Japan Banking and Expansion Lead

Location: Global

Team: General

About the Role

Wise is a global technology company on a mission to build the best way to move and manage the world’s money with min fees, max ease, and full speed. We’re seeking a Japan Banking and Expansion Lead to accelerate our growth in Japan and the APAC region. This hands-on role offers full responsibility for license acquisition, banking and payment partnerships, growth strategy execution, and influencing product capabilities to serve millions more customers. You’ll drive daily banking operations, manage end-to-end licensing from documentation to regulatory approval, ensure compliance with evolving regulations, and build key relationships with regulators and financial institutions. Viewing regulation as an opportunity, you’ll evolve our products for Japan, negotiate partnerships to optimize costs, and execute expansion plans with autonomy and international collaboration. Gain the freedom to define your path, international exposure across APAC and global teams, and the chance to launch innovative Wise products. Join our diverse, borderless team committed to money without borders—no prejudice, just passion for the mission.

Key Responsibilities

• Responsible for daily banking operations and expansion plan and execution in Japan
• Work with the product team for any product launches in the market
• Manage licensing process end-to-end: from preparing necessary documents to negotiating and obtaining licenses
• Understand existing and new regulations, ensuring product and setup compliance
• Manage relationships with regulators and key commercial partners
• Identify optimal ways to launch current and future Wise products in Japan and execute
• Build and maintain relationships with financial institutions, banks, payment companies, and card schemes
• Lead commercial negotiations to drive down costs and monitor economics for competitiveness

Required Qualifications

• Japanese native speaker residing in Japan with fluency in English
• Extensive experience in regulation, licensing, or payments in a fast-paced professional environment
• 10 years of working experience and about 4 years in the payment market with deep industry knowledge
• Strong analytical and critical thinking skills, with ability to solve complex problems
• Experience building relationships with financial institutions and managing regulatory compliance
• Understanding of financial, payments, and FX regulations, with interest in AML/CFT and risk controls
• Ability to work independently and execute projects from start to finish
• Willing to travel to our global offices as needed

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in banking operations in Japan
• Knowledge of APAC payment schemes
• Proven track record in license acquisition

Required Skills

• Japanese native fluency
• English fluency
• Regulatory compliance expertise
• Licensing process management
• Payments industry knowledge
• Relationship building with financial institutions
• Analytical and critical thinking
• Problem-solving in complex environments
• Independent project execution
• Financial regulations understanding (AML/CFT, risk controls)

Benefits

• RSUs (stock options)
• Flexible working
• Parental leave
• Learning budget
• Paid sabbatical after 4 years
• Health insurance
• Company retreat
• Wise card

Wise is an equal opportunity employer committed to building a diverse workforce.