Payments Architect - Alleviate Financial Solutions

Open Banking Strategy Consultant/ Payments Architect

Our client is a company operating in the payments processing space, currently looking to integrate with open banking platforms such as Plaid and Finicity. To assist with shaping the strategy, planning, and implementation of this integration, we are currently seeking a senior consultant to serve as a strategic thought partner and subject matter expert. The consultant is expected to join open banking partner meetings, inform board presentations, and shape the end-to-end business and product approach. This role is ideal for someone with deep expertise in open banking ecosystems, ACH/pay-by-bank payment models, merchant payments economics, and consumer enrollment strategies — particularly within fuel retail, convenience, grocery, travel center, or other high-volume/low-margin merchant environments where interchange reduction and payment acceptance optimization materially impact profitability. This is not a pure engineering or compliance role. We are specifically seeking a commercially-minded payments strategist who understands both the business and operational realities of open banking adoption and can bridge product strategy, payments infrastructure, partner evaluation, merchant economics, and go-to-market execution. The consultant will work directly with executive leadership, including the CEO, and serve as a key advisor throughout discovery, partner evaluation, implementation planning, and launch readiness.

Key Responsibilities

• Open Banking Partner Discovery & API Evaluation
• Evaluate API capabilities, onboarding models, and commercial structures across major open banking intermediaries including: Plaid, Finicity, MX, AeroPay, Trustly, and additional emerging providers and alternative enrollment solutions
• Assess partner differentiation across: Consumer enrollment UX, Authentication and tokenization models, Fraud and risk controls, Account verification approaches, ACH orchestration capabilities, Pricing and commercial structures
• Recommend partner selection strategy, sequencing, and integration prioritization
• Advise on long-term scalability, supportability, and ecosystem positioning
• Pay-by-Bank Product & Market Strategy
• Define the company's positioning within the pay-by-bank and open banking payments landscape
• Map and optimize the end-to-end open banking lifecycle including: Consumer enrollment, Bank account linking, Token authorization, Transaction initiation, ACH settlement and reconciliation, Returns and exception handling
• Identify operational, technical, and product capability gaps and create a structured roadmap toward production readiness
• Develop merchant education and sales positioning frameworks around: Interchange reduction, Fee savings, Consumer incentives, Alternative payment adoption, Competitive positioning versus traditional card rails
• Risk & Payments Infrastructure Advisory
• Advise on ACH settlement timing, return risk exposure, and fraud mitigation strategies
• Evaluate tradeoffs between: Guaranteed payment models, Standard ACH recovery models, Real-time account verification solutions
• Assess fraud reduction strategies leveraging: Open banking account verification, Device intelligence, Behavioral analytics, Transaction monitoring
• Provide guidance on broader payment rails ecosystem dynamics including: ACH, RTP, FedNow, Visa/Client settlement flows, Zelle, Account-to-account payment models
• Executive & Board-Level Advisory
• Join executive meetings with open banking and payments partners as a strategic advisor and subject matter expert
• Serve as a credible voice in discussions with: Open banking providers, Financial institutions, Payment networks, Executive stakeholders, Board members
• Help shape executive presentations and board materials related to: Market opportunity, Competitive positioning, Partner evaluation, Implementation strategy, Risk framework, Commercial impact
• Provide ongoing strategic guidance as the company moves from discovery into implementation and launch phases

Required Experience

• 10+ years of experience in: Open banking, Pay-by-bank, ACH payments, Merchant payments, Fintech strategy, Alternative payment rails
• Strong understanding of: Open banking enrollment flows, ACH settlement and returns, Consumer account linking, Payment orchestration, Tokenized authorization models
• Experience evaluating or working with platforms such as: Plaid, Finicity, MX, Trustly, AeroPay
• Deep understanding of merchant payment economics including: Interchange, Card network economics, Alternative payment acceptance models
• Experience working directly with executive leadership and/or boards
• Ability to evaluate APIs and integrations from both product and business perspectives

Preferred Experience

• Strong preference for candidates with experience in: Fuel retail, Convenience stores, Travel centers, Grocery, QSR, High-volume / low-margin merchant environments
• Additional preferred experience:
• Merchant acquiring
• Issuing banks
• Payment processors
• Open banking fintechs
• Loyalty and rewards ecosystems
• Consumer payments adoption programs
• Advisory or consulting engagements with high executive visibility

Ideal Candidate Backgrounds

• Open banking fintechs
• Merchant acquiring organizations
• Payments consulting firms
• Banking/payment strategy groups
• Alternative payments product teams
• Fuel retail payment innovation groups

Relevant companies may include: Plaid, Finicity, MX, Trustly, AeroPay, Stripe, Dwolla, Client, FIS, ACI Worldwide, Client Voyix, WEX, JPMorgan Chase, U.S. Bank / Elavon, Visa, Client, P97 Networks, Couche-Tard / Circle K

Desired Skills

• Product-oriented strategic thinker
• Strong executive communication and presentation skills
• Ability to synthesize complex payments infrastructure concepts for business audiences
• Comfortable operating in fast-moving, ambiguous environments
• Collaborative, adaptable, and execution-oriented
• Strong facilitation and stakeholder management skills
• Ability to balance strategic advisory work with hands-on research and analysis

Engagement Details

• Fractional / advisory engagement
• Significant executive visibility and CEO interaction
• Fast-moving initiative with targeted implementation timeline by year-end
• Flexible structure depending on consultant availability and expertise
• Travel required for select in-person meetings and partner sessions