PayPal is the leading global online payment service built for the digital age. We now have over 300 million active customers around the world and handle almost a fifth of the world’s online payments. And we’re delivering the future of money – today! You can use PayPal anytime, anywhere, any way. PayPal continues to drive connected commerce across all channels - online, mobile and in-store. In Q4 2019 PayPal’s net payment volume was ~$200BN representing year on year growth of 22%. We are constantly innovating and creating experiences our customers love.

The EMEA Travel Desk as part of the Global Commercial Seller Risk Team is responsible globally for the end to end management of seller risk for large travel merchants and airlines. These sellers process > $500,000 in payments per year with PayPal and comprise ~ 60% of our global processing volume. Understanding and closely managing the credit (insolvency) risks associated with these sellers is critical to our management of the portfolio. The credit risk arises as PayPal offers a type of guarantee to buyers for undelivered goods and services and if the seller becomes insolvent, PayPal bears the financial liability.

The ideal candidate must have strong business acumen and strong financial assessment skills and must have exemplary written and oral communication and collaboration skills.
The ability to exercise sound judgment and be resourceful is imperative to success as a Senior Commercial Underwriter.

Core Duties

• Timely assessments of merchant credit risk over the merchant life cycle
• Analyse financial and bank statements to assess credit worthiness and develop a view of merchant financial health and any risk to PayPal’s operations
• Analyse a wide range of data - business models, credit scores, external & internal processing data, bank statements, peer comparisons etc. to develop a view on a seller’s risk profile & PayPal relationship
• Analyse and monitor airlines on a regular basis by leveraging industry news and airline specific KPIs
• Estimate financial exposures to PayPal and assess the need for and extent of risk mitigation measures
• Where necessary, assess PayPal acceptable use cases, regulatory & credit card compliance, and legal considerations with respect to a seller or industry
• Develop a holistic view on both individual sellers and across industries, proposing appropriate recommendations to mitigate PayPal’s risk and manage seller experience
• Communicate professionally and effectively with cross-functional stakeholders on risk insights and recommendations
• Maintain accurate and thorough documentation and audit trails of underwriting assessments, reports, methodologies, etc. in a timely manner
• Monitor seller performance across the travel portfolio segment, as needed
• Evaluate and share feedback on data, tools, process and assessment methodologies for continuous improvement, aiding to develop & test solutions where suitable
• Other opportunities & projects relevant to managing the financial risk of PayPal’s sellers
• Stay current on merchant industry trends that impact the Commercial Merchant segment
• Mentor and coach teammates and peers in work quality, deliver quality assessments and help develop skills.
• Review teammates work and provide signoff for decisions within authority level
• Handle executive escalations for complex situations and high exposure cases as necessary
• Assist and coach teammates on merchant communication and calls, providing leadership support and guidance
• Facilitate or participate in special assignments or projects as needed and delegating efforts to teammates where applicable

• Strong knowledge of the travel vertical, especially airlines and their KPIs
• Strong analytical skills - must be able to analyse complex data, draw meaningful conclusions and make holistic business recommendations
• Ability to approach problems in a quantitative and qualitative manner
• Be comfortable with complex data and analytics to draw meaningful insights
• Excellent organizational, communication and interpersonal skills
• Strong collaboration skills and the ability to build rapport with members of other departments.
• Strong working knowledge of external systems, PC based internet and software applications (Internet, Microsoft Office - Outlook, Word, Excel)
• Familiarity with the merchant processing industry, particularly risk and operational processes
• Be highly curious and thoughtful - a proactive self-starter with a sense of urgency and bias for action in a fast-paced environment
• Must be fluent in English
• Leadership skills for guiding, supporting, coaching and mentoring peers