Associate Consultant- Senior Payments SME

Position Description
Position: Sr. Functional Payment ExpertExperience: 20+

Location: IND-Bangalore
Shift Timing: Regular Shift

Position Description:

Talented, versatile hands-on Functional Payments Expert, devising and delivering cutting edge innovative payments solutions. Ideal candidate is a self-motivated individual with strong awareness of the payments industry trend, bank processing, payment security and payment transaction models. Business acumen, positive work ethics and a collaborative mind set are key to the success for this role. The prospective candidate will be working with various cross functional groups (business, product, analytics, user experience design and engineering) and will require articulation, negotiation and influencing skills given the level of visibility. Act as a bridge between business, product and implementation team. The person is expected to be an able leader, a mentor and a peer with Thought leadership in designing future solutions and strategies for attaining them. This role will be a combination of business development and client facing relationship management skills. This role require a deep working knowledge of payments and solution selling.
Mandatoryo GeneralExperience in Product development experience, in functional design, decompositionUML modelling skills, ideally in Sparx Enterprise Architect. Possess domain and functional expertise on understanding business requirements from stakeholders.Proficiency in Business Analysis, Requirement Elicitation, Gap/Impact Analysis, Message/Data mapping, FAT Validation. Generating Business Requirement Document, Functional Specifications, Process Flow Diagrams, User Stories, Backlog etc. Possess Clear written and communication skills.Client facing skills with senior executives (client and internally)Basic knowledge on technical aspects of software products/projects (interfaces, connectivity, databases, Application servers, Middleware, SOA, data warehousing, Archive / Purge)Experience in Software life cycle (SDLC)o Payments knowledge and experience Experience in Payments related software development projects or productsProficiency in SWIFT, SWIFT GPI, NACHA, CHAPSWorking experience with Clearing & Settlement Systems in Europe, Canada, USWorking experience with at least two Clearing systems in different countriesWorking experience with product / project implementation in medium or large scale banksBeneficial:o SWIFT service bureau knowledge will be preferableo Product roadmap activities and DevOps strategieso Site implementation experience of any popular payment products (Fundtech, Clear2Pay)o Experience talking in external forums/conferences etc. is a plus.o Experience of working with Agile methodology.

Your future duties and responsibilities
1. Strategic Solution Design & InnovationLead the design of next-generation payment architectures, incorporating ISO 20022 standards, real-time processing, and interoperability across networks (SWIFT, SEPA, FedNow, RTP, UPI, etc.).Drive innovation by evaluating and integrating emerging technologies (AI, ML, APIs, blockchain, and cloud-native architectures) to enhance speed, transparency, and resilience of payment systems.Partner with product leadership to define the strategic roadmap for payment solutions, aligning with evolving regulatory frameworks and market trends.Define modular and reusable functional frameworks for faster onboarding of new payment schemes or clearing systems.

2. Payments Modernization & Standardization
Support migration programs from legacy MT message formats to ISO 20022-based MX messages, ensuring compliance with global mandates.Champion standardization initiatives across payment flows, validations, and exception handling processes to improve efficiency and scalability.Collaborate with technical architects to reimagine end-to-end payment workflows integrating with digital channels, APIs, and ecosystem partners.Contribute to defining AI-assisted validation and reconciliation frameworks for enhanced operational accuracy.

3. Business Growth & Client Engagement
Act as a trusted advisor to clients and internal stakeholders, providing expert guidance on payment modernization, compliance, and innovation strategies.Identify new business opportunities by tracking regulatory changes, regional schemes, and customer needs (e.g., cross-border instant payments, request-to-pay, CBDC readiness).Participate in pre-sales and solutioning discussions crafting compelling business cases and functional proposals.Represent the organization in industry forums and conferences, contributing thought leadership articles or white papers.

4. Functional Leadership & Mentoring
Mentor and upskill cross-functional teams on payment domain knowledge, functional design, and solution-selling skills.Establish and lead a Functional Center of Excellence (CoE) for payments creating reusable assets, test templates, and message repositories.Drive continuous learning programs to ensure teams stay current on new schemes (FedNow, P27, NPP, TIPS, PIX) and evolving ISO 20022 guidelines.Foster a culture of collaboration, innovation, and accountability within the payments function.

5. Regulatory, Risk & Compliance Alignment
Proactively monitor global regulatory updates (EBA, NACHA, FedNow, MAS, RBI, etc.) and assess their impact on existing and future products.Ensure all functional designs and product enhancements align with payment security, data privacy, and AML/CFT regulations.Collaborate with risk and compliance teams to embed automated controls and traceability mechanisms in payment flows.

6. Data-Driven Insights & Optimization
Partner with analytics teams to define payment intelligence dashboards, tracking performance, reconciliation, and exception trends.Leverage data analytics and AI models to detect anomalies, reduce fraud, and optimize liquidity management.Promote data-driven decision-making across payment operations, product development, and client engagements.

7. Agile Delivery & Product Enablement
Contribute to Agile ceremonies (backlog refinement, sprint planning, reviews) ensuring clear functional deliverables and alignment with business goals.Define acceptance criteria and validation frameworks for payments features under development.Collaborate with DevOps teams to enhance continuous delivery pipelines for faster and safer functional releases.

8. Ecosystem Collaboration
Build strong partnerships with fintechs, regulatory bodies, and industry consortiums to stay ahead of the innovation curve.Evaluate and recommend third-party payment solutions or APIs for integration opportunities.Promote ecosystem interoperability by aligning with open banking standards and API-based services.

Required qualifications to be successful in this role
Required qualifications to be successful in this role

Must have Skills-
Deep expertise in global payments (SWIFT, ISO 20022, NACHA, CHAPS, Clearing & Settlement systems).Strong functional and business analysis skills — requirement elicitation, data/message mapping, and functional design.Proficiency in UML modeling (preferably Sparx EA) and creation of BRDs/FSDs/user stories.Solid understanding of SDLC, Agile practices, and payment security/compliance frameworks.Strong client-facing, communication, and stakeholder management abilities.Good technical awareness of APIs, integrations, databases, and middleware.Proven leadership and mentoring capabilities with a strategic, innovation-driven mindset.

Good to have Skills-
Experience with SWIFT Service Bureau operations.Hands-on exposure to payment products like Fundtech or Clear2Pay.Knowledge of product roadmap planning and DevOps strategies.Familiarity with ISO 20022 migration tools and automation frameworks.Experience presenting in industry forums or client workshops.Understanding of real-time payment schemes (FedNow, SEPA Instant, RTP, PIX).Awareness of cloud-native, API-first, and open banking architectures.Prior experience working in Agile environments with JIRA and Confluence.