Associate Manager – Banking and Merchant Operations

Associate Manager – Banking and Merchant Operations Role Overview: Responsible for managing merchant onboarding, banking relations and other merchant operations, risk and compliance controls, and stakeholder coordination while ensuring operational efficiency and regulatory compliance. Key Responsibility Areas (KRAs) 1. Merchant Onboarding, Risk & Compliance Manage end-to-end merchant onboarding, KYC/KYB verification and due diligence. Review business models, ownership, regulatory documents and website/app information. Assess merchant risk and identify high-risk, restricted and prohibited categories. Ensure compliance with RBI, AML, KYC/KYB and internal policies. Ensure accurate merchant categorization and MCC assignment. Coordinate with Risk, Compliance and Legal teams on approvals, exceptions and escalations. 2. Banking, Payment Operations & Controls Manage day-to-day banking, payment and merchant account operations. Coordinate with acquiring banks and banking partners on merchant requirements. Maintain accurate MCC allocation, merchant records, documentation and audit trails. Record merchant activation, suspension, closure and reactivation. Monitor operational controls and ensure timely resolution of exceptions. Support internal and regulatory audits. 3. Stakeholder Management & Operational Excellence Coordinate with Sales, Risk, Compliance, Legal, Operations, banks and acquiring partners. Manage operational escalations and drive timely resolution. Identify process gaps and improve onboarding TAT and operational efficiency. Develop and maintain SOPs, checklists and process guidelines. Support automation, digitization and continuous improvement initiatives. Ensure delivery against agreed SLAs, quality and compliance standards. Requirements MBA or bachelor’s degree in commerce, Finance, Business Administration, or a related field. 6- 8 years of experience in Merchant Onboarding, Banking Operations, Risk Operations, Compliance, or Payment Gateway Operations. Strong understanding of payments regulatory guidelines like RBI Payment Aggregator Guidelines, NPCI Guidelines, KYC, AML, merchant underwriting, and risk assessment. Proficiency in Microsoft Excel with strong analytical and stakeholder management skills Maintain audit-ready documentation and prepare onboarding MIS and compliance reports Important Skills Merchant onboarding & KYC/KYB Banking operations · MCC classification · Acquiring/issuing bank coordination · Payment gateway/PSP operations · Reconciliation & settlement · Chargebacks and refunds · AML/compliance awareness · MIS and Excel, Daa & Report Management · Stakeholder and escalation management Strong attention to detail and documentation