astra - Payment Operations Analyst
Requirements
• 0–2 years of experience in payments operations, banking operations, or a related fintech/financial services role • Comfortable learning payment rails (ACH, RTP/FedNow, card networks) quickly on the job; no prior deep expertise required • Willingness to write and own external-facing communication with banking partners — this role involves regular, direct written correspondence with bank contacts • Comfortable writing basic SQL queries, or eager to learn quickly (this role runs recurring data pulls against production data) • Strong attention to detail — this role involves reconciling financial data across systems where small discrepancies matter • Ability to manage multiple concurrent open items/threads without letting things fall through the cracks • Comfortable working in a fast-moving startup environment with evolving processes • Ability and willingness to travel up to ~15% annually • Bachelor's degree in Finance, Business, Economics, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience • No specific certifications required, though familiarity with NACHA rules or card network operating regulations is a plus • Comfortable with SQL for querying transaction data (BigQuery experience a plus) • Proficiency with spreadsheets for reconciliation and reporting • Exposure to payment processing systems, core banking platforms, or similar operational tooling • Direct experience with sponsor bank or BaaS (Banking-as-a-Service) relationships • Familiarity with ISO 8583 messaging, NACHA ACH rules, or card network chargeback/dispute processes • Experience working with a bank partner on limit increases, network onboarding, or reconciliation projects • Exposure to fraud or dispute management (e.g., Reg E, chargeback reason codes)
Responsibilities
• Monitor daily transaction activity across ACH, RTP/FedNow, and card rails (AFT/OCT) for anomalies, failures, and settlement issues • Triage and resolve payment exceptions, including ACH returns, AFT/OCT decline codes, and failed settlements • Draft and send day-to-day operational emails to sponsor banks — following up on open items, flagging discrepancies, and pushing issues to resolution • Maintain a running log of open items across bank partners (settlement timing, rate limit requests, network enablement, reconciliation gaps) and drive them toward closure • Investigate and respond to chargebacks and disputes, assembling evidence and tracking cases through to resolution within card network reason codes and timelines • Reconcile network settlement files (Visa/Mastercard/ACH) against internal records to identify and resolve discrepancies • Run SQL queries against production transaction data to support limit increase requests, exception analysis, and ad hoc operational questions • Build projection models (e.g., month-over-month volume growth, peak-day analysis) to support rail-specific limit increase requests with sponsor banks • Support client-facing escalations related to payment failures, delays, or fraud disputes, translating technical rail issues into clear client communication • Document processes and help identify opportunities to automate manual reconciliation and dispute workflows
Benefits
• Every dollar that moves through Astra's platform touches this role at some point — whether it's a client's payout succeeding on time, a dispute getting resolved fairly, or a settlement discrepancy getting caught before it becomes a bigger problem. As we expand partners and payment rails, this role is critical to keeping operations reliable, our banking relationships healthy, and our clients confident in the platform. • Competitive compensation with equity in a growing fintech company. • Remote-first culture with flexible working arrangements • Small team, big impact — your work directly supports Astra’s ability to scale responsibly • Professional growth opportunities in compliance and risk management • Mission-driven — build infrastructure that powers financial innovation while meeting the highest regulatory standards • REMOTE WORK AND CULTURE
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