Third Party Payments Compliance & BSA/AML Payments Oversight Officer
Job Type: Full Time
Location: Malvern, PA
Department: Compliance
Position Summary:
The Third-Party Payments Compliance & BSA/AML Payments Oversight Officer provides independent second-line oversight, challenge, monitoring, and governance of the Bank’s Third-Party Payments Program, including payment processors, payment facilitators, merchant acquiring relationships, embedded payments programs, and other high-risk payments activities. This role helps ensure first-line controls operate effectively and align with BSA/AML, OFAC, consumer compliance, third-party risk management, safety and soundness, and regulatory expectations. It performs independent risk assessment, monitoring validation, governance reporting, and executive/Board-level escalation as appropriate.
This position operates within the Bank’s Three Lines of Defense framework and does not perform front-line operational transaction monitoring.
Meridian Bank’s payments activities continue to evolve as clients, partners, and third-party providers expand the ways they move money. This role is designed for an experienced compliance, BSA/AML, or payments risk professional who can provide independent oversight, thoughtful challenge, and practical guidance across complex third-party payment relationships.
The successful candidate will help strengthen governance, monitoring, escalation, reporting, and risk management practices while partnering with business, operations, compliance, BSA/AML, fraud, audit, legal, and risk stakeholders. The position requires sound judgment, strong technical knowledge, and the ability to communicate risk clearly to senior management and governance committees.
Qualifications Required:
- Bachelor’s degree in business, finance, accounting, criminal justice, risk management, compliance, or a related discipline required; advanced degree preferred.
- 7+ years of progressively responsible banking compliance, BSA/AML, financial crimes, risk management, payments, merchant acquiring, or third-party oversight experience.
- Demonstrated experience with third-party payment processors, merchant acquiring, payment facilitators, ACH or card payment environments, embedded payment programs, high-risk customer programs, or similar payment channels.
- Strong understanding of BSA/AML, OFAC, customer due diligence, enhanced due diligence, suspicious activity identification, sanctions screening, fraud controls, third-party risk management, and consumer compliance expectations.
- Experience interacting with regulators, auditors, examiners, senior management, and governance committees preferred.
- Preferred certifications include CAMS, CRCM, CAFP, CFCS, CISA, or comparable risk, compliance, audit, or financial crimes credentials.
- Ability to work in a team environment as a role player and leader.
- Strong computer and reporting skills, including Microsoft Office and relevant risk, compliance, monitoring, and case management systems.
- High degree of attention to detail, sound judgment, and ability to manage multiple priorities.
- Exemplifies Meridian’s Core Values.
Essential functions and responsibilities:
- Provide independent second-line oversight of the Bank’s Third-Party Payments Program and serve as a Compliance/BSA/AML subject matter expert for payment processors, merchant acquiring, payment facilitators, embedded payments providers, card program managers, and related partners.
- Review and challenge business-line risk assessments, onboarding decisions, customer risk ratings, ongoing due diligence, monitoring results, and key risk determinations.
- Evaluate whether first-line controls are appropriately designed, documented, implemented, and operating effectively for higher-risk payments relationships.
- Provide practical, risk-based guidance to help ensure program decisions align with the Bank’s risk appetite, policies, procedures, and regulatory expectations.
Risk Assessment, Monitoring, and Issue Escalation
- Perform independent risk-based reviews of payment processors, merchant portfolios, payment channels, and third-party relationships, including transaction trends, fraud metrics, chargebacks, return rates, concentrations, geographic exposure, and other key risk indicators.
- Develop and maintain a second-line monitoring effectiveness review program, including validation of rules, thresholds, alerts, investigations, suspicious activity identification, sampling, look-back reviews, and trend analysis.
- Challenge and escalate unusual activity, deteriorating portfolio performance, elevated fraud losses, high-risk merchant categories, sanctions concerns, compliance exceptions, and control deficiencies.
- Lead or support periodic risk assessments, maintain risk inventories, evaluate risk appetite metrics and KRIs, and recommend enhancements to controls, monitoring, and governance frameworks.
Regulatory, Audit, and Governance Support
- Evaluate payment-related compliance, BSA/AML, OFAC, fraud, sanctions, consumer compliance, third-party risk management, safety and soundness, FFIEC, FinCEN, NACHA, and card-network expectations.
- Serve as a Compliance/BSA contact for regulatory examinations, internal audit, external audit, compliance reviews, and independent testing related to payments activities.
- Prepare executive, committee, and Board-level reporting that clearly communicates risk trends, findings, issues, corrective actions, remediation status, and recommendations.
- Maintain and recommend updates to policies, procedures, standards, and governance documents as payment volumes, third-party relationships, regulatory expectations, and emerging risks evolve.
- Exemplifies and promotes Meridian Bank’s Core Values and aligns role responsibilities with those values.
- Abides by current laws and organizational policies and procedures designed and implemented to promote an environment free of harassment and other forms of illegal discriminatory behavior in the workplace.
- Cooperates with, participates in, and supports adherence to all internal policies, procedures, and practices in support of risk management, safety and soundness, and the Bank’s compliance with applicable regulatory requirements, including CRA, BSA, Equal Credit Opportunity Act, and related requirements.
- Other duties as assigned.
Key Areas of Focus:
-
- Third-party payment processor oversight and governance.
- Merchant acquiring, payment facilitator, embedded payments, ACH, card, and high-risk payments activity.
- BSA/AML, OFAC, sanctions, fraud, consumer compliance, and third-party risk controls.
- Monitoring effectiveness, alert review, suspicious activity identification, risk scoring, and escalation practices.
- Executive, committee, Board, regulator, and audit reporting.
Success factors/job competencies:
- Strong knowledge of BSA/AML regulations, payment ecosystems, third-party payment processing risks, merchant acquiring, payment facilitator models, and related regulatory expectations.
- Ability to provide credible independent challenge while maintaining productive relationships with business, operations, risk, compliance, audit, legal, and senior leadership stakeholders.
- Strong analytical, investigative, risk assessment, control evaluation, monitoring validation, issue management, reporting, and presentation skills.
- Ability to translate regulatory requirements, examination findings, audit observations, and emerging risk themes into practical enhancements to controls, procedures, governance, and reporting.
- Demonstrated comfort working with complex data, transaction trends, key risk indicators, alerts, exceptions, and risk metrics to identify themes and support decision-making.
- Clear written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to prepare concise executive summaries, committee materials, and Board-level reporting.
- Strong organizational and time management skills, sound judgment, attention to detail, and ability to manage multiple priorities in a dynamic risk environment.
- Relationship management skills and ability to interface confidently with associates of all levels, including senior executives, business unit leaders, department heads, auditors, examiners, and third-party providers.
- Exemplifies Meridian’s Core Values, works effectively in a team environment, and demonstrates accountability for timely, high-quality work.
Physical demands, work environment, and location:
- Physical Demands: This is a largely sedentary role requiring use of typical office equipment such as a computer, laptop, and cell phone. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
- Work Environment: Most work is completed in an office environment with minimal noise. The role requires regular collaboration with internal stakeholders and may include participation in meetings with third-party providers, auditors, regulators, and governance committees.
- Location: Various Meridian location(s) as assigned, including job-related travel such as customer/client locations, work events, charity events, loan closings, site visits, examinations, and meetings.
Equal Opportunity Statement
- Meridian Bank supports a diverse workforce and is an Equal Opportunity Employer
Performance standards:
- Annual review
Apply Now
