Payments SME - Banking Licence & Payments Transformation - Strike IT

Payments SME – Banking Licence & Payments Transformation

Location: London (Hybrid Working) Contract: Initial 6 Months (Likely Extension) Day Rate: Competitive

We are supporting a leading Wealth & Investment Management organisation as they embark on a major strategic transformation programme to establish a new banking capability and support a banking licence application.

As part of this initiative, we are seeking a highly experienced Payments Subject Matter Expert to take ownership of the payments architecture, operating model, and strategic delivery roadmap. This is a senior advisory and delivery-focused role requiring someone who can operate independently, engage with executive stakeholders, challenge third-party vendors, and drive key decisions across payments, banking operations, and regulatory workstreams.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the design and development of the organisation's future payments strategy and operating model.
• Provide subject matter expertise to support banking licence and regulatory initiatives.
• Produce key artefacts including target-state architectures, process flows, requirements documentation, decision papers, and executive presentations.
• Engage with senior stakeholders across Operations, Technology, Risk, Compliance and Executive Leadership.
• Evaluate and challenge vendors, banking partners, and payment service providers.
• Support the design of scalable, resilient, and compliant payment operations.

Required Experience

Payments & Banking Operations

Deep expertise across UK payment operations, including:

• Faster Payments
• Bacs
• CHAPS
• Client money and nominated account structures
• Card payment networks
• FX settlement and treasury-related payment flows
• Savings and deposit operations

Banking & Regulatory Expertise

• Strong understanding of banking operating models and payment infrastructure.
• Experience supporting banking licence, digital banking, e-money or payments transformation programmes.
• Knowledge of PSD2 and associated regulatory requirements.
• Experience selecting, integrating and managing PSD2-licensed payment partners.
• Understanding of operational resilience requirements and how payments architecture supports regulatory compliance.

European & Cross-Border Payments

• Experience operating across multi-entity European environments.
• Knowledge of correspondent banking models, intragroup arrangements and cross-border payment structures.
• Expertise in liquidity management, account placement strategy and reconciliation frameworks.

Clearing & Banking Partner Selection

Proven experience leading clearing bank selection exercises, including:

• Requirements gathering
• Market assessment and vendor shortlisting
• Commercial evaluation
• Due diligence
• Contract negotiations and onboarding

Custody & Wealth Management Operations

Understanding of custody and banking operating models. Experience with:

• Client money segregation
• Sub-custodian arrangements
• Banking and custody control frameworks
• Payment design considerations within regulated wealth management environments

Technology & Platform Knowledge

Strong understanding of payments architecture and banking technology ecosystems. Experience with Avaloq is highly desirable, including:

• Avaloq operating model and architecture
• Front-office, middle-tier and back-office integration
• Payments and banking workflow connectivity

Ideal Background

We are particularly interested in individuals who have delivered similar initiatives within:

• Wealth Management
• Private Banking
• Digital Banking
• Custody Services
• Asset & Investment Management
• Challenger Banks
• Payment Service Providers (PSPs)

This role requires a hands-on SME who can combine strategic advisory capability with practical delivery experience and operate credibly at executive level while driving detailed workstreams independently.