Risk Management Customer Relations

K. Mercedes Small

P.O. Box ***** Phoenix, AZ ****6

480-***-**** ~ *****************@*****.***

Summary of Qualifications

Ten plus years in consumer and business credit, ecommerce, risk, merchant mitigation, customer relations, residential mortgage underwriting, loan originations, and fraud investigations, compliance, and prevention.

Seven years’ experience in leadership, training, credit reviewing, credit disputes, risk mitigation, training, credit lending, quality, data analysis, internal portfolio management, collections, negotiations, fraud and merchant services work.

Risk Assessment and Analysis; conduct risk assessments across financial, operational, legal, strategic, and reputational areas, identifying potential threats (internal and external) and evaluating the impact and likelihood.

Policy Development; designing and implementing risk management policies and procedures, ensuring alignment with corporate strategy and compliance standards.

Risk Mitigation Planning; developing risk response plans, including avoidance, reduction, transfer, and acceptance strategies, working with legal teams, and operational units to manage exposures.

Reporting Communication; communicating risk awareness and promoting a risk culture within the organization.

Crisis Management & Business Continuity; consult with designing and testing business continuity and disaster recovery plans, leading response efforts during incidents or crises.

Soft Skills and Competencies; strong analytical and critical thinking skills, excellent communication and stakeholder engagement and de-escalations, leadership and team collaboration, and Strategic decision-making under pressure.

Proficient with various credit tools and internal/external programs including – LexisNexis, Fast Data, Client Line, eOscar, Archer, MAST, Merchant Access, First Data, EPX, Revver, ILS, Admin, Agent Desktop, FOP, RCO, TSYS, COIN, BOL, ILS, Microsoft Office suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint), Adobe, IE, and MS Access.

Professional Experience

Humboldt Merchant Services

Risk Manager March 2021 – Current

Train, hire, and lead the Risk Department on existing risk, fraud and chargeback protocols, risk tools, standard business protocols, client communication, etc. Ensure that all response deadlines for risk are met for the acquiring banks and that everyone in the department has necessary access credentials to perform their job duties.

Oversee the company comprehensive risk management program, assessing and identifying risks that could impede the reputation, safety, security, or financial success of the company.

Manage risk and underwriting review work for associated accounts. Assist Sales and Business Development units by providing information regarding the process during the underwriting and on boarding process.

Evaluate merchants’ previous payment processing and chargeback history to determine any potential risk or areas of improvement to reduce risk while utilizing the ticketing services and Merchant Account Program.

Interview, hire, and train new members of the Merchant Risk Operations department.

Manage projects for VP of Risk and Underwriting as needed, especially related to the implementation and enforcement of the company controls and researching account discrepancies to assist the customer service department.

Identifies credit risk, process trends and training needs within the body of underwriting work completed each month.

Humboldt Merchant Services April 2019 – March 2021

Risk & Underwriting Supervisor

Train and supervise the Risk Analyst on existing risk, fraud and chargeback protocols, risk tools, standard business protocols, client communication, etc. Ensure that all response deadlines for risk are met for the acquiring banks and that everyone in the department has necessary access credentials to perform their job duties.

Manages teams that deliver a consistent, goals and sophisticated process of the underwriter review.

Supervise risk and underwriting review work for associated accounts. Assist Sales and Business Development units by providing information regarding the process during the underwriting and on boarding process.

Evaluate merchants’ previous payment processing and chargeback history to determine any potential risk or areas of improvement to reduce risk while utilizing the ticketing services and Merchant Account Program.

Interview, hire, and train new members of the Merchant Risk Operations department.

Manage projects for VP of Risk and Underwriting as needed, especially related to the implementation and enforcement of the company controls and researching account discrepancies to assist the customer service department.

Identifies credit risk, process trends and training needs within the body of underwriting work completed each month.

AMEX Jan 2018 – March 2019

Senior Credit & Fraud Analyst

Responsible for providing analytical support to mitigate risk, enable revenue growth, and drive profitability through diverse analytical projects.

