Risk & Payment Operations Associate

This is a fully remote position, open to applicants in California.

📋 Description

• Conduct investigations into payment reviews, processing exceptions, and any unusual transaction activities across ACH, wires, RTP, cards, checks, and other supported payment channels.

• Handle requests for financial-partner information from initial intake to resolution, encompassing account-activity reviews, customer-document collection, and response formulation.

• Engage with customers regarding payment delays, documentation requests, transaction assessments, returns, recalls, disputes, and account limitations.

• Assess transaction purposes, relationships between customers and counterparties, supporting documents, and overall account activities for any inconsistencies or potential risks.

• Advise on whether transactions should be executed, returned, escalated, or require further examination.

• Organize payment recalls, returns, rejected transactions, beneficiary concerns, and other urgent payment matters.

• Report potential fraud, money laundering activities, sanctions, account misuse, and other compliance issues.

• Maintain precise and defensible case records that document reviewed information, analysis, and decision-making rationale.

• Oversee operational queues and service quality, prioritize urgent or high-impact cases, and address outstanding issues efficiently.

• Identify failure points, patterns causing customer friction, and control gaps; enhance tools and automate manual processes in collaboration with Product and Engineering teams.

• Create procedures, investigation templates, escalation standards, and operational manuals.

• Analyze operational and risk trends, delivering actionable insights to stakeholders and leadership.

• Assist in the launch and operationalization of new payment channels, products, and financial-partner relationships through scalable workflows and controls.

⛳️ Requirements

• Minimum of 2 years of experience in payment operations, risk operations, fraud investigations, compliance operations, banking operations, or similar roles within a fintech, bank, payments company, or financial institution.

• Proficient understanding of payment systems and transaction lifecycles, including ACH, domestic and international wires, RTP, cards, or similar payment networks.

• Strong investigative judgment for assessing customer explanations, transaction trends, counterparties, and related documentation.

• Exceptional written communication skills for effectively summarizing complex investigations and conveying sensitive decisions.

• Strong organizational abilities and meticulous attention to detail while managing multiple time-sensitive cases.

• Capability to make decisions with incomplete information and discern when further diligence or escalation is warranted.

• Ability to balance customer experience with operational urgency, fraud risk, and compliance obligations.

• High level of initiative and capability to execute tasks without extensive guidance.

• Ability to collaborate with Compliance, Customer Success, Product, Engineering, and external financial partners.

• Interest in leveraging technology and AI to enhance investigations, minimize manual tasks, and develop scalable operational systems.

• Experience handling payment RFIs, recalls, returns, disputes, transaction holds, or other payment exceptions.

• Familiarity with BSA/AML, sanctions, fraud, and transaction monitoring principles.

• Knowledge of NACHA rules, wire payment processes, card network operations, or real-time payment systems.

• Experience in investigating business customers, complex fund flows, cross-border payments, crypto-related activities, or stablecoin transactions.

• Familiarity with sponsor banks, payment processors, card networks, or regulated financial partners.

• Experience in drafting standard operating procedures, escalation frameworks, or investigation manuals.

• Familiarity with SQL, spreadsheets, dashboards, or analytical tools.

• Experience with case management, customer support, transaction monitoring, or identity verification tools.

• Background in a fast-paced startup environment.

🏝️ Benefits

• Comprehensive health, vision, and dental insurance.

• Unlimited and flexible paid time off.

• In-office amenities, including lunch, dinner, and transportation.

• Culture that promotes high autonomy and ownership.

• Competitive salary and equity package.