Payments and Customer Support - Analyst

Profile Summary

The Payments Operations Analyst is responsible for supporting the accurate, timely and controlled processing of domestic and cross-border payment transactions across EMEA Payments and Customer Support.

The role includes payment processing, checking, investigations, exception management, funding and nostro monitoring, reconciliations and daily operational controls. The Analyst ensures that payment activity is undertaken in accordance with internal procedures, delegated authorities, payment-scheme requirements and applicable financial crime controls.

Working with colleagues across Banking Operations, Front Office, Compliance, Finance and Technology, the Analyst supports a controlled and client-focused payment service and contributes to process improvement, automation and approved change initiatives.

Duties and Responsibilities

Payment Processing and Control:

• Process and check domestic and cross-border payment transactions accurately and within applicable cut-off times.
• Review payment instructions for completeness, accuracy and appropriate authorisation before further processing or release.
• Support the checking and authorisation of CHAPS, Bacs, SEPA, SWIFT and other relevant payment transactions in accordance with delegated authority.
• Maintain maker-checker controls and segregation-of-duties requirements throughout the payment process.
• Apply appropriate scrutiny to manual, repaired, rejected, returned, duplicated, urgent and high-value payment transactions.
• Maintain clear and complete evidence of processing, checking, approval and exception-handling activity.

Financial Crime and Regulatory Controls:

• Confirm that required sanctions, anti-money laundering and other financial crime controls have been completed before payment release.
• Escalate potential sanctions, fraud, financial crime or payment-authorisation concerns in accordance with established procedures.
• Maintain accurate records for audit, regulatory and control-assurance purposes.

Investigations and Exception Management:

• Investigate rejected, returned, delayed, duplicated or incorrectly processed payments and support their timely resolution.
• Identify payment errors and control exceptions promptly, taking appropriate action and escalating material matters.
• Liaise with internal stakeholders, correspondent banks and other relevant parties to resolve payment and settlement issues.
• Support root-cause analysis and preventative action for recurring payment issues.

Funding, Nostro and Reconciliation Activity:

• Support the monitoring of payment funding requirements, nostro positions and relevant internal accounts.
• Investigate and escalate unexplained, aged or unreconciled items.
• Complete daily reconciliations and operational control checks accurately and within required timescales.
• Support end-of-day controls and ensure that outstanding or failed items are appropriately recorded and escalated.

Client and Stakeholder Support:

• Respond clearly and promptly to payment queries from clients, Front Office teams, EMEA branches and internal stakeholders.
• Provide accurate payment-status information and support the resolution of client-service issues.
• Communicate payment delays, exceptions and operational issues to the appropriate stakeholders in a timely manner.
• Demonstrate awareness of local and regional requirements when supporting payment activity across EMEA.

Process Improvement and Change:

• Identify opportunities to improve payment processes, operational controls and client-service outcomes.
• Support initiatives aimed at reducing manual payment activity and associated operational risk.
• Contribute to the testing and implementation of payment-system, process and technology changes.
• Support payment automation and workflow improvements while maintaining appropriate human review, approval and control.
• Assist with the development of procedures, control documentation and management information.

Team Responsibilities:

• Work collaboratively with colleagues to support effective workload management and service delivery.
• Maintain appropriate cross-training across payment activities and provide operational support where required.
• Share relevant knowledge and contribute to the maintenance of team procedures and guidance.
• Escalate capacity, control or processing concerns promptly to the appropriate manager.
• Undertake other reasonable duties consistent with the scope and seniority of the role.

Qualifications, Skills, and Experience

Essential:

• Experience within payment operations, transaction processing or financial services operations.
• Understanding of domestic and cross-border payment processing, settlement and reconciliation activities.
• Working knowledge of relevant payment schemes and messaging, including CHAPS, Bacs, SEPA and SWIFT.
• Understanding of funding, nostro management, maker-checker controls and segregation of duties.
• Knowledge of sanctions, anti-money laundering and other financial crime controls relevant to payment processing.
• Ability to investigate rejected, returned, duplicated, delayed or incorrectly formatted payments.
• Strong attention to detail and the ability to work accurately within time-sensitive payment cut-offs.
• Good analytical, organisational, problem-solving and communication skills.
• Ability to work collaboratively across functions and locations.
• Good working knowledge of Microsoft Office applications, including Excel, Word and Outlook.

Desirable:

• Experience supporting payment checking or authorisation within a maker-checker control framework.
• Understanding of SWIFT FIN and ISO 20022 payment messages relevant to the role.
• Experience using a payment engine, SWIFT interface or comparable payment-processing platform.
• Experience monitoring nostro accounts, payment funding or settlement positions.
• Understanding of operational risk, incident management and root-cause analysis.
• Experience supporting user-acceptance testing, automation or process-improvement initiatives.
• Experience supporting payment activity across multiple EMEA offices or jurisdictions.
• Additional European language skills.

What Mizuho Can Offer You

Here at Mizuho, there are fantastic progression opportunities and clear paths to promotion. We will give you ample opportunity to affect change and to help grow our business.

In addition to the great opportunity outlined above we are also currently able to offer:

• Competitive starting salary, plus discretionary bonus
• Non-contributory pension
• 27 days’ annual leave
• Core working hours*
• Hybrid working - office and home based*
• Virtual GP
• Wellbeing benefits, including Mental Health Allies and First Aiders

*For applicable roles only

At Mizuho, we embrace flexible ways of working when the role permits. We offer different working arrangements like part-time, job-sharing and hybrid (office and home) working. Our purpose-led culture and global infrastructure help us connect, collaborate, and work together in agile ways to meet all our business needs.

We are committed to supporting equality and diversity, and seek to create a workplace that is fully inclusive. We welcome applications from all sections of the community that we operate in and from all ethnic backgrounds, sexual orientation, beliefs, gender identities and disabilities

If you require more information about our equal opportunities policy or wish to discuss any accessibility requirements or reasonable adjustments please contact the recruitment team – recruitment@mizuhoemea.com and we will be happy to help.