Business Analyst - Payments (Hybrid in CA)

Who We AreJoin a team that puts its People First! Since 1889, First American (NYSE: FAF) has held an unwavering belief in its people. They are passionate about what they do, and we are equally passionate about fostering an environment where all feel welcome, supported, and empowered to be innovative and reach their full potential. Our inclusive, people-first culture has earned our company numerous accolades, including being named to the Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For® list for eleven consecutive years. We have also earned awards as a best place to work for women, diversity and LGBTQ+ employees, and have been included on more than 50 regional best places to work lists. First American will always strive to be a great place to work, for all. For more information, please visit www.careers.firstam.com.

What We DoFirst American Trust is seeking an experienced Business Analyst to support our growing Payments function across multiple payment rails, including ACH, wire transfers, instant payments, and future payment capabilities.
This individual will use strong business, operational, and analytical skills to evaluate payment processes, analyze payment activity and trends, identify operational gaps and inefficiencies, support new payment capabilities, and help improve the scalability and effectiveness of the bank's payment operations. The Business Analyst will partner closely with Payments Operations, payment program owners and subject matter experts, Risk/Compliance, Treasury Management, Product, Technology, Finance, and other business areas. This role provides analytical and operational support across payment rails and does not serve as the program owner or day-to-day processor for a specific payment method.

What You'll Do:

·   Develop a strong understanding of the bank's end-to-end payment processes across ACH, domestic and international wires, instant payments, and other current or future payment rails.

·   Analyze payment workflows to identify operational gaps, inefficiencies, manual processes, capacity constraints, control opportunities, and areas for improvement.

·   Analyze payment volumes, values, exceptions, returns, rejects, processing times, service levels, manual interventions, and other operational data to identify trends and emerging issues.

·   Develop reporting, metrics, dashboards, and management information that provide visibility into payment operations, performance, capacity, and trends.

·   Perform root-cause analysis of recurring payment issues to distinguish individual exceptions from broader process or operational problems.

·   Evaluate processes across different payment rails to identify opportunities for greater consistency, standardization, efficiency, and scalability.

·   Support payment-related process improvement initiatives from problem identification through implementation and measurement of results.

·   Partner with payment program owners, Operations teams, and subject matter experts to analyze trends, processes, capacity, controls, and improvement opportunities across ACH, wires, instant payments, and other payment rails.

·   Document current-state payment processes and help design improved future-state processes.

·   Support the implementation of new payment capabilities, including new payment rails, services, operational processes, and significant enhancements to existing capabilities.

·   Help define business and operational requirements for new or modified payment products, processes, and services.

·   Assess operational readiness for new payment initiatives, including procedures, controls, staffing impacts, training, reporting, exception handling, and ongoing support requirements.

·   Participate in testing and implementation of payment-related changes from a business and operational perspective.

·   Develop and maintain process maps, business requirements, procedures, training materials, and other operational documentation.

·   Support management in evaluating the operational impact of payment rule, regulatory, industry, product, or volume changes.

·   Support payment-related audit, examination, risk assessment, and remediation activities by providing analysis, documentation, process information, and supporting data.

·   Partner with the Fraud & Claims function to analyze aggregate fraud activity, losses, recoveries, and trends as part of broader payment performance analysis, without assuming ownership of individual fraud investigations or claims.

·   Facilitate meetings and working sessions involving payment operations and other business partners and help drive issues and action items through resolution.

·   Make recommendations to management regarding payment processes, operational capacity, reporting, controls, service delivery, and continuous improvement.

What You'll Bring:

·   BA/BS degree or equivalent work experience.

·   2-5 years of directly related experience in payments, banking operations, Treasury Management, business analysis, financial services, or a similar field.

·   Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to investigate complex issues, identify root causes, and recommend practical solutions.

·   Ability to understand complex transaction flows and operational processes.

·   Strong ability to organize, analyze, interpret, and present data effectively.

·   Advanced Microsoft Office skills, particularly Excel.

·   Experience gathering and documenting business and operational requirements.

·   Ability to develop clear process documentation, analysis, and recommendations.

·   Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

·   Strong attention to detail and ability to work effectively in an operational environment where accuracy, timeliness, and controls are important.

·   Ability to work independently and collaborate across multiple business and control functions.

·   Experience in bank payments, payment operations, deposit operations, Treasury Management, or financial services.

·   Working knowledge of multiple payment rails, including ACH, wire transfers, and/or instant payments.

·   Experience analyzing payment transaction data, volumes, exceptions, processing performance, or operational trends.

·   Knowledge of payment processing concepts including initiation, authorization, settlement, exceptions, returns, reconciliation, transaction limits, and operational controls.

·   Familiarity with ACH processing and Nacha Operating Rules.

·   Experience with domestic and/or international wire transfers.

·   Knowledge of instant payments, including the FedNow Service and/or RTP network.

·   Familiarity with payment fraud, operational risk, and payment controls.

·   Experience supporting implementation of a new payment product, payment rail, or significant operational change.

·   Experience with process mapping, root-cause analysis, operational reporting, procedure development, testing, and implementation.

·   Experience supporting high-volume payment operations or significant growth in payment transaction volumes.

·   AAP, APRP, AFPP, CTP, or other relevant payments certification is preferred but not required.

The successful Business Analyst will provide management with greater visibility into how the bank's payment operations are performing and help translate operational challenges into actionable improvements. This individual will develop expertise across payment rails, improve reporting and management information, identify trends and emerging issues, reduce manual work and operational inefficiencies, and help ensure the Payments function can scale effectively as transaction volumes and payment capabilities grow. The Business Analyst will complement payment program owners, operational specialists, and the Fraud & Claims function by providing cross-rail analysis, process improvement, implementation support, and operational insight.

Pay Range: $73,900.00 - $98,500.00 Annually
This hiring range is a reasonable estimate of the base pay range for this position at the time of posting. Pay is based on a number of factors which may include job-related knowledge, skills, experience, business requirements and geographic location.

First American will consider for employment all qualified applicants, including those with arrest or conviction records, in a manner consistent with the requirements of applicable state and local laws (e.g., the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers and the California Fair Chance Act).

First American intends to conduct a review of an applicant’s criminal history in connection with a conditional offer. First American reasonably believes that a criminal history may have a direct, adverse and negative relationship with the following material job duties for this position potentially resulting in the withdrawal of the conditional offer of employment: handling of confidential, proprietary or trade secret information belonging to First American or its customers, administrating or facilitating financial transactions, and the ability to meet customer-imposed criminal history requirements.

What We OfferBy choice, we don’t simply accept individuality – we embrace it, we support it, and we thrive on it! Our People First culture is inclusive for all employees - not just because it's the right thing to do, but because it's the key to our success. We are proud to foster an authentic and inclusive workplace For All. You are free and encouraged to bring your entire, unique self to work. First American is an equal opportunity employer in every sense of the term.

Based on eligibility, First American offers a comprehensive benefits package including medical, dental, vision, 401k, PTO/paid sick leave and other great benefits like an employee stock purchase plan.