AML Transaction Monitoring Specialist at Paystack

About the role

• Paystack is seeking an innovative and forward-thinking AML Transaction Monitoring Specialist to join our Risk and Compliance teams.
• We are looking for a professional with a strong analytical mindset and a passion for fighting financial crime.
• If you are deeply curious about tracing illicit activity and have proven experience in a fast-paced environment, this role is for you.
• As an AML Transaction Monitoring Specialist you will be responsible for developing monitoring rules, reviewing, analyzing, and investigating financial transactions to detect and report potentially suspicious activities in accordance with applicable Anti-Money Laundering (AML) laws, regulations, and internal policies.
• This role is critical in ensuring the organization’s compliance with our global AML/CTF/CPF regulations.
• A key part of your role will be preparing management reports for leadership, maintaining a compliance dashboard to track the effectiveness of our controls, and assisting with the annual ML/TF risk assessment.
• You will be a subject matter expert, providing guidance to internal teams and ensuring Paystack remains at the forefront of compliance best practices.
• This role is based in Nigeria.

We’ll trust you to
Transaction Monitoring:

• Conduct AML related risk assessments and collaborate with cross functional teams to design and enhance AML transaction monitoring rules and develop effective monitoring systems alerts.
• Manage a queue of complex alerts, conducting comprehensive investigations into potentially suspicious activity by analysing transactional data and reviewing all related merchant information.
• Analyze transaction patterns, customer profiles, and historical activity to determine legitimacy.

Investigation & Analysis:

• Conduct detailed investigations on flagged transactions.
• Identify trends, anomalies, and potential typologies associated with money laundering or other financial crimes.
• Leverage data tools like SQL and Excel to analyse transactional data, identify emerging money laundering typologies, and flag these trends for risk mitigation.

Documentation & Reporting:

• Document findings clearly and concisely with supporting evidence.
• Prepare detailed investigation narratives and draft Suspicious Transaction Reports (STRs) and other required filings in line with financial intelligence units across our operational jurisdictions.
• Escalate cases as appropriate and assist in the filing of Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs).
• Accurately document all investigation findings, including the evidence gathered and the rationale for your conclusions, ensuring all case files are complete and ready for regulatory review.
• Prepare management and board reports on suspicious transactions activities providing insight to the current AML risk landscape.

Compliance & Risk Assessment:

• Collaborate with other compliance teams to ensure procedures are aligned with current AML laws and industry best practices.
• Participate in risk assessments related to products, customer behavior and transaction activity.

System Support:

• Partner with Product and Engineering teams by providing direct feedback on financial crime trends and rule performance to help refine and strengthen our detection and monitoring systems.
• Provide feedback to improve alert quality and reduce false positives.
• Assist in tuning and testing transaction monitoring systems and rules.

Training & Collaboration:

• Participate in ongoing training and stay up to date on AML regulations and typologies.
• Work closely with other Risk and Compliance teams such as Compliance Reviews, Fraud. And other cross functional team Legal, Product, Engineering as needed.
• Liaise with the financial intelligence units and law enforcement.

You’ll thrive if you

• Have 4+ years of experience in an AML/CFT compliance role focused on financial crime investigations and regulatory reporting.
• Demonstrate a strong working knowledge of AML/CFT regulations, including the reporting requirements and guidelines of the FIU and Regulators.
• Are proficient with data analysis tools, particularly SQL and Excel, and can leverage them to investigate complex financial data.
• Exhibit excellent investigative and problem-solving skills, with a high level of curiosity and meticulous attention to detail.
• Communicate complex ideas clearly and effectively, especially through precise and detailed written narratives for investigation files and regulatory reports.
• Are proactive and can manage a caseload independently, taking the initiative to see investigations through to completion.