Olivia Maciel, AAP, APRP
Vice President, Treasury Management, Senior Product Manager
Regions Bank
Biography
Olivia Maciel joined the payments industry 14 years ago via The Clearing House, initially assigned to Project Compas, a pivotal research endeavor that led to the creation of the RTP Network. Throughout her years at The Clearing House, she thrived in various roles.
Olivia joined Regions Bank in 2021 as Senior Product Manager overseeing all electronic payment rails. During her tenure, she successfully implemented RTP Send for TM clients, co-led a taskforce to reduce ACH suspensions, and spearheaded an enterprise-wide project on wire transmission and client pain points.
In her current position, Olivia's primary focus lies in nurturing the growth of instant payment rails and conducting a comprehensive analysis of other available Treasury Management (TM) products. Her aim is to formulate an effective, efficient, and practical TM payments strategy while aligning with TM strategic priorities and collaborating with enterprise strategy colleagues. Her expertise spans product, technology, operations, risk, compliance, and legal aspects, specifically in the realm of payments regulation, network rules, updates to private sector regulations, and overall payments advocacy.
In her secondary role representing Regions Bank in the payments industry, Olivia currently holds positions on multiple boards and committees. Focusing on fostering a holistic approach, her aim is to acknowledge the unique terms and language specific to each institution or organization. Through her engagements in public speaking and panel discussions, Olivia endeavors to establish a platform for all industry participants to exchange ideas and knowledge, fostering effective communication and collaboration within the community for mutual growth and positive impacts.
As the leader of EPN, Olivia collaborated with Nacha and the Fed to introduce the 2nd and 3rd Same Day ACH windows, established the current business continuity plan for EPN, and worked with the Fed and the Treasury Department to ensure the proper distribution of the Economic Stimulus Payments.
How is the nominee propelling the industry forward?
Olivia looks for opportunities to contribute in meaningful ways for her employer as well as the industry at large. She often takes interest in others who might not have access to resources or expertise that she has in an effort to "pay it forward". Olivia also currently serves on the Nacha Rules & Operations Committee, at a time when the new Risk Management framework is being considered. She is able to take very complex scenarios and make them relatable to a broader audience, garnering greater buy-in from a more diverse audience.
Olivia has already established herself as an industry leader by working to create additional Same Day ACH windows and by ensuring every eligible American received their Economic Impact Payments (EIP). She continues her work by taking leadership roles in the industry, including participation in the Nacha Rules and Operations committee and working to ensure that the intention of the Nacha Risk Management Framework comes to fruition.
In her industry endeavors, Olivia has identified communication gaps on various topics. Notably, she is addressing issues around payment term translation with a particular focus on instant payments. Her aim is to formulate a strategic plan that is both inclusive and sustainable in the evolving transitional landscape and work with others to duplicate the effort where relevant. Additionally, she continues to spread information and speak on her passion project, Payments Industry Employee Resiliency.
Olivia has a passion for payments, her clients, and the safety of electronic payment networks. She has a more specific passion focused on early education financial literacy and educating the underbanked community. One goal remains constant no matter what her role in the industry: to continue to support the network at large while also focusing on her local community.
Where do you see the nominee succeeding in the future?
Olivia will succeed in much the same way she is today. With a seat at the table, making sense of the difficult stuff in payments and perhaps even mentoring the young people behind her. There's a real opportunity for her to influence the next group of payments professionals that come along to keep this youthful, fresh perspective going. Olivia has the keen ability to interface with the largest banks and the smallest credit unions and speak everyone's language. We need more of that in payments, and she can help foster more payments pros that speak that language.
Beyond her attention to detail and perseverance, one of the greatest attributes Olivia possesses is her ability to remove her corporate hat and wear an industry-centric one. She understands that cooperation among banks is central to our ability to grow capabilities, align, and compete with entities outside of financial institutions. Be it her involvement with her own financial institution, the Federal Reserve, or The Clearing House, Olivia understands that in the payments space, all banks must work together and help each other to move collectively forward to achieve the goal of electronic payment growth. Olivia's passion for education, payments advocacy, and her collaborative style, coupled with her background at an ACH Operator as well as a financial institution, will allow her to be successful wherever she chooses, especially industry Boards and councils.