Booking Holdings (NASDAQ: BKNG) is the world's leading provider of online travel and related services, provided to consumers and local partners in more than 220 countries and territories through five primary consumer-facing brands: Booking.com, Priceline, Agoda, KAYAK and OpenTable. The mission of Booking Holdings is to make it easier for everyone to experience the world. For more information, visit BookingHoldings.com and follow us on X (formerly known as Twitter) @BookingHoldings.

Booking Holdings Financial Services (hereinafter “BHFS”) provides financial services in the form of payment services and e-money products across all the brands. BHFS is committed to conducting its business in compliance with applicable laws, regulations and guidelines, with integrity and to the highest ethical standards

JOB SUMMARY:

BHFS operates at the intersection of global commerce and complex, multi-jurisdictional financial regulation. We are seeking a - CIO Regulated Payments to serve also as our designated Chief Information Officer (PCF-49) in Europe.

This role carries a comprehensive global remit, providing technical and regulatory oversight across all jurisdictions in which BHFS operates. This is a technical governance and orchestration oversight role designed for a leader who excels at managing systemic scale through strategic partnership. You are the primary technical authority for BHFS, responsible for the integrity and scalability of our global regulated payments architecture.

While this role leads a specialised internal BHFS team, it does not directly manage a large-scale engineering organisation. Instead, you will lead the BHFS technical function and orchestrate global delivery through a high-impact partnership model:

Primary Technology Partner: Booking.com Fintech & Payments organisation.
Supplementary Partners: Booking Holdings central infrastructure teams (Cybersecurity, Data, AI, Enterprise Architecture) and Third-Party Vendors.
Internal Oversight: Direct leadership of a dedicated BHFS team focused on technical governance, regulatory alignment, and partnership accountability.

This role reports directly to the BHFS CEO, is a member of the Executive Leadership team in BHFS and a member of the Risk Committee where you will provide transparent assessments of technology risks, capabilities, and delivery. You will be expected to raise concerns early when partner delivery is at risk or regulatory compliance is at risk, recommend strategic technology investments and partnerships and represent BHFS technology interests in group-level forums.

This role is a pre-approval controlled function as defined by the Central Bank Reform Act 2010 Regulations 2011. Any appointment will be conditional on the Company being satisfied that the appointee meets the requirements as set out in the Fitness and Probity Standards issued by the Central Bank, obtains prior approval by the Central Bank of Ireland and ratification by the Company Board of Directors. This role requires the Company to complete prescribed due diligence to assess the appointee’s fitness and probity.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Strategic Partnership: Advance the wider Booking Holdings growth strategy by leveraging BHFS’s regulated payments infrastructure in partnership with the global Fintech organisation, ensuring that all Fintech initiatives, where applicable, are built upon a compliant and resilient BHFS architecture.

BHFS Evolution: Act as the primary BHFS technical stakeholder for next-generation Fintech infrastructure, collaborating closely with intra-group and Fintech teams to evaluate and support the integration of new payment rails and regulatory requirements.

Architectural Oversight: Act as the final BHFS oversight lead for Enterprise Architecture. Ensure the Architecture supports high-volume, low-latency transaction processing and Financial Crime Risk Management (FCRM) integration across all jurisdictions.

Digital Transformation: Lead BHFS stakeholders through complex digital transformation cycles, acting as the bridge between group-level innovation and the specific requirements of a regulated payments environment.

Technical Authority: Resolve technical PRD issues which arise between BHFS business requirements and intra-group partner engineering constraints, ensuring readiness for PSD3 and other regulatory frameworks.

FCRM Technical Strategy: Serve as a key BHFS stakeholder in the development of Financial Crime Risk Management (FCRM) tooling, partnering with Booking Holdings brands to ensure technical strategies align with business requirements..

Data Oversight & AI Strategy: Partner with Booking Holdings brands to mature data management capabilities whilst establishing proportionate multi jurisdictional data governance principles and reporting capabilities . Act as the designated AI lead for BHFS; oversight of AI implementation in compliance with the EU AI Act and working with Booking Holdings brands to leverage AI tooling for efficiency gains

Cybersecurity Leadership: Oversee all cybersecurity efforts in conjunction with BHFS CISO, ensuring robust protection of company data and systems against evolving global threats.

Operational Resilience: Executive ownership for the technical components of the Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) and Operational Resilience mandates, including first-line ICT risk management, ICT resilience testing oversight, Crisis and Business Continuity Management and global Disaster Recovery Oversight and Planning.

ESSENTIAL REQUIREMENTS

Payments Leadership in a Product/Tech-led Environment: Proven track record of implementing regulated payments infrastructure within high-growth, product-led environments (e.g., global marketplaces or payments platforms).
Domain Expertise: Significant experience in high-scale payments infrastructure specifically ensuring system reliability, transaction accuracy, and high-performance delivery.
Global Regulatory Fluency: Practical knowledge of the interplay between technical systems and international regulations (AML Directives, GDPR, Data Residency, PSD3, DORA, Safeguarding).
Technical Orchestration: Proven ability to manage and hold intra-group partners accountable to strict SLAs and technical standards.
Regulatory Standing: Must satisfy the Central Bank of Ireland’s Fitness and Probity Standards and be eligible for appointment as a Pre-Approval Controlled Function (PCF-49, Chief Information Officer).

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

Prior PCF Experience: Previous experience holding a PCF role (e.g. CIO or equivalent) within an Electronic Money Institution (EMI) or Payment Institution (PI).
FCRM Implementation: Experience in the implementation and optimisation of high-volume Financial Crime Risk Management (FCRM) tools, supporting transaction monitoring and AML controls at scale.

CORE COMPETENCIES

Strategic Systems Thinking: Aligning complex financial technology initiatives with corporate vision.
Operational Control: A focus on efficiency, reliability, and automated governance.
High-Agency Leadership: The ability to drive results through technical authority and partnership.
Cyber & Risk Maturity: Deep understanding of the global threat landscape and ICT resilience.
Influence Energized by partnership and influence rather than frustrated by not having direct control.
Stakeholder Management Can navigate complex stakeholder landscapes and resolve conflicts constructively.
Credibility Bring both deep technical credibility AND the ability to translate technical decisions for non-technical executives and regulators
Curiosity Intellectually curious about fintech, payments innovation, and emerging regulatory frameworks (AI, crypto, open banking)
Collaboration: Lead with humility and collaboration.

CIO Regulated Payments

Job Description