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Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Banking Specialist

💰 $ - $

BankingFinanceCustomer Service

🎯 Role Definition

A Banking Specialist is an experienced frontline banking professional who manages customer accounts, executes complex transactions, ensures regulatory compliance, and supports relationship growth through advisory and cross-sell activities. This role combines deep product knowledge (deposits, loans, payments, cash management, and trade services), operational accuracy, transaction risk control (KYC/AML/BSA/OFAC), and strong client-facing communication to deliver efficient, compliant, and revenue-driven banking services.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • Retail Bank Teller with strong operational accuracy and customer service delivery
  • Customer Service Representative or Contact Center Specialist in banking or financial services
  • Junior Operations/Payments Analyst or Loan Processor with exposure to transactional workflows

Advancement To:

  • Relationship Manager / Commercial Banking Officer
  • Senior Banking Specialist / Operations Team Lead
  • Product Specialist (Payments, Cash Management, Trade Finance)
  • Compliance Analyst or AML Investigator (with certifications)

Lateral Moves:

  • Treasury Operations Analyst
  • Credit Administration Specialist
  • Digital Banking/Platform Specialist

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  • Serve as the primary point of contact for retail and small-business customers, proactively managing inquiries, resolving complex account issues, and delivering a consultative approach that increases product adoption and customer retention.
  • Open, maintain, and close customer accounts (personal, business, trust), ensuring complete and accurate documentation, lawful purpose verification, and adherence to Know Your Customer (KYC) and Customer Due Diligence (CDD) procedures.
  • Conduct thorough KYC and AML screening, review adverse media, source of funds, and beneficial ownership information, escalate suspicious activity to the AML/Compliance team, and support filing of SARs when required.
  • Execute and verify domestic and international payment instructions (ACH, wire transfers, SWIFT/MT messages), ensuring correct routing, settlement instructions, sanctions screening, and timely processing in accordance with SLAs.
  • Perform detailed transaction monitoring and reconciliation across multiple systems to detect anomalies, correct posting errors, and coordinate investigations with internal teams to resolve discrepancies.
  • Review and process consumer and commercial loan documentation and payments, verify collateral and security information, and maintain compliance with lending policy and regulatory requirements.
  • Provide product guidance for treasury and cash management solutions, including remote deposit capture, positive pay, sweeps, fraud protection tools, and assist clients with onboarding and configuration.
  • Advise customers on account fees, disclosures, and regulatory notices, obtain required signatures and consents, and ensure clients receive clear, compliant communications.
  • Prepare and maintain accurate audit trails and case documentation for account decisions, exception handling, and regulatory examinations; support internal and external audit requests with timely and complete responses.
  • Manage daily branch or operations controls such as cash vault reconciliation, check processing exceptions, end-of-day balancing, and supervisory review to minimize operational risk and losses.
  • Coordinate with relationship managers, product specialists, and underwriting on complex client situations, delivering actionable input on credit risk, account structure, and cross-departmental solutions.
  • Facilitate ACH origination setups, operating agreement reviews, and merchant services onboarding, ensuring adherence to NACHA rules and card network compliance requirements.
  • Assess and mitigate fraud risk by monitoring suspicious patterns, disabling compromised access, implementing account-level controls, and educating clients on best practices for account security and fraud prevention.
  • Support regulatory reporting and client due diligence for periodic reviews, sanctions screening refreshes, and policy-driven escalations to meet BSA/AML and OFAC requirements.
  • Maintain expert-level knowledge of bank products, fee structures, promotional offers, and system capabilities to accurately quote solutions and convert service interactions into revenue opportunities.
  • Execute wire confirmations, stop payments, and notary and signature verification tasks while documenting authorization and authentication steps to protect against misrepresentation and fraud.
  • Train and mentor junior staff on account opening procedures, payments processing, compliance requirements, and customer service standards to raise team competency and operational consistency.
  • Manage special projects related to process improvement, product rollouts, or system migrations — from requirements gathering through user acceptance testing and go-live support — while minimizing client disruption.
  • Respond to escalated client complaints and regulatory inquiries with composed, evidence-based communications, ensuring timely remediation and root-cause analysis to prevent recurrence.
  • Maintain strict confidentiality of customer information, follow information security protocols, and participate in periodic compliance training and certification renewals.
  • Liaise with vendor and correspondent banking partners for clearing, settlement issues, and system integrations, coordinating fixes and improvements to end-to-end payment flows.
  • Monitor and interpret regulatory updates and internal policy changes, advise business partners on operational impacts, and implement procedural changes to ensure ongoing compliance.

