Financial Crime Operations Analyst

Ryft; Manchester; On-site; GBP 55,000 - 85,000; Full time

Job summary

Ryft is seeking a Financial Crime Operations Analyst to lead enhanced due diligence and escalated KYC casework within onboarding. You will operate in the first line of defence, reporting to the Underwriting Manager, and handle high-risk EDD reviews and AML-related inquiries.

You will apply Ryft's EDD framework, maintain audit-ready records, and escalate to MLRO when needed while ensuring regulatory standards are met throughout merchant onboarding.

Qualifications

• Strong financial crime background with hands-on EDD and escalated KYC experience.
• Experience gained within PSPs, payment facilitators, acquiring banks, or regulated fintech.
• Ability to write defensible EDD rationales and FCA/regulatory documentation.
• Excellent written communication and concise case summaries.
• Understanding of SAR obligations and tipping-off restrictions.

Responsibilities

• Conduct enhanced due diligence reviews on high-risk or escalated merchant applications.
• Take ownership of escalated KYC cases and produce clear written rationale.
• Apply Ryft's EDD framework and document risk decisions for regulatory scrutiny.
• Identify cases warranting MLRO escalation and prepare full summaries.
• Maintain audit-ready EDD records complying with MLR 2017, JMLSG, and FCA.
• Support SAR reporting considerations and liaise with MLRO.

Skills

Financial crime experience

EDD & KYC casework

Regulatory knowledge (FCA/JMLSG)

Written communication

Risk-based decision making

Education

ICA Certificate or Diploma in Financial Crime

Tools

GBG

Dotfile

ComplyAdvantage

Job description

Ryft is an FCA-licensed payment platform on a mission to make payments a source of growth for marketplaces and digital platforms. Built specifically for UK and European businesses, we handle everything from automated split payments and seller onboarding to compliance so our clients can focus on scaling.

About the Role

We're hiring a Financial Crime Operations Analyst to take ownership of enhanced due diligence and escalated KYC casework within our merchant onboarding function. This role sits within the first line of defence, reporting to the Underwriting Manager.

The role carries a direct escalation route to the MLRO for cases that require second-line input or SAR consideration but day-to-day casework, EDD rationale, and financial crime risk decisions within defined appetite sit with you. You're not a referral point; you're the person who resolves the hard cases.

You'll handle EDD reviews on high-risk and complex merchants, escalated KYC cases from the broader onboarding team, and AML-related queries that arise within operations including transaction laundering indicators. This requires someone with a strong financial crime background who can write a defensible EDD rationale, knows what good looks like in a PayFac context, and doesn't pass cases up the chain unless there's a genuine reason to.

If you have hands-on EDD experience, understand the merchant risk landscape, and want a role where you're doing real casework rather than writing policies, this is it.

What You'll Do

Enhanced Due Diligence & Escalated KYC Casework

• Conduct enhanced due diligence reviews on high-risk, complex, or escalated merchant applications including those involving PEPs, high-risk jurisdictions, complex ownership structures, and FATF grey- or high-risk list considerations.
• Take ownership of escalated KYC cases from the wider onboarding team, assessing the risk, requesting additional documentation where required, and producing a clear, defensible written rationale for every decision.
• Apply Ryft's EDD framework and risk appetite to case-level decisions, exercising genuine judgement rather than applying a checklist and documenting your reasoning in a way that would withstand regulatory scrutiny.
• Identify when a case warrants MLRO escalation and make that referral clearly and promptly, with a full case summary and your own risk assessment already prepared.
• Maintain audit-ready EDD records across all casework, ensuring documentation standards meet MLR 2017, JMLSG guidance, and FCA expectations.
• Act as the financial crime subject matter expert within the onboarding function fielding AML-related queries from the broader ops team and providing clear, grounded answers rather than defaulting to compliance escalation.
• Review and assess transaction laundering indicators where these arise during onboarding or in-life merchant reviews, applying the JMLSG and card scheme definitions and understanding what a PayFac's exposure looks like in practice.
• Support the identification and triage of potential SAR-reportable matters, working with the MLRO on disclosures where the threshold is met and understanding the tipping-off restrictions that govern how those cases are handled internally.
• Contribute to the ongoing development of EDD and financial crime procedures within the onboarding team, including triggers, review criteria, and documentation standards.
• Work closely with the Underwriting Manager and wider underwriting team to ensure financial crime risk is integrated into merchant risk assessments not treated as a separate gate at the end of the process.
• Support in-life EDD reviews where merchant risk profiles change post-onboarding, including periodic review triggers and event-driven reassessments.
• Liaise with the Fraud & Risk Manager where financial crime and fraud indicators intersect, ensuring intelligence is shared across the first-line risk function rather than sitting in silos.
• Contribute to scheme and regulatory readiness by keeping EDD practices aligned with evolving FATF guidance, FCA expectations, and card scheme AML requirements.

What We're Looking For

• Strong financial crime background with hands-on EDD and escalated KYC experience ideally gained within a PSP, payment facilitator, acquiring bank, or regulated fintech.
• Demonstrated ability to conduct and document EDD reviews to a standard that would withstand FCA scrutiny you've written EDD rationales, not just filled in templates.
• Working knowledge of MLR 2017, JMLSG guidance, FATF risk frameworks, and how they apply in a merchant onboarding context.
• Sound understanding of transaction laundering what it looks like in a PayFac model, how to identify indicators, and how it differs from conventional money laundering typologies.
• Confidence in first-line financial crime decision-making you know when to resolve a case yourself and when to elevate, and you can justify either call clearly.
• Strong written communication skills, including the ability to produce case summaries and EDD rationales that are concise, accurate, and legally sound.
• Understanding of SAR obligations, tipping-off restrictions under POCA 2002, and the appropriate handling of disclosures.

Nice to Have

• Familiarity with onboarding tooling such as GBG, Dotfile, ComplyAdvantage, or similar KYB/KYC and screening platforms.
• Exposure to PEP and sanctions screening workflows and adverse media review.
• Experience in a PayFac or marketplace payments model, with an understanding of sub-merchant risk.
• ICA Certificate or Diploma in Financial Crime, or equivalent professional qualification.

Ryft is an equal opportunities employer. We welcome applications from all backgrounds and are committed to building a diverse and inclusive team.