Director of Fintech Banking

Commercial Bank of California•California City, CA

3d•$185,000 - $250,000•Hybrid

About The Position

The Director of Fintech Banking provides strategic leadership, oversight, and direction for the Bank's fintech and embedded banking portfolio. This position is responsible for driving the growth, performance, and governance of fintech partnerships while ensuring alignment with the Bank's strategic objectives, risk appetite, and regulatory requirements. As the primary business leader for fintech partner relationships, the Director oversees the development, implementation, and ongoing management of partner programs, fostering strong relationships that support sustainable growth and operational excellence. The role serves as a key liaison between fintech partners and internal stakeholders, ensuring partnerships operate in accordance with contractual obligations, regulatory expectations, and the Bank's risk management framework. Working closely with executive leadership and cross-functional teams, the Director identifies and evaluates new market opportunities, leads partnership initiatives, and advances the Bank's fintech strategy. This individual plays a critical role in expanding the Bank's presence in the fintech sector, enhancing partnership performance, and delivering innovative banking solutions that contribute to the Bank's long-term growth and profitability.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, Business, Economics, or related field preferred
Minimum of 8-10 years of banking, payments, fintech, commercial banking, treasury management, risk management, or financial services experience.
Minimum of 5 years of leadership or relationship management experience.
Experience managing strategic partnerships and complex client relationships.
Experience partnering with Product, Technology, Operations, and Risk teams to develop and implement fintech, payments, embedded banking, or digital banking solutions.
Familiarity with APIs, third-party integrations, fintech technology platforms, and digital banking ecosystems.
Experience managing complex implementation projects involving multiple internal stakeholders and external partners.
Familiarity with fintech, Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS), embedded finance, sponsor banking, payments ecosystems, and digital banking models preferred.
Experience working with regulatory, compliance, audit, and risk management functions.
Thorough understanding of banking regulations, third-party risk management principles, and fintech oversight expectations.
Strong knowledge of deposit products, payments, treasury services, ACH, RTP, FedNow, card programs, and related banking services.
Understanding of fintech business models, embedded banking structures, and partnership frameworks.
Exceptional relationship management and negotiation skills.
Strong financial analysis and business planning capabilities.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
Ability to influence senior leaders and drive cross-functional initiatives.
Strong project management and organizational abilities.
Demonstrated ability to balance innovation, growth, risk management, and regulatory compliance.
Research and analysis techniques to resolve issues
Ability to work effectively in a team or independently
Working knowledge of API-enabled banking, data integrations, fintech technology platforms, and digital banking ecosystems.
Ability to translate technical concepts into business-focused recommendations for executive leadership and Bank stakeholders.
Understanding of implementation lifecycle management, including requirements gathering, testing, launch readiness, and post-production support.
Ability to balance customer needs, operational capabilities, technology requirements, risk considerations, and regulatory expectations when evaluating partnership opportunities.
Strong ability to lead cross-functional initiatives involving Technology, Operations, Product Management, Compliance, Risk Management, and external fintech partners.
Ability to effectively and appropriately utilize AI in tasks.

Nice To Haves

Familiarity with fintech, Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS), embedded finance, sponsor banking, payments ecosystems, and digital banking models preferred.

