Wire Operations Specialist

Description

About Bankwell:

Bankwell is a commercial bank with more than $3 billion in assets that serves the banking needs of businesses and individuals. At Bankwell, we pride ourselves on our unique ability to bring you high touch, high quality banking with the expertise and dedication of our experienced team of professionals. When it comes to business, our deep industry knowledge, flexibility and innovative treasury and financing services enable us to find the right solutions for our business and commercial clients. We’re passionate about giving back and are actively involved with many not-for-profit organizations that help shape and improve the lives of others. We’re dedicated to giving our time and talent to support the communities we serve. More about Bankwell can be found at www.mybankwell.com.

Summary of Position:

The Temporary Wire Operations Specialist provides staff augmentation support to Payment Operations with a dedicated focus on wire transfer processing. This temporary role supports the accurate, timely, and controlled processing of domestic and, as applicable, international wire activity in accordance with Bankwell procedures, approval requirements, cutoff times, and applicable regulatory expectations. The position is intended to help with wire processing volume and related operational follow-up.

 Wire Processing Support:

• Process assigned incoming and outgoing wire transfer activity accurately and within established deadlines, procedures, approval requirements, and control expectations.
• Review wire requests and related documentation for completeness, required approvals, client authorization, callback or verification requirements, and alignment with Bankwell procedures.
• Perform or support OFAC/sanctions screening and escalate potential matches, exceptions, unusual activity, or processing concerns to Bankwell management, Compliance, or Fraud as required.
• Monitor wire queues, cutoff times, pending items, repair items, rejects, returns, and other wire-related exceptions to support timely resolution.
• Investigate and resolve assigned wire processing errors or exceptions, including missing or incomplete information, formatting issues, beneficiary/bank details, returns, and rejected items.
• Coordinate with internal partners, including Retail Banking, Private Banking, Treasury Management, Compliance, Fraud, Finance, and IT, as needed to complete wire processing and resolve wire-related issues.
• Maintain clear, accurate, and audit-ready documentation of wire activity, approvals, exception handling, callbacks/verifications, and required supporting records.
• Assist with daily balancing, settlement support, wire reporting, and other wire-specific operational controls as assigned.
• Protect confidential client and bank information and follow all information security, dual-control, segregation-of-duties, and escalation requirements.
• Perform other wire-processing-related duties as assigned by Payment Operations leadership.

Requirements

Qualifications & Skills: 

• Prior banking or financial services operations experience required, with hands-on wire processing experience strongly preferred.
• Experience with domestic wires required; international, FX, SWIFT, or correspondent banking wire experience is a plus.
• Working knowledge of wire transfer controls and applicable regulatory expectations, including OFAC/sanctions screening, BSA/AML awareness, client authentication, and secure handling of sensitive data.
• Exceptional attention to detail and accuracy when reviewing beneficiary instructions, bank information, approvals, dollar amounts, cutoff times, and transaction documentation.
• Ability to work efficiently in a high-volume, deadline-driven environment while following established procedures and escalation protocols.
• Strong problem-solving skills and the ability to investigate and resolve wire exceptions, rejects, returns, or incomplete instructions.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office, particularly Outlook and Excel, and the ability to learn wire platforms and bank systems quickly.
• Strong communication skills and the ability to work effectively with Payment Operations team members and internal business partners.
• High degree of professionalism, confidentiality, reliability, and accountability in a temporary staff augmentation assignment.

FLSA Status: Non-Exempt

This job description is a general description of essential job functions. It is not intended as an employment contract, nor is it intended to describe all duties someone in this position may perform. All employees are expected to perform tasks assigned by supervisory personnel, regardless of job titles or routine job duties.

Bankwell is committed to a policy of Equal Employment Opportunity and will not discriminate against any applicant or employee on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin or ancestry, age, physical or mental disability, veteran or military status, marital status, or any other legally recognized protected basis under federal, state or local laws.

Applicants with disabilities may be entitled to reasonable accommodation under the terms of Americans with Disabilities Act and certain other state or local laws. Please inform Bankwell’s Human Resources representative if you need assistance completing any forms or to otherwise participate in the application process.

All employees are responsible for complying with banking regulations that apply to Bankwell. This includes, but is not limited to, adhering to the BSA and various consumer protection regulations, and complying with OFAC sanctions. Employees are required to complete compliance training and follow policies and procedures for applicable regulations based on their role. An employee’s failure to comply with banking regulations will be individually reviewed and assessed. The result of non-compliance may impact job performance ratings and may be serious enough to require termination of employment.