Payments Strategy Director

Merck; Rahway (NJ); On-site; USD 79,000 - 125,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health benefits

Retirement benefits (401k)

Paid time off

Job summary

Merck & Co., Rahway, NJ, seeks a Director of Payments to guide the payments ecosystem strategy, including card services, ACH, wires, real-time payments, and digital platforms. You will lead a team to optimize operations, manage vendor relationships, and ensure regulatory compliance while driving member-centric payment experiences.

The role requires deep knowledge of the U.S. payments landscape, strong leadership, and experience delivering payments modernization.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in business, finance, information systems, or related field; MBA or advanced degree preferred.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute the organization’s payments strategy, aligning with goals and member needs.
• Monitor industry trends, emerging technologies, and regulatory changes to keep the credit union ahead in payment solutions.
• Champion innovation by identifying and evaluating new payment platforms, partners, and products.
• Oversee all payments-related operations including debit/credit/prepaid card programs, ACH, wire transfers, bill pay, mobile/digital payments, P2P, and merchant services.
• Ensure seamless, secure, and efficient end-to-end payment processing and servicing.
• Establish and track KPIs for performance, member experience, and operational efficiency.
• Maintain strong controls to comply with NACHA, Reg E, Reg Z, PCI DSS, FFIEC; implement enterprise risk management “Slow Down, Stop, Escalate.”
• Lead and develop the payments team with clear roles; foster accountability, innovation, and continuous improvement.
• Manage relationships with payment processors, core providers, card networks, fintech partners, and other vendors; negotiate contracts and SLAs.

Skills

Bank Fraud

Client Service Excellence

Credit Card Services

Credit Unions

CRM

Facility Management

Financial Analysis

Financial Services Operations

Fraud Detection

Fraud Management

Loan Processing

Supervisory Management

Education

Bachelor’s Degree in business, Finance, Information Systems, or related field

MBA or other advanced degree preferred

Tools

Jack Henry Symitar

Velera/PSCU

Fiserv Debit

EPN/The Clearing House

Alloya

Job description

Merck & Co., Rahway, NJ, seeks a Director of Payments to guide the payments ecosystem strategy, including card services, ACH, wires, real-time payments, and digital platforms. You will lead a team to optimize operations, manage vendor relationships, and ensure regulatory compliance while driving member-centric payment experiences.

The role requires deep knowledge of the U.S. payments landscape, strong leadership, and experience delivering payments modernization.