Director of Payment Services

Credit Union of Colorado•Denver, CO

11h•Hybrid

About The Position

The Director of Payment Services provides strategic leadership and enterprise oversight of all payment-related functions for the Credit Union. This role is responsible for defining the vision, strategy, and long-term roadmap for payment solutions that are secure, scalable, and innovative. The Director sets direction across the payment ecosystem, including card services, ACH, wires, ATMs, and emerging payment capabilities while ensuring alignment with enterprise priorities, risk appetite, and member experience goals. This leader serves as the primary advisor to senior management on payments strategy, industry trends, and investment priorities. The Director leads through leaders, establishing clear objectives and governance to ensure effective execution, operational excellence, and continuous innovation across payment products and services.

Requirements

Minimum of a bachelor's degree in business (B.S.) from four-year college or university.
Minimum of ten years of progressive professional experience related to Payment Services with a financial institution.
A minimum of ten years of Management experience with a financial services organization.
Current knowledge of all regulations and credit union procedures pertaining to payments and card services activities.
Ability to exercise tact and responsibility with handling confidential information.
Experience modernizing payment systems or supporting the launch of digital-first solutions.
Ability to express oneself clearly and articulately both orally and in writing; maintain emotional control under stress and handle multiple and complex deadlines; and provide detail-oriented and high-quality reporting with minimal inaccuracies.
Ability to work within a team-oriented environment and promote a positive attitude toward teamwork; and to work with little or no supervision of daily activities.
Willingness to respond to service interruptions regarding the Credit Union’s Payment Systems/Networks and terminals 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Understanding of intermediate accounting, math, and computer applications.

Nice To Haves

Familiarity with real-time payments, tokenization, ISO 20022, and API-based architecture is a plus.

Responsibilities

Defines and owns the enterprise payments strategy, including long-term roadmap, investment priorities, and innovation initiatives.
Advises senior management on payment trends, competitive positioning, and strategic opportunities.
Ensures alignment of the payments strategy with enterprise objectives, digital initiatives, and member experience goals, while partnering with key stakeholders across Digital Services, IT, Risk, Accounting, Finance, and Operations to prioritize and advance key initiatives.
Establishes guiding principles, governance, and success metrics for all payment products and services.
Evaluates emerging technologies, partners, and industry developments to inform strategic direction.
Serves as the Credit Union’s primary relationship owner for payment networks, processors, and key third party vendors, while monitoring and ensuring compliance with contractual agreements.
Represents the Credit Union in external partnerships, industry forums, and network engagements.
Establishes and oversees the risk management framework for payment services, including fraud strategy, controls, and monitoring expectations, ensuring alignment with regulatory requirements (ACH, wires, cards, BSA/AML, OFAC) through appropriate governance and oversight.
Provides direction on risk tolerance, escalation frameworks, and issue resolution priorities, ensuring enterprise readiness for audits, exams, and regulatory changes.
Provides oversight of payment operations performance through defined KPIs, dashboards, and reporting, ensuring appropriate controls, processes, and service levels are in place to support operational excellence.
Leads and develops Payment Services leadership, fostering a high-performing, accountable, and engaged team.
Establishes organizational structure, roles, and capabilities to support current and future needs while fostering a culture of innovation, accountability, and continuous improvement.
Establishes short- and long-term goals, objectives, and budgets for Payment Services functions.
Fosters a working environment that projects the Credit Union’s mission, vision, and core values.
Adheres to all Federal and State laws and regulations applicable to the Credit Union, including the Bank Secrecy Act and OFAC.