Responsibilities

Lead the Bank's fintech banking, Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS), and embedded banking strategy.
Develop and execute growth initiatives to increase partnership revenue, deposits, payment volumes, and customer acquisition.
Identify emerging market opportunities, industry trends, and competitive developments impacting fintech banking and embedded finance.
Participate in strategic planning and business development efforts related to fintech partnerships and programs.
Present portfolio performance, strategic recommendations, and business insights to executive leadership and committees.
Serve as the senior relationship manager for fintech and embedded banking partners.
Build and maintain strong relationships with partner executives and key stakeholders.
Conduct regular business reviews and strategic planning sessions with partners.
Negotiate business terms, pricing, service expectations, and commercial agreements in collaboration with internal teams.
Monitor partner performance against contractual, operational, financial, compliance, and risk management expectations.
Identify and escalate covenant violations, emerging risks, or signs of financial deterioration, and support risk rating reviews as needed.
Oversee the full fintech partner lifecycle, including evaluation, due diligence, onboarding, implementation, monitoring, and renewal.
Coordinate annual reviews and ongoing due diligence requirements.
Ensure partner programs operate in accordance with Bank policies, regulatory guidance, and third-party risk management standards.
Monitor key performance indicators (KPIs), risk metrics, service level agreements (SLAs), profitability, and overall program performance.
Escalate significant operational, financial, compliance, or reputational concerns to executive management.
Identify, evaluate, and pursue new fintech partnership opportunities aligned with the Bank's strategic objectives.
Lead business case development, financial modeling, and opportunity assessments.
Partner with Compliance, Risk, Legal, Operations, and Technology teams throughout the due diligence process.
Support contract negotiations and implementation planning for new partnerships.
Develop strategies to enhance profitability and expand existing partner relationships.
Serve as the primary business liaison between fintech partners and internal Product, Technology, Operations, Digital Banking, and Information Security teams.
Collaborate with internal and external stakeholders to identify business requirements, service enhancements, product improvements, and new solution opportunities.
Translate partner and client needs into actionable business cases, product requirements, implementation priorities, and operational workflows.
Support the evaluation, design, launch, and enhancement of fintech, embedded banking, BaaS, sponsor banking, payments, treasury management, and digital banking solutions.
Coordinate partner onboarding, system integrations, testing, implementation planning, launch readiness, and post-implementation reviews.
Partner with stakeholders on API integrations, data exchange requirements, implementation timelines, service expectations, and operational dependencies.
Provide market intelligence and industry insights to support technology investments, product enhancements, and strategic initiatives.
Ensure solutions align with the Bank's infrastructure, operational readiness, compliance requirements, and long-term strategic objectives.
Identify opportunities to improve scalability, automation, operational efficiency, customer experience, and partner satisfaction.
Monitor emerging technologies and industry trends impacting fintech partnerships and the digital banking ecosystem.
Partner with Enterprise Risk Management, Compliance, BSA/AML, Fraud, Information Security, and Internal Audit teams to support effective oversight of fintech activities.
Ensure partner programs operate within established risk tolerances and governance frameworks.
Support regulatory examinations, audits, and independent reviews involving fintech partnerships.
Coordinate responses to regulatory and audit requests.
Promote a culture of compliance, accountability, and risk awareness.
Manage profitability, revenue growth, deposit generation, and fee income objectives across the fintech portfolio.
Develop forecasts, budgets, and business plans to support portfolio growth.
Analyze financial performance and identify opportunities to improve revenue generation and operational efficiency.
Monitor partner financial health and long-term sustainability.
Lead, mentor, and develop fintech banking team members.
Foster collaboration across business lines and support functions.
Serve as a subject matter expert on fintech partnerships, embedded banking, BaaS, and payments-related activities.
Support enterprise initiatives involving digital banking, treasury management, payments, and emerging financial technologies.
Ensure compliance with Customer Identification Program (CIP), Customer Due Diligence (CDD), and other applicable regulatory requirements.
Exercise sound judgment and decision-making consistent with Bank policies, procedures, and approval authorities.
Respond to and resolve inquiries from customers, partners, and internal stakeholders, ensuring appropriate follow-through.
Provide support during staffing shortages, high-volume periods, or special projects.
Demonstrate professionalism, integrity, accountability, and respect in all interactions.
Champion diversity, equity, inclusion, and adherence to Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) principles.
Maintain compliance with workplace safety standards and applicable OSHA requirements.
Perform other duties and responsibilities as assigned.

Benefits

Competitive employer contribution to medical, dental and vision coverage
401k plan with employer match
Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA) and Dependent Care Accounts
Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
Employer provided Calm subscription
Employer provided mental health benefits through Teladoc
Life, AD&D and disability insurance
Minimum 15 Days of Vacation, 11 Paid Federal Holidays, Paid Time off to Volunteer
Online discount program
Tuition Reimbursement Program