MLRO in UK

About the Position

We are hiring a MLRO in UK to hold both the Compliance Oversight Function (SMF16) and the Money Laundering Reporting Officer Function (SMF17) for our UK entity. This is a named Senior Management Function with personal statutory accountability under the FCA's SM&CR regime. You will be the authoritative voice on UK compliance and financial crime matters - independent enough to challenge senior management, credible enough to engage the FCA directly, and experienced enough to own the SAR process from day one.

Responsibilities

MLRO (SMF17)

• Receiving, assessing, and filing Suspicious Activity Reports with the NCA - including consent SARs and moratorium management
• Owning the firm's AML/CTF and sanctions framework end-to-end - policies, controls, risk assessments, transaction monitoring
• Producing and presenting the Annual MLRO Report to senior management and governance bodies
• Acting as primary point of contact for the NCA and other competent authorities on financial crime matters
• Overseeing CDD, EDD, ongoing monitoring, and AML training

Compliance Oversight (SMF16)

• Establishing and maintaining the UK compliance framework and governance arrangements from scratch
• Running the Compliance Monitoring Programme - thematic reviews, compliance testing, issue remediation, management reporting
• Supporting FCA registration and EMI authorisation workstreams
• Implementing regulatory change and ensuring alignment with FCA Handbook, FCG, JMLSG, MLR 2017, POCA 2002
• Preparing Board-level compliance reporting and providing effective challenge to senior management

Requirements

• Currently FCA-approvable for both SMF16 and SMF17 - clean regulatory record, willing to be named on the Financial Services Register
• 5+ years in UK compliance and/or financial crime leadership within an FCA-regulated entity - EMI, PI, bank, or VASP
• Direct personal experience filing SARs with the NCA, including consent SARs and moratorium management - this cannot be learned on the job
• Strong working knowledge of POCA 2002, TA 2000, MLR 2017, FCA FCG, JMLSG, and OFSI sanctions
• Crypto or virtual asset compliance experience - a traditional banking MLRO without crypto exposure will not be considered
• Proven ability to independently produce Board reports, Annual MLRO Reports, regulatory submissions, and governance documentation
• Experience supporting FCA and/or HMRC registration or authorisation projects, supervisory interactions, or regulatory remediation

Nice to Have

• Previous experience holding both SMF16 and SMF17 (or equivalent) simultaneously
• Direct FCA supervisory engagement - s165 requests, inspections, skilled person reviews
• Familiarity with UK Travel Rule obligations (SI 2023/1212)
• Blockchain analytics tools - Chainalysis, Elliptic, Scorechain, TRM Labs
• Experience across both cryptoasset and payments/e-money regulatory frameworks
• CAMS, ICA Diploma, or equivalent professional certification

We Offer

• Competitive salary plus bi-annual performance bonuses
• Professional development budget for courses, seminars, and conferences
• Health insurance after the probation period
• Corporate events, team-building activities, and a supportive work environment
• Regulated crypto at scale - one of the longest-running, most globally distributed crypto on-ramps in the market
• High autonomy - you exercise independent judgement; no micromanagement
• Remote - UK-based, work from anywhere in the UK

About the Company

Paybis launched in 2014 with one goal: make crypto accessible using payment methods people already trust. Twelve years later, 6.9 million customers across 251 countries have used the platform, and $5.47 billion has moved through it. 2025 was our strongest year on record - $2 billion in volume, 266% year-on-year growth.

We are not a startup figuring out product-market fit. We are a regulated, profitable, bootstrapped business expanding into new markets - including a dual-authorisation strategy in the UK. Compliance here is not overhead. It is what makes the product sellable to regulated partners, and what keeps us operating across 180+ countries.