Secondary Functions

  • Support ad-hoc reporting and data requests for the branch, compliance, or relationship teams to help identify trends and operational bottlenecks.
  • Contribute to process improvement initiatives that reduce manual work, improve turnaround times, and strengthen internal controls for transaction processing.
  • Collaborate with digital channels and IT teams to improve client onboarding flows, troubleshoot integration issues, and test UX changes that impact account maintenance and payments.
  • Assist with periodic remediation projects, including cleansing of inactive accounts, documentation updates, and consolidation of duplicate records.
  • Participate in cross-functional working groups focused on fraud prevention, product configuration, and customer experience enhancements.
  • Support marketing and sales teams by providing product knowledge for campaigns, participating in client seminars, and preparing materials for targeted outreach.
  • Maintain and update internal knowledge bases, standard operating procedures, and training materials for consistency across branches and operations centers.
  • Provide back-up support for related operations functions such as teller overflow, check imaging exceptions, and account research during peak volumes or staff shortages.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • Know Your Customer (KYC) and Customer Due Diligence (CDD) processes
  • Anti-Money Laundering (AML) controls and Suspicious Activity Report (SAR) processes
  • OFAC and sanctions screening procedures and escalation
  • Payments knowledge: ACH, wire transfers, SWIFT, RTGS, and settlement lifecycle
  • Core banking systems (examples: FIS, Fiserv, Temenos, Jack Henry) and transaction reconciliation tools
  • Treasury and cash management product knowledge (remote deposit, sweep accounts, positive pay)
  • Deposits and loan documentation processing, basic credit file understanding
  • Financial statement review and basic credit analysis for small-business customers
  • Fraud detection tools and case management platforms
  • Microsoft Excel (pivot tables, VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP, lookups, data reconciliation) and CRM proficiency
  • Regulatory reporting awareness (BSA, AML, consumer protection regulations)
  • Document imaging and records management systems

Soft Skills

  • Exceptional verbal and written communication with clients and internal stakeholders
  • Strong attention to detail and meticulous record-keeping
  • Customer-focused consultative selling and relationship building
  • Analytical problem solving and investigative mindset
  • Sound judgment and decision-making under regulatory constraints
  • Time management, prioritization, and ability to manage high-volume workloads
  • Team collaboration and coaching/mentoring capability
  • Integrity, confidentiality, and adherence to ethical standards
  • Adaptability to changing regulatory and product environments
  • Resilience in handling escalations and complex client situations

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

  • Bachelor's degree in Business, Finance, Accounting, Economics, or related field; OR equivalent combination of education and demonstrable experience in banking operations.

Preferred Education:

  • Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, Business Administration, or Economics.
  • Professional certifications such as CAMS (Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist), CRCM, or relevant banking/product certifications are a plus.

Relevant Fields of Study:

  • Finance
  • Business Administration
  • Accounting
  • Economics
  • Risk Management

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

  • 2–5 years in banking operations, customer service, payments, or compliance roles.

Preferred:

  • 3+ years of direct experience with account servicing, payments processing (ACH/wires/SWIFT), KYC/AML screening, or cash management product support.
  • Prior experience in retail banking, commercial banking operations, or a financial institution with exposure to regulatory and audit processes is highly desirable.
  • Demonstrated experience using core banking systems, CRM tools, and standard office productivity applications.
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