Wayoh · 8 hours ago
Senior Merchant Underwriter
Chicago, IL
Full-time
Hybrid
Mid, Senior Level
$100K/yr - $120K/yr
4+ years expWayoh is a Series A next-generation payments company seeking a Senior Merchant Underwriter to lead payments-focused underwriting reviews. This role involves conducting end-to-end payments underwriting, assessing compliance risk, and financial analysis for merchant applications, particularly in high-risk categories.
Staffing & Recruiting
Hiring Manager
Hannah Duffek
Responsibilities
Perform comprehensive payments underwriting for new merchant applications, including:
Review of merchant licenses, legal opinions, ownership structures, and regulatory exposure
Assessment of merchant AML and compliance programs, including transaction monitoring controls and governance
Evaluation of complex flow-of-funds, transaction activity, and processing models
Financial statement, cash flow, and volume analysis to assess sustainability and risk
Review of card network (Visa / Mastercard) rules and scheme compliance
Serve as a lead underwriter for high-risk and highly regulated merchant categories
Conduct portfolio and back-book reviews to identify emerging risk trends
Investigate alerts and escalations related to underwriting or merchant risk
Develop and recommend risk mitigation strategies and ongoing monitoring requirements
Partner cross-functionally with Compliance, Product, Engineering, and Operations to build scalable underwriting frameworks and tooling
Support process improvement and efficiency initiatives within the underwriting function
Stay current on regulatory changes, card scheme updates, and industry best practices
Qualification
Required
4+ years of payments or merchant underwriting experience, with direct exposure to merchant acquiring and transaction risk
Strong understanding of payment processing, merchant acquiring, and transaction risk
Demonstrated experience evaluating high regulatory-risk business models, including crypto, remittance, real-money gaming, and similar sectors
Ability to independently conduct full compliance risk assessments alongside financial analysis
Advanced Excel / Google Sheets skills for financial modeling, trend analysis, and data synthesis
Preferred
Experience with transaction monitoring systems and case management platforms
Familiarity with SQL and business intelligence tools (Tableau, Looker)
Background in high-growth payments or fintech companies
Experience or strong interest in cryptocurrency risk and blockchain analytics (e.g., Chainalysis, TRM Labs, Elliptic, Merkle)
Bachelor's degree
Company
Wayoh
At Wayoh, we specialize in two spaces that shape how people live: Health and Wealth.
2-10 employees
Funding
Current Stage
Early StageLeadership Team
Matt Lang
Founder
Company data provided by crunchbase