Payment Operations

Senior Associate - Payments Operations

Salary: Up to £29,000

Location: Hygeia House

Contract Type: Permanent

Start Date: Immediate

We are seeking a highly motivated Senior Associate - Payments Operations to join a busy Global Payments team within a well-established banking environment. This is an excellent opportunity for an experienced banking operations professional with a strong understanding of domestic and international payments, SWIFT messaging, and operational controls.

The successful candidate will play a key role in ensuring the timely and accurate processing of payment transactions while maintaining compliance with regulatory and internal control requirements.

Key Responsibilities

• Monitor the daily flow of payment remittance requests raised by internal stakeholders.
• Process domestic and international payment transactions accurately and within currency cut-off times, ensuring adherence to ISO20022 standards.
• Manage funding and currency positioning activities for Treasury reporting through the Request Management System (RMS).
• Upload FX deal tickets for currency buy and sell transactions.
• Monitor incoming client funds and apply credits within the core banking system.
• Process returns of funds to remitting banks using SWIFT message formats, including MT199 and MT299.
• Process Mastercard payments and bulk INR payment uploads on a daily basis.
• Raise and manage payment-related queries through CRM systems and ensure timely resolution.
• Manage reconciliation entries and investigate discrepancies.
• Liaise with internal departments to resolve operational queries.
• Ensure compliance with AML, KYC, sanctions screening and internal regulatory requirements.
• Support the wider Operations team with additional duties as required.
• Proactively manage tasks assigned by management and contribute to continuous process improvement.

Skills & Experience Required

• Degree in Finance, Business, or a related discipline.
• 3-5 years' experience within Banking Operations, Payments Operations, or Financial Services.
• Previous experience supervising or supporting team members is advantageous.
• Strong understanding of inward and outward payment processing.
• Knowledge of SWIFT payment message types and payment regulations.
• Experience with CHAPS, SWIFT and ISO20022 XML standards.
• Exposure to FX transactions and Treasury-related activities.
• Familiarity with core banking systems such as Finacle would be beneficial.
• Good understanding of AML, KYC, sanctions and financial crime controls.
• Strong Excel skills, including exposure to Macros.Excellent organisational skills with the ability to prioritise workloads and meet strict deadlines.Strong communication and stakeholder management skills.Ability to work effectively under pressure within a fast-paced environment.A proactive, reliable and team-oriented approach.