Merchant Risk Specialist

Who we are

About Stripe

Stripe is a financial infrastructure platform for businesses. Millions of companies - from the world’s largest enterprises to the most ambitious startups - use Stripe to accept payments, grow their revenue, and accelerate new business opportunities. Our mission is to increase the GDP of the internet, and we have a staggering amount of work ahead. That means you have an unprecedented opportunity to put the global economy within everyone's reach while doing the most important work of your career.

About the team

Stripe is forming a Georgia chartered Merchant Acquiring Limited Purpose Bank (MALPB) responsible for Stripe’s merchant acquiring activities with Visa and MasterCard for a segment of users. Our people play an important role in enabling Stripe to increase the GDP of the internet. We are a deeply caring group of folks, slightly obsessed with our tradecraft, dedicated to protecting our users and the financial ecosystem from crime, and committed to our work, our lives, and our hobbies with equal passion.

What you’ll do

The Merchant Risk Specialist will be primarily responsible for ensuring that merchants onboarded by the MALPB meet our risk appetite and adhere to our loss expectations. This role involves evaluating merchants for potentially elevated levels of credit risk and fraud, and implementing preventative measures for higher-risk accounts. The specialist will also oversee the health of the MALPB's merchant portfolio, ensuring that appropriate actions are taken to manage chargebacks and associated risks.

This role will sit in our Atlanta office. We are not open to remote or travel candidates at this time.

Responsibilities

• Credit Risk Management: Assess and ensure that merchants meet established credit criteria before onboarding and that the credit underwriting process remains within acceptable loss limits. Continuously monitor and analyze key metrics related to credit risk to identify trends and opportunities for improvement.
• Fraud Prevention and Detection: Ensure merchants are evaluated for potential fraud risks during the onboarding process. Develop and implement strategies to mitigate these risks in collaboration with the Payments risk team, particularly for higher-risk merchants.
• Portfolio Management: Monitor the health of the MALPB merchant portfolio, focusing on credit risk, fraud, and chargebacks. Analyze performance against expectations and provide actionable recommendations for improvement.
• Disputes Management: Track chargeback trends and recommend effective strategies and best practices to minimize chargebacks within the merchant portfolio. Ensure compliance with payment network rules and collaborate with relevant teams to implement process improvements.
• Safeguarding of Merchant Funds: Oversee the settlement of merchant funds to ensure compliance with safeguarding principles and proper disbursement based on merchant instructions.
• Business Risk Reporting: Establish and track key performance indicators (KPIs) pertaining to credit and fraud processes to drive continuous improvement and enhance efficiency. Prepare reports on portfolio performance, risks, and mitigation strategies for management review.
• Continuous Improvement: Stay updated on industry trends, regulatory changes, and emerging risks within merchant acquiring. Recommend enhancements to risk assessment processes and tools as necessary.
• Incident Response and Remediation: Lead the response to breaches in credit, fraud and disputes risk appetite, coordinating analyses and implementing corrective actions to mitigate future risks. Monitor the effectiveness of remediation efforts. 
• Training and Education: Provide training and support to team members on credit risk assessment and fraud prevention techniques, ensuring a cohesive understanding of risk management across the organization.

Who you are

We're looking for someone who meets the minimum requirements to be considered for the role. If you meet these requirements, you are encouraged to apply. The preferred qualifications are a bonus, not a requirement.

Minimum requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Business, Risk Management, or a related field.
• 10+ years of experience in risk analysis, credit risk management, or fraud prevention, preferably within financial services or payment processing.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to interpret complex data and make informed recommendations.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, enabling effective collaboration and clear reporting to stakeholders.
• A keen eye for detail and a commitment to accuracy in risk assessment and reporting.
• Ability to work collaboratively across teams and departments to achieve common goals.