Transaction Monitoring & Payment Screening Associate

Manchester
OakNorth Bank – Operations /
Permanent - Full Time /
On-site
We have an exciting opportunity to join OakNorth Bank as a Transaction Monitoring & Payment Screening Operations Associate! As we expand our banking products, this is a great opportunity to be first in as we build out our new Financial Crime Operations Teams! This is an office-based position in Manchester city centre reporting to our Transaction Monitoring & Payment Screening Operations Manager (TMPSOM).

As a Transaction Monitoring and Payment Screening Associate, you will play a crucial role in safeguarding our institution and its clients from illicit activities. Join us in the dynamic and rewarding pursuit of upholding regulatory compliance and preserving the integrity of our financial ecosystem.

This is a fantastic opportunity to join a fast-paced, growing bank with a reputation for doing things differently. We don’t want another cog in the machine, we’re looking for self-starters and bold thinkers who want to pave their own career paths and are passionate about supporting the UK’s best and brightest businesspeople.  

Since our launch in 2015, we’ve lent over £10bn to ambitious entrepreneurs up and down the UK. That’s led to the creation of over 40,000 new jobs and over 29,000 new homes – and we’re not about to stop there.

Responsibilities:

    • Support the TMPSOM with the design and assessment of payment screening and transaction monitoring systems and processes
    • Support the TMPSOM with the design and implementation of rules to identify and prevent Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Sanctions Evasion
    • Support with the refinement and optimisation of system configuration to reduce false positives
    • Monitor, review and complete detailed analysis and investigation of transactions referred for possible sanctions, money laundering (ML) & terrorist financing (TF) alerts and support the TMPSOM in designing and documenting standard operating procedures and controls for 1st line Payments Screening
    • Reviewing transaction alerts and assessing if permissible or requiring investigation
    • Conducting thorough investigations of all system-generated sanction and ML/TF alerts
    • Owning individual alert cases and using case management tools in completing alert investigations within required timescales
    • Collaborating with external correspondent banks to secure required data to be able to complete investigations of alerts
    • Communicating with customers where necessary to discount potential true matches
    • Obtaining required evidence for investigations to ensure effective record keeping
    • Support the TMPSOM with the amendment of rules and criteria to reduce noise and ensure valuable alerts are flagged accordingly
    • Working with Transaction Monitoring, Customer Due Diligence, Customer Operations and Fraud Operations teams as required
    • Liaising with 2nd line MLRO/Compliance team where necessary to gain advice on cases, to ensure the right outcome is delivered
    • Investigate and resolve any issues or discrepancies identified during the monitoring process.
    • Support the TMPSO in ensuring compliance with relevant regulations, including sanctions and anti-money laundering laws.
    • Stay up to date with changes in regulations & legislation and industry best practices related to transaction monitoring and payment screening.
    • For external launch and the expected increase of business current accounts, hire and manage Payment Screening Operations Analysts in line with resource requirements.
    • Deliver meaningful data analysis and insights to drive process improvements.
    • Complete Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) including Defence Against Money Laundering SARs (DAML SAR) and Defence Against Terrorist Financing (DATF SARs).
    • Support the bank with law enforcement requests in relation to financial crime. 

Requirements:

    • Basic knowledge of the UK anti-money laundering and financial crime regulatory and legislative frameworks.
    • 2-3 years banking experience in financial crime and knowledge of payment methods e.g.-CHAPS, SWIFT, FPS, etc.
    • Basic knowledge of other working areas of Financial Crime (CDD, Fraud PEP’s etc.)
    • Experience of asking open questions to customers to identify required information.
    • A keen eye for detail, allowing you to identify potential risks to the bank and our customers.
    • Very self-motivated, with a positive mind-set, having strong time-management skills.
    • Strong inter-personal skills in order to work closely with the TMPSO and other teams within the bank.

Benefits & Perks:

    • Equity. We want people to have a stake in the business so that all our interests are aligned.
    • 25 days holiday
    • Personalized benefits – opt-in to what matters to you
    • Enhanced maternity and paternity leave
    • Employee friendly cost-free social areas i.e., cereal bar, hot drinks; weekly takeaways
    • Wellbeing and social events
    • Support causes that matter to you – Volunteering time off
    • Salary sacrifice schemes (Cycle to work, nursery, gym)


About Us
We’re OakNorth Bank and we embolden entrepreneurs to realise their ambitions, understand their markets, and apply data intelligence to everyday decisions to scale successfully at pace.  
Banking should be barrier-free. It’s a belief at our very core, inspired by our entrepreneurial spirit, driven by the unmet financial needs of millions, and delivered by our data-driven tools. 
And for those who love helping businesses thrive? Our savings accounts help diversify the high street and create new jobs, all while earning savers some of the highest interest on the market.  
But we go beyond finance, to empower our people, encourage professional growth and create an environment where everyone can thrive. We strive to create an inclusive and diverse workplace where people can be themselves and succeed. 
Our story 
OakNorth Bank was built on the foundations of frustrations with old-school banking. In 2005, when our founders tried to get capital for their data analytics company, the computer said ‘no’. Unfortunately, all major banks in the UK were using the same computer – and it was broken.  
Why was it so difficult for a profitable business with impressive cashflow, retained clients, and clear commercial success to get a loan?  
The industry was backward-looking and too focused on historic financials, rather than future potential. 
So, what if there was a bank, founded by entrepreneurs, for entrepreneurs? One that offered a dramatically better borrowing experience for businesses? 
No more what ifs, OakNorth Bank exists.  

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