Manager, BSA/AML Operations, Merchant Acquiring

We are a hybrid, remote-office company dedicated to growing our talent anywhere!

We have onsite locations in: Sioux Falls, SD, Scottsdale, AZ, Louisville, KY, Troy, MI, Franklin, TN, Easton, PA.

At Pathward, we take tremendous pride in our purpose to create financial inclusion for all™. We are a financial empowerment company that works with innovators to increase financial availability, choice, and opportunity for all. We strive to remove barriers that traditional institutions put in the way of financial access, and promote economic mobility by providing responsible, secure, high quality financial products.

We are a team of problem solvers and innovators who celebrate our differences and know that our unique perspectives make us stronger and well-positioned for success. We celebrate, and embrace, our team members through our *HUMBLE*HUNGRY*SMART approach, and we believe that we are strongest when we embrace the voices of our employees, customers, partners, and the communities we serve.

About the Role:

The Manager, BSA/AML Operations is responsible for leading the alert review, case investigation, and regulatory reporting functions across Pathward's full BSA/AML risk footprint, including Issuing (prepaid, GPR, payroll, government benefit, and gift card programs), Lending (consumer and commercial), Tax/Refund products, Commercial DDA, Merchant Acquiring (sponsored merchants, payment facilitators, ISOs, and acquiring partners), Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS), and Partner-managed programs. This role manages a team of analysts who review alerts, investigate cases, and prepare SAR/CTR filings across these business lines. The Manager ensures that investigative workflows align with Pathward's BSA/AML policies, OCC supervisory expectations, FinCEN guidance, FFIEC BSA/AML Manual standards, and applicable card network compliance requirements, and that line-of-business-specific typologies including transaction laundering, structuring, layering, ERO fraud, refund fraud, merchant misclassification, prohibited merchant activity, chargeback fraud, and trafficking-related red flags are effectively detected, investigated, and reported.

Scope of Responsibility:

Provides direct oversight of analysts responsible for alert review, case investigations, SAR/CTR reporting, and partner referral dispositioning across all BSA/AML business lines, including a dedicated focus on Merchant Acquiring

Manages operational performance across all assigned workstreams, ensuring adherence to SLAs, quality standards, and production targets

Serves as a subject-matter expert on BSA/AML financial crime risks across Pathward's business lines, with deep expertise in Merchant Acquiring typologies and card network compliance considerations

Does not own underwriting, partner onboarding, card network compliance, or first-line product risk management, but coordinates closely with those functions on risk signals and emerging trends

Escalates high-risk or complex matters, including MATCH list entries, card network monitoring program flags, suspected terrorist financing, undisclosed sub-program activity, structuring, and other systemic concerns

Maintains current knowledge of BSA/AML and OFAC regulations, FinCEN guidance, card network rules, and evolving fraud and money laundering typologies across all supported business lines

Collaborates with BSA/AML peers, Sanctions Operations, Fraud Risk Management Operations, Program Risk Management, and FCC Program & Technology Assurance to ensure comprehensive risk coverage

What You Will Do:

Ensure alerts and cases across Issuing, Lending, Tax/Refund, Commercial DDA, Merchant Acquiring, BaaS, and Partner-managed programs are reviewed, investigated, documented, and dispositioned in accordance with Pathward procedures and regulatory requirements

Maintain accountability for the alert-to-SAR lifecycle, including SAR identification, narrative quality review, timely filing, and CTR accuracy across all business lines

Oversee investigation of business-line-specific typologies, including:

Issuing: structuring, rapid cycling, dormant account misuse, prepaid layering, GPR/payroll velocity, trafficking-related red flags

Lending: loan stacking, early payoff with third-party funds, payment activity inconsistent with borrower profile, ERO fraud

Tax/Refund: refund fraud, ERO misuse, inflated withholdings, identity theft indicators

Commercial DDA: flow-through of funds, shell company indicators, wire activity inconsistent with stated business purpose

Merchant Acquiring: transaction laundering, factoring, MCC misclassification, prohibited merchant activity, chargeback misrepresentation, load balancing, BIN attacks, velocity attacks, and MID-cycling

BaaS / Partner Programs: nested account abuse, undisclosed sub-program activity, partner-driven risk deterioration

Review and disposition partner referrals and escalations across all business lines, including sponsored merchants, sub-merchants, payment facilitators, program managers, and corporate funders

Ensure timely response to 314(a) requests, 314(b) inquiries, law enforcement inquiries, subpoenas, and grand jury process across all business lines

Risk Intelligence & Coverage Support

Provide investigative insights and trend data across all business lines to inform AML Transaction Monitoring Coverage Assessments, rule-tuning, scenario optimization, and AML Risk Assessment refreshes

Identify emerging fraud and AML risks based on alert trends, SAR filings, no-file decisions, partner behavior, and external threat intelligence

Coordinate with the Director, Financial Crime Risk Intelligence on cross-business-line risk narratives and escalation of novel or systemic issues

Support red flag inventory updates with business-line-specific indicators across Issuing, Lending, Tax/Refund, Commercial DDA, Merchant Acquiring, and BaaS

Team Leadership & Quality

Manage, mentor, and develop a team of BSA/AML analysts with coverage across multiple business lines, including onboarding, training, and performance management

Establish and monitor QC standards across all assigned workstreams; identify themes and implement remediation

Ensure training materials reflect current typologies, regulatory expectations, card network rules, and Pathward product specifications across all supported business lines

Support analyst development and specialty queue assignment to build SME depth and operational resilience

Governance & Reporting

Develop and maintain KPIs/KRIs across all supported workstreams (alert volumes, aging, SAR counts, false-positive rates, chargeback-driven referrals, partner referral throughput)

Contribute to Board reporting, exam responses, validation submissions, and management action plans

Partner with Program Risk Management, FCC Program & Technology Assurance, and Compliance on partner oversight, deterioration signals, and regulatory commitments

What You Will Need:

Bachelor’s degree required (Finance, Criminal Justice, Accounting, Business, or related field)

CAMS or equivalent AML certification strongly preferred

Advanced certifications (e.g., CFE) a plus

5–7 years of experience in BSA/AML investigations, financial crimes compliance, or fraud operations, with at least 2 years focused on merchant acquiring, payment facilitation, or card network compliance

Demonstrated experience managing alert/case production teams and SAR filing processes

Strong knowledge of merchant acquiring risks: transaction laundering, MCC misclassification, chargeback fraud, prohibited merchant categories, and card network monitoring programs (Visa VFMP, Mastercard BRAM)

Familiarity with Actimize, FCRM, or similar transaction monitoring and case management platforms

Working knowledge of BSA/AML regulations, FinCEN guidance, OCC supervisory expectations, and FFIEC BSA/AML Manual

The responsibilities listed above are not all inclusive and