail, and ability to communicate complex details simply.
• Detail-oriented, highly analytical, comfortable with ambiguity, entrepreneurial, and able to work in a fast-paced environment with minimal guidance.

Location

This position is US - Remote Eligible. The role may include occasional work at an Airbnb office or attendance at offsites, as agreed with your manager. You must live in a state where Airbnb Payments, Inc. is a registered entity. Approved remote states include: Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, and Washington.

Pay & Benefits

• Base pay range: $164,000 — $205,000 USD.
• This role may also be eligible for bonus, equity, benefits, and Employee Travel Credits. Base pay depends on factors such as training, transferable skills, work experience, business needs, and market demands.

Inclusion & Accessibility

Airbnb is committed to inclusion and belonging and encourages applicants from diverse backgrounds. If you have a disability and require reasonable accommodation for the application or interview process, contact [email protected] with your full name, the role you’re applying for, and the accommodation needed.