Senior AML Analyst
Zilch · Lithuania
Who we are:
We're one of Europe's fastest-growing fintech companies – on a mission to create the world's most empowering way to pay.
We launched the product in 2020 and achieved double unicorn status, valued at $2 billion, and since then have taken on more than 6 million customers.
Our mission is to become the best way to pay for anything, anywhere and say goodbye to credit costs for everyone. This is huge. Want to join us?
About the role.
We’re looking for a Senior AML Analyst to play a key role within Zilch’s Financial Crime capability, with a primary focus on AML Transaction Monitoring.
Reporting directly to the Fraud Operations Director, you’ll predominantly investigate activity relating to UK customers, independently reviewing complex or higher-risk activity, making clear, risk-based decisions and acting as an escalation point for cases reviewed by our outsourced operational partner.
Where activity warrants further escalation, you’ll prepare high-quality internal Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) for review by Compliance and the MLRO. You’ll work closely with colleagues across Fraud Operations, Compliance, Risk and the wider business to ensure financial crime concerns are identified, investigated and escalated appropriately.
The role will also support wider Financial Crime activity, which may include ongoing customer monitoring, PEP and sanctions screening, enhanced customer reviews and law enforcement requests.
This is more than a case-processing role. We’re looking for someone who is confident working independently, exercising judgement and taking ownership of decisions, while also helping us continually improve our processes and approach.
As Zilch continues to grow its customer base, develop its product offering and expand into new markets, this role offers significant potential to grow in scope and influence alongside the business.
Day to day responsibilities.
- Independently investigate complex and escalated Transaction Monitoring alerts, using customer, account and transactional information to identify unusual or potentially suspicious activity.
- Analyse customer behaviour, transaction history, KYC information and other relevant evidence to understand activity and reach clear, defensible outcomes.
- Make confident, risk-based decisions on whether cases can be closed, require further investigation or should be escalated.
- Act as a senior escalation point for AML cases initially reviewed by our BPO partner, taking ownership of higher-risk, complex or judgement-led investigations.
- Produce clear, concise and well-evidenced investigation rationales, ensuring decisions are appropriately documented and able to withstand internal, audit or regulatory scrutiny.
- Prepare high-quality internal Suspicious Activity Reports and supporting evidence for review by Compliance and the MLRO.
- Work closely with Compliance on suspicious activity investigations, providing further analysis and evidence where required.
- Support appropriate law enforcement and other authorised information requests, working with Compliance, Legal and relevant internal teams in line with Zilch processes.
- Support ongoing customer monitoring, including reviews triggered by changes in customer behaviour, risk profile or other Financial Crime indicators.
- Investigate or support escalations relating to PEPs, sanctions, adverse information and higher-risk customers.
- Support Enhanced Due Diligence activity, including Source of Funds or Source of Wealth reviews where appropriate.
- Provide quality assurance and calibration on outsourced AML investigations, helping to ensure decisions are consistent and investigations meet the required standard.
- Help continually improve AML procedures, investigation guidance, escalation criteria and playbooks.
- Identify emerging money laundering and wider Financial Crime trends and typologies through casework, escalating themes and potential control improvements.
- Provide operational feedback on Transaction Monitoring alerts and scenarios, including alert quality, false positives, emerging risks and opportunities to improve effectiveness.
- Partner with Fraud Operations, Compliance, Risk, Product, Data and other internal teams to improve Financial Crime outcomes and customer experience.
- Monitor alert volumes, ageing and investigation outcomes, highlighting emerging Financial Crime or operational risks.
- Support audits, assurance activity and other reviews relating to AML and Financial Crime operations.
- Identify opportunities to make investigations and Financial Crime processes more effective, efficient and scalable.
What we’re looking for...
- Strong hands-on experience in AML, Transaction Monitoring or Financial Crime investigations, ideally within fintech, payments, banking, consumer lending or another regulated financial-services environment.
- Practical experience independently investigating complex Transaction Monitoring alerts and unusual customer activity.
- Strong understanding of money laundering, terrorist financing and wider Financial Crime typologies, red flags and investigative techniques.
- Experience preparing internal suspicious activity referrals or SARs, with the ability to produce clear and well-evidenced investigation narratives.
- Confidence making independent, judgement-based decisions and taking ownership of complex cases.
- Fluent written and spoken English, with the ability to communicate complex findings clearly and produce high-quality written casework.
- Strong analytical and investigative skills, with the curiosity to look beyond the initial alert and understand the wider customer activity.
- Excellent attention to detail while retaining the ability to identify broader patterns, risks and typologies.
- Comfortable working autonomously and knowing when an issue requires escalation.
- A proactive mindset, with the confidence to identify gaps, suggest improvements and help shape processes and ways of working.
- Strong stakeholder-management skills and the ability to work effectively across Operations, Compliance and other specialist teams.
- Comfortable operating in a fast-moving, high-growth environment and balancing investigation quality, customer impact and operational efficiency.
Bonus skills
- Good understanding of the UK AML and Financial Crime environment, ideally with experience investigating UK customers.
- Experience quality-assuring or calibrating work completed by a BPO or outsourced AML team.
- Experience supporting Transaction Monitoring rule or scenario effectiveness and providing investigator feedback into control optimisation.
- Practical experience with PEP, sanctions, adverse media, KYC/CDD, EDD or ongoing customer monitoring.
- Experience supporting law enforcement or regulatory information requests.
- Experience conducting Source of Funds or Source of Wealth investigations.
- Experience using data or BI tools to analyse alert populations, investigation outcomes or Financial Crime trends.
- SQL, Looker or similar data-analysis experience.
- ICA, ACAMS or an equivalent AML / Financial Crime qualification.
- Previous experience within a high-growth fintech or similarly fast-moving regulated environment.
Why join?
This is a newly created role with the opportunity to have a meaningful impact within one of Europe’s fastest-growing fintech businesses.
You’ll have significant ownership from day one, reporting directly to the Fraud Operations Director and working closely with Compliance and the MLRO, while remaining hands-on with complex Financial Crime investigations.
As Zilch continues to grow its customer base, product offering and presence across markets, you’ll have the opportunity to develop your remit alongside the business and contribute to how we continue to protect our customers and Zilch.
For someone looking to combine hands-on AML investigation with greater ownership, process improvement and strategic input, this is an opportunity to become a key specialist within a growing business
What you'll get:
- The base salary for this position is from €2,667 to €3,333 gross (before taxes) monthly