Exceptions and Returns Processor

Location:

Training Hours: Between 7:30am & 5:00pm ET Monday - Friday.

Hours After Training: Monday- Friday 10:30am - 7:30pm ET

Location: Based in Cleveland OH or Albany NY - Hybrid: in office 2 days per week, usually on Wednesday and Friday

Job Summary
Under limited supervision, the Senior Specialist, Return Items is responsible for overseeing the accurate and timely processing of returned transactions across multiple payment channels (ACH, checks, and electronic payments). This role serves as a subject-matter expert, handling complex and high-risk exceptions, ensuring regulatory compliance, and providing guidance to lead specialists while supporting process improvement initiatives. The Senior Specialist is responsible for following established guidelines to identify and resolve problems, escalating issues as needed, and contributing to workflow or process change and redesign. Individuals in this position should form a strong understanding of bank operations.

Essential Functions

• Review, research, and process returned items including ACH returns, check returns, electronic payment reversals, etc.
• Handle complex, aged and high-risk return items requiring advanced investigation and judgment.
• Ensure return processing meets regulatory requirements, bank policies, and network rules (e.g., NACHA, Reg CC, UCC).
• Monitor queues, aging, and service level agreements (SLAs) to ensure timely resolution.
• Reviews and ensures proper documentation or procedures are used for complex activities and checks the work of less experienced employees.
• Identifies and resolves complex issues that do not have established guidelines. May provide service in relation complex billing inquiries, service requests, suggestions and complaints from customers.
• Recommends and implements programs to solve complex issues, contributes to workflow or process change and redesign, and forms a strong understanding of the specific product or process.
• Is fully proficient in duties and works under limited to no supervision.
• Seen as a subject matter expert across the line of business and delivers subject-matter expertise to customers and Lead Specialists.
• Perform other duties as assigned; duties, responsibilities may change, or new ones may be assigned at any time with or without notice.

Education

• High School Diploma or GED (required)
• Bachelor's Degree or equivalent experience (preferred)

Work Experience

• Minimum 3 years of operations experience (required).
• Minimum 5 years of experience in bank operations, with significant experience in return items, exceptions, or payment processing preferred.
• Experience working with core banking systems and workflow tools.

Skills

• Working knowledge of ACH, check processing, and payment return rules is strongly preferred.
• Proven ability to research complex transactions and make sound decisions.
• Extensive experience with customer service concepts and techniques; ability to meet or exceed customer needs and expectations and provide excellent service in a direct or indirect manner.
• Working knowledge of back-office operations; ability to implement the practices, processes, technologies, and applications associated with banking transaction processing and transaction management.
• Extensive experience with the importance of meeting or exceeding established targets; ability to drive critical activities to completion.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Extensive experience with approaches, tools, techniques for recognizing, anticipating, and resolving organizational, operational or process problems; ability to apply knowledge of problem solving appropriately to diverse situations.
• Extensive experience with successful approaches and techniques for dealing with change; ability to adapt to a changing environment and be comfortable with change.
• Extensive experience with collaborative techniques; ability to work with a variety of individuals and groups in a constructive and collaborative manner.
• Basic understanding of processes, tools and techniques for assessing and controlling an organization's exposure to risks of various kinds; ability to apply knowledge of risk management appropriately to diverse situations.

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS

Please click here for a list of benefits for which this position is eligible.

Key has implemented an approach to employee workspaces which prioritizes in-office presence, while providing flexible options in circumstances where roles can be performed effectively in a mobile environment.

Qualified individuals with disabilities or disabled veterans who are unable or limited in their ability to apply on this site may request reasonable accommodations by emailing HR_Compliance@keybank.com.