Compliance Manager — Authorised Payment Institution

Location: Remote Type: Full-time or Part-time Reports to: CEO

We are an FCA-authorised payment institution providing Open Banking payment services (PIS and AIS permissions) to businesses across the UK. We're a lean, remote-first team, which means this role carries real ownership — you'll be the operational backbone of our compliance function, not one cog in a large department.

You will own day-to-day compliance operations across our regulated activities, ensuring we meet our obligations under the Payment Services Regulations 2017, FCA Handbook requirements, and UK financial crime legislation. You'll work directly with the CEO and act as the primary point of contact for regulatory matters, with scope to grow the function as the business expands into new products and jurisdictions.

Regulatory compliance

• Maintain and develop the compliance monitoring plan; execute periodic reviews and report findings to senior management
• Ensure ongoing compliance with PSRs 2017, including conduct of business rules, and operational and security risk obligations
• Prepare and submit regulatory returns (REP017, REP018, annual returns) accurately and on time
• Monitor regulatory developments (consultations, policy statements, Dear CEO letters) and translate them into actionable changes

Financial crime

• Support the MLRO in maintaining the AML/CTF framework: business-wide risk assessment, customer risk assessment methodology, and KYC/KYB onboarding standards
• Oversee transaction monitoring processes and quality-assure alert handling and escalations
• Maintain SAR procedures and support internal SAR reviews and NCA submissions
• Keep policies current: AML, sanctions, anti-bribery, fraud (including APP fraud reimbursement obligations), tax evasion facilitation, proliferation financing

Policies, training and governance

• Own the policy suite: draft, review, and maintain compliance policies and procedures with clear version control
• Deliver compliance and financial crime training to staff and maintain training records
• Support governance processes: management information, board reporting, compliance dashboards
• Maintain the regulatory breach register, complaints log (DISP), and conflicts of interest register

Operational

• Conduct compliance due diligence on partners, agents, and third-party providers; manage ongoing outsourcing oversight in line with regulatory expectations
• Support client onboarding escalations and complex KYB cases
• Assist with safeguarding reconciliations oversight and audit preparation
• Contribute to new product approval reviews from a regulatory perimeter perspective
  

Good to have

• 2+ years' compliance experience within a regulated payments or e-money firm (PI, EMI, or similar)
• Working knowledge of PSRs 2017, EMRs 2011, FCA Handbook (particularly SUP, SYSC, DISP), and the Payment Services and Electronic Money Approach Document
• Hands-on experience with AML/CTF frameworks under the MLRs 2017, including KYB/KYC, transaction monitoring, and SARs
• Experience preparing regulatory returns
• Ability to work autonomously — you'll draft, decide, and deliver without a large team around you
• Clear, precise written English; comfortable drafting policies and regulatory correspondence

Desirable

• Experience with Open Banking / PIS and AIS business models specifically
• Familiarity with safeguarding audit processes
• Exposure to the incoming UK cryptoasset regulatory regime or stablecoin-related compliance
• Compliance qualification (ICA, CISI, or equivalent)
• Experience in a startup or scale-up environment