Micro Merchant Acquisition & Digital Payment Specialist

Job Summary

Ensure that all activities and duties are carried out in full compliance with regulatory requirements, Enterprise - Wide Risk Management Framework and understand and manage risks and risk events relevant to the role.

Job Description

Key Accountabilities

• Serve: Accountability: Merchant Onboarding, Activation & Transaction Growth (40%)
  • Drive daily merchant onboarding ensuring proper documentation, KYC compliance, and smooth merchant registration.
  • Ensure timely QR/merchant code generation and immediate activation.
  • Monitor merchant activity, identify non-transacting merchants, and execute targeted reactivation plans.
  • Resolve merchant issues related to transactions, settlement delays, QR failures, or onboarding gaps by coordinating with Merchant Support and Operations.
  • Review transaction patterns, detect risky behaviours, and escalate suspicious or fraudulent cases to Risk and Compliance.
  • Train merchants on digital adoption, transaction procedures, and customer acceptance methods to increase usage.
  • Support branches with executing merchant activation drives, QR awareness campaigns, and digital payments promotions.
• Determine: Accountability: Merchant Acquisition Planning & Performance Tracking (30%)
  • Develop weekly merchant recruitment and activation plans covering QR/Lipa Namba onboarding, and digital transaction mobilisation.
  • Maintain merchant dashboards for acquisition volumes, activation rates, transaction performance, refunds, chargebacks, and portfolio growth.
  • Analyse merchant distribution in key markets (boda hubs, dukas, mamalishe, kiosks, retail shops etc.) and identify expansion opportunities.
  • Recommend actions to address low-performing segments, inactive merchants, or areas with weak QR penetration.
• Engage: Accountability: Merchant, Branch & Stakeholder Coordination (30%)
  • Work closely with Branch Managers, DSAs, Agency Officers, and Ecosystem RMs to drive coordinated merchant acquisition and activation.
  • Engage market associations, local authorities, micro-clusters, and small-business groups to promote NBC digital payment solutions.
  • Conduct merchant education on digital payments, fraud prevention, QR usage techniques, and customer acceptance strategies.
  • Gather and communicate field insights, competitor activity, and merchant feedback to strengthen product relevance.

Role / Person Specification

Education and Experience Required

• Diploma or Bachelor’s degree in Business, Banking, Marketing, Finance, or related field.
• 2–4 years’ experience in merchant acquisition, agency banking, fintech/digital payments, or field sales.
• Experience with QR, POS, mobile money, or micro-merchant ecosystems is an advantage.

Knowledge & Skills:

• Digital payments (QR, POS, mobile money)
• Merchant acquisition and field execution
• Strong relationship-building and negotiation skills
• Market mapping and segmentation

Competencies:

• Delivering Results & Meeting Customer Expectations
• Relating & Networking
• Planning & Organising
• Adapting & Responding to Change
• Entrepreneurial & Commercial Thinking

Qualifications

Bachelors Degrees and Advanced Diplomas - Business, Commerce and Management Studies, Commercial mindset - Junior (Meets some of the requirements and would need further development), Customer Excellence - Service Delivery (Meets all of the requirements), Digital familiarity (Meets all of the requirements), Effective communication - Basic (Meets all of the requirements), Experience in a similar environment, Openness to change (Meets some of the requirements and would need further development), Product and/or Service Knowledge (Meets all of the requirements), Sales Management (Meets some of the requirements and would need further development)