Underwriter

Who We Are

Choice Merchant Solutions is a fast-growing private equity backed fintech company that enables commerce with our technology.  We facilitate payments for traditional brick-and-mortar business as well as provide the payments engine behind some of the fastest growing e-commerce companies.  We are a fast-paced scale play in one of the hottest industries.  Our culture is both entrepreneurial as well as supportive.  Our financial sponsor is one of the most prestigious Silicon Valley based growth equity firms and our mandate is to grow through M&A, exponential organic growth and through hiring the most talented people.  We pay competitive salaries along with stock-based compensation.  Our employees’ growth is limited only by their desire to advance and work hard.  We are ambitious, hardworking, energetic, dog-friendly and team oriented.

Who You Are

You are a high energy individual who is passionate about building strong relationships. You are eager to learn as much as you can in the coming few years and thrive in a fast-paced environment. Your mentors would describe you as intelligent, detail-oriented, and resourceful. You can demonstrate positive collaboration and teamwork through past experiences. You don’t need step-by-step directions to complete a task, but instead, spend time and energy building your own solutions.

We’re looking for an organized, self-starter to join Choice as an Underwriter.  You’ll work with colleagues, agents, merchants and our Agent Support team playing a critical role in delivering against key business objectives.  You are an integral part of the process and confident reviewing merchant applications for possible fraud or credit risk before providing a final approval.  Our ideal candidate possesses start-up grit, a desire to uncover and resolve issues.  Ideally, they are comfortable with the MS office suite, Slack and are driven by data. We are looking for an individual meticulously organized, able to thoughtfully manage competing priorities and accounts, and who is comfortable working under tight deadlines

Position Overview

The Underwriting team is comprised of dedicated individuals who care deeply about the success and experience of our merchant and agent partners. We are resourceful – when we see something that can be improved, we don’t wait to act. We seize opportunities to learn and grow and are committed to providing a supportive environment. As an Underwriter, you will report to the Vice President of Risk and Underwriting and independently manage all aspects of the merchant application review processes.  You will work directly with our new and existing Choice merchants as well as our agent offices to ensure they successfully start doing business using Choice tools and services.

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You Must

• Review, underwrite, evaluate, and approve/deny merchant applications in compliance with underwriting guidelines and risk standards of Choice.
• Verify all information provided on the merchant application and supporting documentation is correct and consistent.
• Perform due diligence searches based on merchant application information.
• Contact agents and merchants regarding their applications when needed to make an underwriting decision.
• Have a keen understanding of financial statements, credit reports, tax returns and other financial documentation.
• Assess risk based on business type and expected volumes.
• Analyze previous processing statements to determine true parameters and potential exposure.
• Calculate potential exposure and make reserve recommendations as needed.
• Thoughtfully analyze chargeback exposure and merchant payout timing.
• Provide recommendations for approval, credit holds or declines of merchant applications.
• Advise merchants on application and credit issues, verifying accuracy of merchant roles and resolving concerns.
• Act as a resource for other departments, providing guidance on underwriting policies and procedures.
• Possesses a willingness and grit to go above and beyond role description or standard working hours to deliver impactful results.
• Be willing to work onsite in at least a hybrid fashion in our Hartford, Long Island, Jacksonville/ Ponte Vedra Beach or Provo UT locations.

We are not big on requirements, but you probably have:

• BS/BA (Financial, Business or Economics) or proven work experience as an underwriter in the credit card processing space. 
• Knowledge of payments industry.
• Minimum of 3 years’ experience in merchant underwriting across multiple verticals including ecommerce, MOTO, and card present processing.
• Strong knowledge of Visa and MasterCard rules and regulations.
• Demonstrated ability to build and sustain relationships Agents and Merchants.
• Experience analyzing complex financial documents.
• Proactive, results oriented and is expected to be able to work independently.
• Strong written and verbal skills
• Exceptional organizational skills and supreme attention-to-detail 
• A blended creative and analytical approach to problem-solving
• Familiarity with conventional software – MS Office, Slack and CRM software