Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Overnight Client Service Representative

🎯 Role Definition

The Overnight Client Service Representative is a frontline operational and client-facing role responsible for executing and supporting time-sensitive transactions, account maintenance, and client communications during overnight hours. This professional ensures accurate processing of end-of-day and start-of-day tasks, resolves client inquiries escalated outside normal business hours, monitors overnight systems and pipelines, and collaborates with trading, payments, and operations teams to meet SLA, audit, and compliance requirements. The role requires strong attention to detail, proven experience in payments or banking operations, ability to work independently in a shift environment, and excellent written and verbal communication for cross-timezone coordination.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

Bank Teller or Branch Operations Associate
Daytime Client Services Representative / Call Center Agent
Payments or Settlements Specialist (entry-level)

Advancement To:

Senior Overnight Client Service Representative / Subject Matter Expert
Client Services Team Lead or Supervisor (Overnight/Operations)
Payments/Settlements Manager or Operations Manager
Risk & Compliance Analyst (BSA/AML specialist)

Lateral Moves:

Fraud Analyst (24/7 coverage roles)
Account Maintenance or Onboarding Specialist
Trade Support / Settlements Analyst
Treasury or Cash Management Operations

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Monitor and respond to overnight client inquiries via phone, secure messaging, and email — triaging, resolving, or escalating issues in accordance with SLA and escalation protocols to minimize client impact and support 24/7 coverage.
Process and validate time-sensitive transactions (ACH, wires, international / SWIFT payments, book transfers, FX settlements) overnight, ensuring accurate routing, correct payment instructions, and adherence to cut-off times.
Reconcile and investigate end-of-day and start-of-day account balances, transaction exceptions, and clearing items; prepare and distribute reconciliation reports to internal teams and stakeholders.
Execute daily settlement and clearing workflows including verification of trade settlement instructions, confirmation matching, and resolving fails with counterparties and custodians.
Review and process account maintenance requests received overnight (address changes, name corrections, account holds, stop payments), ensuring KYC/AML checks and proper documentation are completed.
Monitor overnight system alerts and operational dashboards (core banking, payments hub, SWIFT interfaces), perform initial troubleshooting, and coordinate with IT / vendor support for incident remediation.
Research and resolve returned or rejected payments (insufficient funds, incorrect routing numbers, closed accounts), process returns/reversals, and communicate outcomes to clients and internal teams.
Perform nightly exceptions management: investigate stale transactions, exceptions, and pending items; document root cause, apply corrective actions, and escalate systemic issues to process owners.
Maintain detailed audit trails and documentation for all overnight activities, including action logs, client communications, and compliance checks to support auditors and regulatory exams.
Conduct OFAC and sanctions screening, monitor for potential AML alerts overnight, apply hold/closure procedures as needed, and escalate to the AML/Compliance team with supporting documentation.
Prepare and distribute daily overnight operational reports (transaction volumes, exceptions, SLA performance, critical incidents) to management and cross-functional stakeholders.
Coordinate with global support centers across time zones to hand over unresolved client issues and ensure continuity into daytime shifts, including clear summaries and recommended actions.
Execute manual journal entries, nightly balancing, and cash positioning tasks to support treasury and liquidity reporting, ensuring entries are properly authorized and documented.
Support corporate and institutional client onboarding follow-ups that require after-hours attention (verifying signatures, confirming documents, scheduling next-day routing).
Complete high-priority ad-hoc tasks such as urgent wire rescinds, client emergency transfers, and emergency account unlocks with appropriate verification and escalation controls.
Participate in overnight incident response and business continuity procedures, including failover checks, system switchover validation, and communication to affected clients or internal teams.
Assist in preparing escalation packets for senior management for significant overnight operational incidents, including timeline reconstruction, impact assessment, and mitigation steps.
Execute password or access resets, secure messaging responses, and coordinate with IT for urgent access issues that affect client ability to transact overnight.
Validate and process broker-dealer or institutional settlement instructions and confirmations, liaising with counterparties to reconcile differences and ensure timely settlement.
Maintain up-to-date knowledge of overnight operational procedures, regulatory requirements, product terms, and service level expectations to ensure consistent and compliant client service delivery.
Participate in continuous improvement by identifying recurring overnight issues, proposing process changes, and testing fixes to reduce manual interventions and improve SLA attainment.
Manage and prioritize a high volume of competing tasks during overnight windows, using triage rules and risk principles to focus on items with the highest client and regulatory impact.
Provide after-hours training and mentorship to new overnight team members and act as a subject-matter resource for complex client scenarios and specialized transaction types.

