Head of Payments Technology

Payments connect people and businesses to the opportunities that matter most. They are also among the most rapidly evolving, and mission-critical capabilities in financial services.

M&T Bank is seeking a Head of Payments Technology to define and deliver the next generation of the Bank’s payments ecosystem. Reporting to the Divisional Chief Information Officer for Wealth, Institutional Services, Core Banking, Operations Technology, and Payments, this executive will lead the strategy, architecture, engineering, modernization, and operation of the technology that enables money to move quickly, securely and reliably.

This is a rare opportunity to lead a portfolio at the center of M&T’s transformation. You will modernize critical payment platforms, advance real-time and emerging payment capabilities, build an AI-enabled engineering organization, and help shape how M&T serves clients, businesses, and communities for years to come.

The successful candidate will combine deep payments expertise with strategic vision, engineering credibility, operational discipline, and an ability to inspire large, diverse teams.

50 to 100+

• Develop and execute an enterprise payments technology strategy aligned with client needs, business priorities, risk expectations, and long-term growth.
• Connect technology investments to measurable improvements in client experience, business growth, operating efficiency, and risk reduction.
• Serve as a trusted advisor to senior business and technology leaders on payments strategy, technology investments, transformation priorities, risks, and trade-offs.
• Build strong partnerships across Payments, Product, Operations, Risk, Compliance, Architecture, and Technology.

• Lead the transformation of platforms supporting Wire, ACH, SWIFT, RTP, FedNow, Digital Assets, and emerging payment capabilities.
• Drive major initiatives such as Wire transformation, Payments Hub implementation, cloud adoption, and application portfolio simplification.
• Advance cloud-enabled, API-driven, event-driven, and platform-based architectures.
• Balance the speed of transformation with the operational discipline required to protect clients and maintain uninterrupted payment services.

• Create a culture of engineering excellence grounded in ownership, innovation, craftsmanship, and continuous improvement.
• Advance AI-enabled software engineering, DevSecOps, automation, observability, modern testing, and continuous delivery.
• Establish modern engineering practices that increase delivery speed without compromising quality or control.
• Create an environment where teams can experiment responsibly, learn rapidly, and scale proven ideas.

• Ensure payment platforms meet demanding expectations for availability, resiliency, scalability, cybersecurity, recovery, and regulatory compliance.
• Embed risk and control requirements into architecture, engineering, delivery, and production operations.
• Strengthen operational resilience and production readiness.
• Make reliability and operational excellence defining characteristics of the payments technology organization.

• Lead a large, multidisciplinary technology organization
• Attract, develop, and retain outstanding engineers, managers, and transformation leaders.
• Foster a culture where colleagues feel a strong sense of belonging, purpose, accountability, and opportunity.
• Model collaborative leadership and create an organization capable of sustaining long-term transformation.

• Develop relationships with technology providers, payment networks, fintech firms, industry organizations, and professional services partners.
• Monitor industry developments, evolving standards, regulatory expectations, and emerging technologies.
• Position M&T to respond thoughtfully and competitively to changes across the Payments ecosystem.
• Represent the Bank as a credible and forward-looking payments technology leader.

• A combined minimum of 15 years’ higher education and/or work experience, including a minimum of 4 years’ engineering and architecture experience and 11 years' large technology management / program leadership experience including people management
• Significant experience leading enterprise technology strategy, engineering organizations, and major transformation programs.
• Demonstrated ability to lead large organizations across multiple teams, locations, and time zones.
• Deep understanding of the payments ecosystem, including Wire, ACH, SWIFT, ISO 20022, RTP, FedNow, and emerging capabilities.
• Proven success modernizing mission-critical technology platforms in complex, highly regulated environments.
• Experience with cloud transformation, APIs, distributed systems, platform engineering, and event-driven architecture.
• Strong understanding of cybersecurity, operational resilience, recovery planning, technology risk, internal controls, and regulatory requirements.
• Experience leading significant system enhancements, conversions, modernization programs, and complex production environments.
• Strong knowledge of Gen AI, AI-enabled technologies, and emerging technology trends, with demonstrated experience applying these capabilities to enterprise business challenges.
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple complex programs, financial commitments, delivery streams, and organizational priorities.
• Exceptional analytical, problem-solving, decision-making, and communication skills.
• Experience presenting to executive leadership, management committees, business partners, and senior stakeholders.
• A record of building collaborative, accountable, and high-performing teams.

• Master's degree
• Minimum of 14 years' technology management or large program leadership experience
• Experience with Azure cloud technologies
• Strong vendor, payment network, fintech, and strategic technology partnership experience.