Payments Manager - Rahway, NJ
About The Position
The Director of Payments will lead the strategic direction, operational quality, and innovation of the credit union’s payments ecosystem, including card services, ACH, wires, digital payments, real-time payments (RTP), and emerging fintech integrations. The role supports member satisfaction, operational efficiency, regulatory compliance, and the credit union’s growth objectives. The position oversees payment operations, establishes performance and member-experience measures, maintains appropriate controls, leads and develops the payments team, and manages payment vendors and partners. It collaborates with Digital Banking, IT, Marketing, Member Services, and Finance on member-centric payment experiences, product launches, and core system initiatives.
Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree in business, finance, information systems, or a related field.
- At least five years of financial services experience focused on payments.
- At least two years of experience in a leadership role.
- Deep understanding of the U.S. payments landscape, including card networks, ACH, RTP, Zelle, FedNow, and digital wallets.
- Demonstrated experience in vendor management, strategic planning, and regulatory compliance.
- Strong analytical, negotiation, and project management skills.
- Strong leadership, interpersonal, and communication abilities.
Nice To Haves
- MBA or another advanced degree.
- Experience in a credit union, mid-sized financial institution, or fintech.
- Familiarity with Jack Henry Symitar, Velera/PSCU, Fiserv Debit, EPN/The Clearing House, or Alloya.
- Successful delivery of payment modernization or digital transformation initiatives.
- Experience working with or integrating fintech solutions.
Responsibilities
- Develop and execute the organization’s payments strategy in alignment with business goals and member needs.
- Monitor industry trends, emerging technologies, and regulatory changes.
- Identify and evaluate new payment platforms, partners, and products.
- Oversee debit, credit, and prepaid card programs, ACH, wire transfers, bill pay, mobile and digital payments, P2P, and merchant services.
- Ensure secure, efficient, end-to-end payment processing and servicing.
- Establish and track KPIs for performance, member experience, and operational efficiency.
- Maintain controls and procedures to comply with applicable laws, regulations, and guidelines, including NACHA, Reg E, Reg Z, PCI DSS, and FFIEC guidelines.
- Champion the credit union’s enterprise risk management strategy of “Slow Down, Stop, Escalate.”
- Lead and develop the payments team, clarify roles and responsibilities, and foster accountability, innovation, and continuous improvement.
- Manage relationships with payment processors, core providers, card networks, fintech partners, and other third-party vendors.
- Negotiate contracts and ensure vendors meet service-level agreements, security requirements, and member-experience standards.
- Collaborate with Digital Banking, IT, Marketing, Member Services, and Finance to deliver cohesive payment experiences.
- Support product launches and core system initiatives from a payments perspective.
Benefits
- Medical, dental, and vision healthcare benefits.
- Other insurance benefits for employees and family.
- Retirement benefits, including 401(k).
- Paid holidays.
- Vacation.
- Compassionate and sick days.
- Annual bonus and long-term incentive, if applicable.
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Manager
