Compliance Specialist

Payrails; United States; Hybrid; USD 110,000 - 140,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Premium Family Medical Insurance

27 days of annual paid vacation

Hybrid working with Cairo office

Job summary

Payrails, a global payments software company, is seeking a Compliance Specialist to own day-to-day compliance across operations, products, and partnerships. You will work with operations, legal, and external counsel to ensure financial-crime and sanctions controls are embedded as the business scales globally.

You will conduct due diligence on partners, support AML/CTF and sanctions monitoring, and translate evolving regulatory requirements into practical guidance for Product, Engineering, and

Qualifications

• Hands-on compliance experience in payments/fintech/financial services.
• Experience with KYC/KYB processes, AML/CTF, sanctions screening, and transaction monitoring.
• Ability to translate complex compliance requirements into clear guidance for non-compliance audiences.

Responsibilities

• Conduct business partner due diligence for new and existing partners (KYC/KYB).
• Support AML/CTF and sanctions monitoring, review alerts, investigate activity, prepare reports.
• Monitor legal and sanctions developments and translate into actionable internal requirements.
• Embed compliance into product/design by working with Product and Engineering teams.
• Maintain and improve internal policies and controls; contribute to training.

Skills

KYC/KYB processes

AML/CTF frameworks

Sanctions monitoring

Policy translation

English fluency

Job description

About Payrails

Payrails is a global payment software company helping leading enterprises to take control of their payment operations and maximize performance. With deep experience in the payments space and firsthand knowledge of merchants' challenges, we’ve seen how fragmented, complex, and inefficient these systems can become. Now, we are setting a new industry standard for how enterprises around the world manage and optimize payments, with more control, visibility and flexibility than ever before.

Our vision is to reimagine payments from the ground up. We are building a deeply integrated meta layer that spans the entire payment lifecycle with a modular architecture. This helps us give leading brands building blocks to craft solutions to most complex operational challenges, tailor seamless customer experiences and grow their business.

We are backed by some of the world’s top investors including Andreessen Horowitz, HV Capital, EQT Ventures and General Catalyst, who share our mission to simplify payment complexity globally.

At Payrails, we’re committed to building a team of exceptional people - not just talented, but driven to build, solve, and deliver at the highest level. Excellence isn’t just a value here; it’s a way of working. We believe that great people thrive in environments where there’s trust, clarity, and shared purpose. We work openly and collaboratively, with deep respect for each other’s craft. Everyone is encouraged to understand the bigger picture - what we’re building, why it matters, and what stands in the way. When people have that context, they move faster, take ownership, and make better decisions. We care about creating a culture where people feel inspired to do their best work and a deep sense of responsibility to help us bring our vision to life. Success at Payrails means staying focused on the problems that matter most, and executing with purpose.

Your team

Payrails operates at the heart of global payments, and our Compliance function ensures we do so with integrity and trust. This role takes ownership of its day-to-day compliance, working closely with our operations and legal teams, our external counsel and our regulated payment partners. Our mission is to enable the business to grow quickly and safely by embedding financial-crime and scheme compliance into everything we build. We do this by focusing on 3 main pillars:

• Ensuring Payrails and our business partners meet financial-crime, sanctions and scheme requirements across all markets we operate in
• Building scalable compliance processes that support rapid product and business growth
• Acting as a trusted advisor to Product, Engineering, and Business teams on all compliance matters

You’ll report to the General Counsel and work on complex compliance challenges spanning multiple jurisdictions, alongside experienced colleagues who understand that great compliance is an enabler of growth, not a blocker.

How you will make an impact

You as a Compliance Specialist will own and drive key compliance processes across the company. You will be responsible for ensuring our operations, products, and partnerships meet financial-crime, sanctions and content requirements while supporting the business as it scales globally - with the opportunity to support compliance across the wider group as the function grows.

• You will conduct business partner due diligence and enhanced due diligence (KYC/KYB) for new and existing business partners
• You will support AML/CTF and sanctions monitoring, including reviewing alerts, investigating suspicious activity, and preparing internal reports
• You will monitor relevant legal, sanctions and card-scheme developments across our markets and translate them into actionable requirements for internal teams
• You will work directly with Product and Engineering teams to embed compliance requirements into new products and features from the design stage
• You will support the maintenance and improvement of internal policies, procedures, and controls, and contribute to compliance training
• You will assist in managing relationships with acquirers/PSPs, banking partners, auditors, and card schemes, including preparing documentation for business partner due-diligence, audits and assessments

What we are looking for

• You have 3-5 years of hands-on compliance experience within payments, fintech, or financial services
• You have hands-on experience with KYC/KYB processes, AML/CTF frameworks, sanctions/AML screening and transaction and fraud monitoring
• You have solid knowledge of financial crime, sanctions and scheme frameworks, experience with card scheme rules is a plus
• You have experience working with acquirers/PSPs, auditors, or banking partners
• You are able to translate complex compliance requirements into clear, practical guidance for non-compliance audiences
• You are structured, detail-oriented, and comfortable managing multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment
• You are pragmatic and solution-oriented, finding ways to meet requirements without slowing the business down
• You are fluent in English

What we offer

• High impact and high velocity environment with the most talented and ambitious people you will ever work with
• A chance to shape the story of a company and a category from the ground up
• Real ownership. You’ll have the freedom and trust to build, test, and take lead
• A product used by the best brands around the world
• Hybrid working with an office in the heart of Cairo
• Regular team events, activities and off-sites
• Competitive salary
• Premium Family Medical Insurance Coverage
• 27 days of annual paid vacation