Integrating new data sources and capabilities to drive key business decisions.

Expected to develop disciplined monitoring of credit and fraud risk metrics at the portfolio level, as well as across key stages of the customer lifecycle such as underwriting and customer management, and perform root cause analyses of concerning trends to identify performance drivers.

Collaborating with multiple partners including Finance, Technology, and other cross-functional teams across the company. They will work with colleagues to design and implement risk control strategies based on statistical, financial, and economic analysis.

USAA/ Millenium Group Dec 2016 - Dec 2018

Senior Consumer Reporting Analyst (Contractor)

Utilizes a variety of credit bureau reporting tools such as Credit Bureau Reporting Agency websites, e-Oscar website, and systems to identify type of dispute received and manually perform a reasonable investigation required by FCRA Regulation for direct and indirect disputes.

Utilize various systems to research information on closed/inactive, active, current, delinquent, and specialized accounts, manually pull account statements, loan history, and create work items to all bank lines of business if applicable.

Research, resolve, and provide timely responses to Litigation/Legal requests.

Initiate contact with Credit Bureau Reporting Agencies via telephone, and secure email correspondence to maintain effective communication between the agencies and data furnisher.

Use multi products (CC, CL, HE), systems, and/or process knowledge in order to process disputes, validate reporting and/or research issues.

Utilizes appropriate tools and procedures to perform the job function within the time frame allotted, identify trends, and assist with training internal peers.

Cognosante Jan 2016 – Nov 2016

Health Case Analyst III

Support development and implementation of case analysis work for reconciliation of data from the health insurance exchanges.

Provide efficient and timely hands-on troubleshooting, remediation, coordination, escalation, tracking and management.

Conduct research, workflow investigations, business procedures and making recommendations.

Identify and solve customer information and processing problems.

Apply triage, research, collaboration, and technical knowledge to resolve transaction and processing issues.

Analyze discrepancies in the eligibility reconciliation process for multiple stakeholders.

Provide process improvement of the reconciliation process.

Provide content to educate and for collaboration with training staff on training stakeholders on triaging transactions and the reconciliation process.

PayPal Nov 2010 - Dec 2015

SENIOR RISK MITIGATION ANALYST

Perform risk management analysis in a high transactional environment while also assuring compliance to regulatory guidelines.

Develop technologies and merchant trends to ensure optimal risk mitigation.

Serve as a point of communications liaison between third party vendors, merchants and PayPal.com.

Daily reviews of accounts displaying elevated risk, complaints, disputes, charge backs, and fraud trends.

Help merchants monitor and enforce their mitigation operations, periodic reviews, and recommend payment tools specific to business model and needs.

Assist and lead training and special projects.

Provide proactive education on products/services, credit card dispute time frames, charge backs, dispute process and fraud filters.

Make independent quality decisions by adhering to MRM operating and credit lending procedures.

Review business and personal credit bureaus.

Review queues daily to ensure service levels are met and maintain accounts that pose potential risk to the PayPal Community.

Increase account retention from internal sales partners.

Complete full business reviews; analyze processing statements and business documentation, including business models.

Recommend and place collateral reserves.

Provide mentoring and new hire training/learning sessions.

Review/request additional information to perform daily audits to determine if merchant processing activity is acceptable

Answer questions from internal and external sources regarding policy and procedures.

Review daily fraud management and dispute reporting to monitor for unusual or suspicious activity.

Ensure merchant is in compliance with regulatory standards and contractual parameters.

Capture and hold funds according to guidelines as warranted.

Educate merchants and Relationship Managers regarding the fundamentals of proper card acceptance procedures and best practices.

Education& Certifications

Associates Degree, Computer Electronic Engineering Technology, ITT Technical College – Tempe, AZ (2003)

ETA CPP (Electronic Transactions Association Certified Payments Professional) – 2022

CSM - Certified Scrum Master (Scrum Alliance) – June 2025

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