Head of Banking

Capi http://www.capimoney.com/ is building the financial infrastructure for emerging markets trade. Backed by $18M+ from top-tier investors like Creandum, Y Combinator, General Catalyst, and angels from Revolut, Checkout, Stripe, and Remitly, we’re building the financial infrastructure that emerging markets deserve. Our mission is to grow GDP in emerging markets by making the global financial system fairer and more accessible. We’re tackling global trade, making it easier for importers to pay their international suppliers. Our platform enables businesses to expand rapidly, create jobs, and be engines of prosperity for their countries. Our team is made up of approx 100 people across 10 countries; we are a group of a highly-ambitious, get-it-done people, who like to work hard on something that has a tangible impact in the world. And we’re looking for more people to join our team! Take a look through Capi’s mission & values. https://capimoney.com/mission-and-values ROLE OVERVIEW Capi's ability to deliver fast and reliable payments to our customers' beneficiaries outside of Africa depends on the strength of our international banking infrastructure. As Head of Banking, you will design the strategy and own the execution of our partner-bank portfolio — identifying which new partners we need, making the case for them, driving them from first conversation to launch, and ensuring a productive ongoing relationship. This is a senior leadership role at the intersection of strategy, operations, partnerships and compliance, reporting directly to a co-founder. You will be expected to have the commercial credibility to hold rooms with tier 1 banks, the organization to keep complex multi-party processes on track, and the foresight to ensure we always have back-up rails in place. KEY RESPONSIBILITIES: PARTNER STRATEGY & IDENTIFICATION - Own Capi's banking partner roadmap across entities, corridors, currencies and use cases — ensuring our customers can access the financial services they need, and proactively closing gaps before they become operational constraints - Lead market intelligence on the partner landscape: who is opening up, who is de-risking, who has the reach and risk appetite we need - Build the business case for new partner additions and advise leadership on portfolio-level resilience, redundancy, and sequencing trade-offs - Act as the central point of authority on banking partnerships across the organisation - Drive banking enablement for cross-functional initiatives with banking dependencies — including product launches such as card programmes or virtual IBANs - Provide leadership with clear, decision-ready reporting: partner status, risk flags, pipeline, and strategic recommendationsOnboarding & due diligence - Own end-to-end bank onboarding from first engagement to go-live: due diligence, KYB, legal review, compliance approvals, and technical readiness - Coordinate Legal, Compliance, Product, Treasury and Operations across every milestone, keeping dependencies visible and decisions moving - Represent Capi in bank-facing due diligence, compliance reviews, and contract negotiations throughout the onboarding process ONBOARDING & DUE DILIGENCE - Own end-to-end bank onboarding from first engagement to go-live: due diligence, KYB, legal review, compliance approvals, and technical readiness - Coordinate Legal, Compliance, Product, Treasury and Operations across every milestone, keeping dependencies visible and decisions moving - Represent Capi in bank-facing due diligence, compliance reviews, and contract negotiations throughout the onboarding process GO-LIVE & OPERATIONAL READINESS - Drive readiness validation, testing coordination, access provisioning, and SOP execution - Define and lead go-live planning with clearly owned checkpoints and clean handovers to BAU - Ensure every new partner enters BAU with the documentation, escalation paths, and SLA framework in place to perform RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT & PERFORMANCE - Own the post–go-live health of banking relationships: SLA tracking, incident management, escalation handling - Build deep relationships with counterparts at banks — at the relationship, compliance, and operational levels - Anticipate and manage risks to relationship continuity, including regulatory changes, policy shifts, and de-risking signals - Identify and act on opportunities to expand the scope, volume, or value of existing partnerships ABOUT YOU - 8+ years in banking partnerships, financial infrastructure, treasury, or fintech operations - Direct experience managing relationships with tier 1 banks, fintechs, etc. - Deep familiarity with cross-border payment infrastructure: SEPA, SWIFT, correspondent banking, FX - Proven track record owning complex, multi-stakeholder processes end-to-end — from strategy through execution - Exceptional stakeholder management: credible externally at senior level, trusted internally across Legal, Compliance, Product, Treasury and Operations - Clear, precise communicator — written and verbal — with the ability to distill complexity into decisions - Comfortable with ambiguity and experienced at building structure in fast-moving environments NICE-TO-HAVES - Familiarity with stablecoin payment rails would be a plus - Proficiency in Mandarin or French would be a plus ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: - This is a full-time position with competitive salary, share options, and benefits - This is a hybrid position; we are in the office 3 days per week (Tues - Thurs) - Start date: Q2 or Q3 2026 - we know people will have notice periods, and can adjust as needed Capi is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes candidates from diverse backgrounds. We’re all about building a diverse, inclusive team at Capi. Whoever you are, we’d love to hear from you. If there’s anything you need to make the interview process easier—whether it’s accessibility support, a different format, or just a heads-up about what to expect—just let us know, we’re happy to help. We've won some cool awards recently too! Check them out: - Startups UK Top 100 (No. 24) https://startups.co.uk/startups-100/2026/capi-money/ - Viva Technology Top 100 https://vivatechnology.com/top-100-rising-european-startups - Welcome to the Jungle's Fintech's Finest Top 50 https://employers.welcometothejungle.com/fintechs-finest-50