Lead KYB

Pennylane SAS; Paris; On-site; EUR 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Pennylane SAS leads the charge in transforming fintech risk management for French SMEs. We are seeking a Lead KYB to build and scale a high-performing KYB/KYC team, own end-to-end workflows, and ensure strict AML/CTF compliance while delivering a seamless onboarding experience for business customers.

You will partner with Product, Compliance and Risk, shaping an efficient operating model as Pennylane expands within France and Europe.

Job description

Are you looking to have an impact on the daily life of millions of entrepreneurs in France (and tomorrow in Europe)?

Are you looking for a work environment that values trust, proactivity, and autonomy?

Then Pennylane is the right place for you !

Our vision

We aim to become the most beloved financial Operating System of French SMEs and Accounting Firms (and soon, European ones).

We help entrepreneurs rid themselves of time-consuming tasks related to accounting and finance while providing them with access to key financial information to assist in making the best decisions for their business.

About us

Pennylane is one of the fastest growing Fintechs in France (and soon to be in Europe!)

In 5 years of existence, we’ve managed to :

• Make ourselves known as a groundbreaking accounting and financial software for small businesses and their accountants

• Raise a total of €400 millions, including from Sequoia, the famous fund from the Silicon Valley who invested early in companies like Google, Facebook, Airbnb, Stripe, Paypal and much more...

• Grow from 7 cofounders to 1000 happy Pennylaners : we’re now recognized as one of the greatest places to work in France (and also remotely), with a 4.6/5 rating on Glassdoor.

• Build an international environment with more than 25 nationalities, with a strong remote-friendly culture, where 30% of the employees are already working from all parts of Europe

• Earn the trust of thousands of customers and accounting firms and obtain outstanding ratings

• Already more than 1 300,000 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and over 6000 accounting firms use Pennylane in France!

Role context

Pennylane operates today around 40k business accounts through a BaaS model. As Financial Services becomes a larger part of Pennylane’s strategy, we are building Pennylane Financial Services and applying for Établissement de paiement and Société de financement licenses.

Our ambition is to start onboarding new customers under our own licensed entity by early 2027, before progressively migrating existing customers. To make this possible, we are building the first line of defense from the ground up across onboarding, transaction monitoring, fraud and risk operations.

As Lead KYB, you will be one of the first operational leaders joining this greenfield setup. Reporting to the Head of FinCrime Operations, you will own the operational execution of KYB/KYC processes for business customers across the payment scope first, and progressively across credit-related activities as the Société de financement scope ramps up.

Your mission will be to build, structure and scale the KYB team, processes and tooling needed to absorb a target volume of ~10,000 onboardings per month at go-live, while ensuring robust AML/CTF compliance, operational efficiency, and a high-quality customer experience.

This is a high-autonomy role with direct exposure to a strategic regulatory project, close collaboration with Product, Compliance and Risk teams, and the opportunity to shape the operating model of a fast-growing fintech serving hundreds of thousands of French SMEs.

Responsibilities

KYB operations & regulatory execution

• Own the end-to-end operational execution of KYB/KYC workflows for business customers.

• Ensure proper application of AML/CTF policies defined by Compliance / LoD2, including:

  • customer risk classification,

  • beneficial ownership checks,

  • PEP and sanctions screening,

  • high-risk customer reviews,

  • escalation of sensitive cases within SLA.

• Review and approve complex or high-risk KYB cases.

• Ensure continuity of compliance during the transition from the current BaaS model to Pennylane Financial Services’ own operating model.

• Maintain strong auditability of KYB decisions, including rejection rationales, escalation trails and supporting documentation.

Team build-up & performance management

• Recruit, onboard, train and manage the KYB analyst team.

• Define the target team structure, roles, responsibilities and escalation paths.

• Build the performance framework for the KYB team:

  • SLAs,

  • productivity metrics,

  • quality metrics,

  • backlog monitoring,

  • capacity planning.

• Prepare the team to scale toward high-volume onboarding at go-live and beyond.

• Build a strong team culture based on rigor, accountability, customer protection and continuous learning.

Process design, standardization & scalability

• Translate regulatory policies into clear operational procedures, SOPs, decision trees and analyst playbooks.

• Standardize KYB processes to ensure consistency, scalability and a smooth onboarding experience.

• Identify bottlenecks in workflows and propose operational improvements.

• Balance compliance rigor with operational efficiency, without compromising Pennylane Financial Services’ risk appetite.

• Define how KYB processes should evolve during the migration from Swan’s operational model to Pennylane’s own LoD1 setup.

Tooling,