Legal and Risk Analyst

VBO Global; Cape Town; On-site; ZAR 600,000 - 900,000; Full time

Job summary

A fast-scaling payments technology company in Cape Town seeks a Legal & Risk Analyst to ensure merchant transparency and governance across its operations. Ideal candidates will have 3-6 years of experience in fintech or payments, focusing on risk assessment and operational improvements. Responsibilities include managing merchant URLs, conducting website reviews, and ensuring compliance with KYC processes. This role requires a proactive approach and the ability to make informed risk decisions within set guidelines.

Qualifications

• 3–6 years’ experience within payments, fintech, or regulated financial services.
• Direct operational experience in merchant onboarding or risk assessment.
• Experience conducting enhanced due diligence on corporate ownership.
• Proven ability to review merchant agreements.

Responsibilities

• Own and maintain a master repository of all merchant URLs.
• Monitor declared vs undeclared activity of merchants.
• Conduct structured merchant website reviews during onboarding.
• Strengthen onboarding workflows and introduce process improvements.

Skills

Payments experience

Risk assessment

Operational improvement

KYC processes

Job description

VBO Global is a fast-scaling payments and financial technology business operating in a regulated environment. We sit at the intersection of commerce, technology, and risk — where structured governance and merchant transparency are critical to sustainable growth.

As we expand, we are strengthening our risk infrastructure and merchant intelligence capability.

Role Purpose

We are seeking a Legal & Risk Analyst to take ownership of merchant transparency, contractual governance, and KYC risk structure across our portfolio.

This role is suited to a commercially aware risk professional with 3–6 years’ fintech or payments experience who can think in systems, exercise independent judgment, and improve operational processes over time.

This is not a checklist compliance role. It is operational risk intelligence inside a live payments business

Key Responsibilities

• Own and maintain a master repository of all merchant URLs, domains, subdomains, redirects, and app links.
• Map aggregator and sub-merchant structures to ensure full traffic transparency.
• Monitor declared vs undeclared activity and maintain merchant risk classifications.
• Ensure the business can clearly identify at any time who is sending traffic, from which URL, and under which structure.
• Conduct structured merchant website reviews during onboarding and periodically thereafter, analysing business models, checkout flows, disclosures, refund policies, and activity alignment.
• Identify potential misrepresentation or undeclared activity and escalate where required.
• Review and amend merchant agreements in line with commercial terms and maintain deviation logs.
• Conduct enhanced due diligence on ownership structures and related entities.
• Maintain structured KYC/KYB stacks, expiry tracking, and waiver documentation.
• Strengthen onboarding workflows and introduce process improvements and automation where appropriate

Requirements

• 3–6 years’ experience within payments, PSP, acquiring, EMI, fintech, or regulated financial services.
• Direct operational experience in merchant onboarding, underwriting, or risk assessment.
• Proven hands‑on experience reviewing merchant websites as part of onboarding and risk evaluation.
• Experience conducting enhanced due diligence and analysing corporate ownership structures.
• Exposure to aggregator or marketplace models.
• Experience reviewing commercial agreements.
• Ability to make structured first‑line risk decisions within defined guardrails.

Applications without payments or fintech operational experience will not be considered.