Financial Crime & Payments Risk SpecialistFinancial Crime & Payments Risk Specialist

Key Achievements:

• Advise high-risk and digital-goods merchants on PSP and acquirer placement, matching business models to suitable processors across UK, EU, and offshore markets. • Conduct outreach and sourcing across acquirers, PSPs, EMIs, and ISOs — engaging counterparties to secure suitable placement for merchant portfolios. • Run end-to-end payment-provider due diligence — licensing, ownership, financial standing, and complaint history — to assess counterparty risk before onboarding. • Lead KYC/KYB and AML reviews for merchant onboarding, including document assessment and risk-tier classification. • Manage multiple processors and acquirers at once, evaluating dispute exposure, chargeback ratios, and fraud-loss risk.

Key Achievements:

• Lead end-to-end testing and optimization of name, transaction, and adverse media screening systems, analyzing rule configuration and algorithm behavior to improve detection accuracy and reduce false positives. • Identify signal within high-volume, noisy screening data by generating and evaluating fuzzy-match outcomes against defined thresholds and matching logic. • Conduct root-cause analysis on missed and ignored hits to determine whether outcomes stem from rule configuration or algorithm settings, supporting continuous system improvement. • Document testing methodology, observations, and findings into structured reports and recommendations delivered to compliance and risk stakeholders. • Validate adverse media and screening alert outcomes using Moody's RDC and SWIFT STS test feeds to ensure screening relevance and regulatory compliance. • Partner with stakeholders to translate screening performance gaps into actionable configuration and process improvements.

Key Achievements:

• Performed daily risk-based disposition of name and transaction screening alerts across SWIFT and SEPA payment flows, consistently meeting SLA and compliance targets. • Investigated potential matches against global sanctions lists (OFAC, EU, UN) and internal watchlists, applying fuzzy-match logic, relevance assessment, and payment context to reach accurate, defensible decisions. • Escalated confirmed and potential true hits in line with internal policy and regulatory requirements, maintaining detailed case records for audit and regulatory review. • Interpreted SWIFT and SEPA payment messages to assess sanctions and regulatory exposure across cross-border transactions. • Documented alert decisions and supporting rationale to ensure audit readiness and consistent outcomes.

Key Achievements:

• Owned the full chargeback and representment lifecycle across Visa and Mastercard, managing dispute intake, evidence compilation, and resolution through to final outcome. • Analyzed dispute reason codes, transaction data, customer behavior, and supporting documentation to assess representment eligibility and maximize recovery outcomes. • Prepared and submitted comprehensive evidence packages in strict adherence to Visa and Mastercard scheme rules, formatting requirements, and filing deadlines. • Filed representments through multiple acquirer portals — Visa Resolve Online (VROL) and Mastercard Dispute Form (MCDF)— and monitored case progress through to final resolution. • Tracked dispute outcomes and resolution turnaround, documenting decisions for audit, reporting, and continuous quality improvement. • Maintained compliance with card-scheme SLA requirements while managing concurrent dispute cases.

Key Achievements:

• Executed fraud investigations and transaction reviews across debit and credit card portfolios, detecting CNP, counterfeit, and account takeover fraud. • Monitored flagged transactions through fraud screening and decisioning tools (Falcon, Taser), assessing fraud patterns and transaction behavior to determine risk and appropriate response. • Tracked fraud loss trends and surfaced emerging attack patterns, taking immediate preventive action including card blocking, transaction holds, and customer notification. • Collaborated with Visa and Mastercard networks on fraud claims, chargebacks, and recovery efforts. • Maintained accurate case documentation to support fraud recovery, dispute resolution, and regulatory review.