Payments Optimization Analyst

Ridgewood Savings Bank•New York, NY

13h•$57,000 - $62,000•Onsite

About The Position

This role focuses on optimizing and enhancing payment processes, managing overdraft programs, and handling ACH transactions. The analyst will collaborate with various departments to improve efficiency, reduce costs, and ensure a positive customer and branch experience. Key responsibilities include analyzing payment flows, developing reports, monitoring risks, maintaining overdraft programs, resolving ACH exceptions, and ensuring compliance with regulations.

Requirements

Proficient knowledge of MS Word, Excel and Outlook.
Demonstrated ability to build and maintain rapport with branch personnel.
Maintain confidential customer and Bank information in a responsible and secure manner.
Knowledge of basic accounting debit and credit principles, including balancing reports, general ledger entries, suspense accounts, and customer transactions.
Ability to work effectively under pressure in a multi-task, fast-paced environment and meet daily payment processing deadlines.
Strong research, problem-solving, critical thinking, attention to detail, organization, professionalism, and customer service skills.
Ability to detect, assess, and escalate unusual or suspicious payment activity.

Nice To Haves

Undergraduate Degree preferred.
A good knowledge of English for oral and written communication.

Responsibilities

Lead or support payment optimization initiatives, including new methods, rails, technologies, and infrastructure improvements with IT, product, operations, risk, and other business partners.
Analyze end-to-end payment flows, including ACH and real-time payments, to identify bottlenecks, improve efficiency, reduce costs, and enhance customer and branch experience.
Develop and maintain reports, dashboards, and documentation to track payment performance, processing times, failures, trends, audit support, and compliance needs.
Monitor fraud, operational risk, and industry/payment trends; recommend or support controls, process changes, and emerging payment enhancements.
Maintain the legacy Overdraft Program, including daily review of overdrawn accounts, View/Nautilus reports, customer notices, opt-in maintenance, waiver letters, and Fresh Start Agreement monitoring.
Review accounts for charge-off, determine collection strategy, remove Overdraft Privilege services when appropriate, place holds, redeem funds when available, and close accounts as needed.
Document collection activity, notify branches of charge-offs through DNA activity, report unpaid balances to ChexSystems, and make recommendations to management when repayment arrangements are unsuccessful.
Provide customer and branch support for overdraft matters, including excessive-user monitoring, collection communications, counseling notices, and compliance with Bank policies, procedures, and regulations.
Review and resolve ACH rejects, load errors, origination exceptions, pre-notes, stop payments, unauthorized debit forms, reversals, recalls, direct deposit tracers, and ACH-related inquiries.
Meet daily ACH processing deadlines by coordinating branch and department responses, entering required system updates, and ensuring timely processing, posting, return, escalation, or resolution.
Balance ACH reject files, return file reports, Federal Reserve settlement activity, general ledger entries, suspense accounts, and related customer or Bank accounting transactions.
Support NACHA, Federal Reserve, OFAC/IAT, and Bank requirements while reviewing ACH activity for fraud or operational risk indicators, including micro-entry name matching, retry reports, unusual activity, duplicate fee concerns, death alerts, deceased depositor matters, and Treasury reclamations.
Maintain effective on-site collaboration, access to source documentation, management approvals, systems, tools, and time-sensitive workflows needed to support operational productivity.
Sign into remote access systems at least weekly to maintain connectivity and familiarity with off site tools and resources.
Perform additional duties as assigned.