Secondary Functions

Capture lessons learned and contribute to post-incident reviews and operational playbooks to strengthen overnight processes and reduce recurrence of incidents.
Support data extraction for operational metrics and assist analysts by providing overnight transaction details and exception context for reporting and trend analysis.
Participate in cross-functional projects (product launches, system upgrades, cutover plans) that require overnight testing, validation, and go-live support.
Update and maintain internal knowledge base articles, standard operating procedures, and cheat sheets related to overnight processes and systems.
Assist with periodic audits and regulatory requests by gathering documentation and responding to follow-up questions about overnight activities.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

Payments processing (ACH, domestic and international wires, SWIFT, RTGS) — demonstrated experience executing and investigating payment flows.
Core banking and operations platforms (examples: Fiserv, Jack Henry, Oracle FLEXCUBE, Temenos, or proprietary banking systems) and experience navigating transaction queues and exception dashboards.
Trade settlement and reconciliation experience — strong understanding of settlement cycles, fails resolution, and custody/clearing interactions.
AML/BSA/OFAC screening knowledge — ability to recognize sanctions hits and escalate per policy.
Strong spreadsheet skills (advanced Excel: VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP, pivot tables, conditional formatting) for reconciliation and reporting tasks.
Ticketing and case management tools (e.g., ServiceNow, Salesforce, Remedy) for logging, tracking, and escalating issues.
Transaction lifecycle knowledge for banking products (deposits, payments, transfers, foreign exchange) and related regulation / compliance touchpoints.
Basic SQL or ability to extract and manipulate data from reporting tools and dashboards for research and daily reporting (preferred).
Experience with overnight batch processing, job scheduling, and understanding of job status/error logs.
Familiarity with audit documentation and change control processes; ability to prepare artifacts for internal and external reviews.

Soft Skills

Exceptional attention to detail and accuracy under time pressure; proven ability to catch and correct discrepancies in high-volume environments.
Clear, concise written communication skills for secure messaging, incident reporting, and cross-shift handoffs.
Strong problem-solving and investigative mindset — tenacity to research root causes and follow through to resolution.
Customer-centric orientation with empathy for clients experiencing urgent issues during off-hours.
Ability to prioritize competing tasks logically and quickly based on risk, SLA, and client impact.
Team collaboration and cross-functional communication skills for working with trading desks, payments, IT, compliance, and day-shift teams.
Resilience and adaptability to work overnight shifts, handle irregular volumes, and participate in system upgrades or emergencies.
Professional judgment and discretion when handling sensitive client and financial data.
Time management and self-motivation to work independently with minimal supervision during night shifts.
Continuous improvement mindset: comfort with documenting issues and suggesting process or automation improvements.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

High school diploma or equivalent.

Preferred Education:

Associate degree or Bachelor's degree in Finance, Business Administration, Accounting, Information Systems, or related fields.

Relevant Fields of Study:

Finance
Business Administration
Accounting
Information Systems / IT
Economics

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

1–4 years of client service, banking operations, payments, or settlement experience; demonstrable overnight or shift work experience preferred.

Preferred:

2+ years processing payments or settlement operations in a banking, custody, brokerage, or payments environment.
Prior exposure to AML/BSA/OFAC processes, ticketing systems, and reconciliation procedures.
Experience supporting night or rotating shifts and working collaboratively with global teams.