Open Banking Strategy Consultant, Payments Architect

Must have:
Demonstrated 10 years of experience in open banking pay-by-bank or Fintech payments strategy - not purely engineering or compliance
Exp. leading the design and evolution of payments ecosystem across cashier multi-rail orchestration vendor integrations and fraud platforms.
Responsible for modernizing and scaling secure high-performance payment infrastructure supporting millions of transactions.
Familiarity with the open banking enrollment lifecycle including partner API models (Plaid Finicity MX AeroPay Trustly or equivalents)
Prior work with fuel retail convenience or high-volume low-margin merchant verticals
Map end-to-end business processes across the full open banking lifecycle from consumer enrollment through transaction authorization and ACH settlement
Understanding of ACH infrastructure settlement timing return risk and the payment rails ecosystem (including how Visa Mastercard Zelle and other networks settle through ACH)
Experience advising or working closely with C-suite executives - able to serve as a trusted strategic partner and credible voice in external partner and board settings
Must have strong communication
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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:
o Plaid
o Finicity
o MX
o AeroPay
o Trustly
o Additional emerging providers and alternative enrollment solutions
Assess partner differentiation across:
o Consumer enrollment UX
o Authentication and tokenization models
o Fraud and risk controls
o Account verification approaches
o ACH orchestration capabilities
o 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 companys positioning within the pay-by-bank and open banking payments landscape
Map and optimize the end-to-end open banking lifecycle including:
o Consumer enrollment
o Bank account linking
o Token authorization
o Transaction initiation
o ACH settlement and reconciliation
o 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:
o Interchange reduction
o Fee savings
o Consumer incentives
o Alternative payment adoption
o 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:
o Guaranteed payment models
o Standard ACH recovery models
o Real-time account verification solutions
Assess fraud reduction strategies leveraging:
o Open banking account verification
o Device intelligence
o Behavioral analytics
o Transaction monitoring
Provide guidance on broader payment rails ecosystem dynamics including:
o ACH
o RTP
o FedNow
o Visa/Mastercard settlement flows
o Zelle
o 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:
o Open banking providers
o Financial institutions
o Payment networks
o Executive stakeholders
o Board members
Help shape executive presentations and board materials related to:
o Market opportunity
o Competitive positioning
o Partner evaluation
o Implementation strategy
o Risk framework
o Commercial impact
Provide ongoing strategic guidance as the company moves from discovery into implementation and launch phases

Required Experience
10 years of experience in:
o Open banking
o Pay-by-bank
o ACH payments
o Merchant payments
o Fintech strategy
o Alternative payment rails
Strong understanding of:
o Open banking enrollment flows
o ACH settlement and returns
o Consumer account linking
o Payment orchestration
o Tokenized authorization models
Experience evaluating or working with platforms such as:
o Plaid
o Finicity
o MX
o Trustly
o AeroPay
Deep understanding of merchant payment economics including:
o Interchange
o Card network economics
o 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
Candidates may come from:
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
Fiserv
FIS
ACI Worldwide
NCR Voyix
WEX
JPMorgan Chase
U.S. Bank / Elavon
Visa
Mastercard
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