Purpose of Position
Under the direction of the Payment Analyst Supervisor the Payment Analyst is responsible for handling payment correction requests. This involves validating the requests, communicating with Servicing's working bank about lockbox and payment adjustments, collaborating within the payment analyst team to analyze and resolve difficult payment issues, assisting with development of new procedures and training Payment Specialists and other Payment Analysts, working with counterparts at other servicers to resolve misdirected payments, and correcting the problem payments. Also responsible for backing up other Cash Operations staff due to workload or staffing changes.
Essential Functions
- Perform as a high functioning Payment Analyst team by working together as a group, collaborating with each other, sharing ideas to solve complex problems, providing backup/support for one another and are yet each responsible for their own daily activity.
- Research and resolve misapplied payments. This involves:
- Follow established guidelines to determine appropriateness of payment correction requests and method of correction.
- Determine whether misapplied payments stem from unresolved processing problems at the lockbox such as encoding errors or exception processing errors by consulting with payment analyst team members. Recommend changes in processing to Payment Analyst Supervisor to improve the accuracy and efficiency with which payments are processed.
- Research problems with payment postings within Cash Operations as they arise. Identify problem areas and recommend possible solutions to payment posting problems.
- Research and resolve misdirected payments (payments sent to the wrong servicer). Develop and maintain contacts at other student loan servicers to assist in resolving these payments.
- Enable Borrower Services and payment reconciliation staff to determine the status of payment corrections by entering standardized activity messages to thoroughly document progress.
- Develop and maintain an in-depth knowledge of Department of Education and commercial payment processes, procedures, and audit trails. This includes borrower payments received through the lockbox, ACH, school refunds, claim payments, overpayment refunds, conversion/deconversion payments, consolidation, etc.
- Perform the necessary payment corrections and reconcile adjustments entered with payment posting reports.
- Provide excellent customer service by following through on commitments, providing prompt and accurate corrections, communicating status, and providing feedback on problem accounts or payment correction requests.
- Assist with development of new payment processes and procedures
- Assist Audit Management, Payment Analyst Supervisor and Senior Payment Analyst to develop new procedures
- Document formal procedures as needed
- Assist in training Payment Specialists and Payment Analysts on the new procedures
- Assist with validating new procedures with Payment Analyst Supervisor and Senior Payment Analyst
- Assist with client acceptance testing of payment screen changes
- Back up other Cash Operations staff. Acquire an understanding of their duties sufficient to perform them when needed due to their absence or to supplement their work output when requested by supervisor. Provide assistance to other Cash Operations staff when requested
- Maintain written documentation on all procedures.
- Perform related duties as assigned.