We ensure Plaid meets regulatory requirements and industry standards so we can build products that earn and keep our customers’ trust.
We believe that the way people interact with their finances will drastically improve in the next few years. We’re dedicated to empowering this transformation by building the tools and experiences that thousands of developers use to create their own products. Plaid powers the tools millions of people rely on to live a healthier financial life. We work with thousands of companies like Venmo, SoFi, several of the Fortune 500, and many of the largest banks to make it easy for people to connect their financial accounts to the apps and services they want to use. Plaid’s network covers 12,000 financial institutions across the US, Canada, UK and Europe. Founded in 2013, the company is headquartered in San Francisco with offices in New York, Washington D.C., London and Amsterdam.
The Europe Policy, Privacy, Legal & Compliance (PPLC) team guides Plaid’s regulatory strategy and ensures strong governance across the UK and EU. We partner with business and product teams to deliver compliant growth, shape policy and regulatory engagement, and uphold high standards of legal, compliance, and governance excellence.
The MLRO will have primary responsibility for the firm’s UK AML/CTF framework and will act as the senior AML subject-matter lead for EU operations. The role includes day-to-day management of the compliance analyst team supporting AML, CDD, transaction monitoring, SARs, and fraud-related reviews, and carries personal regulatory accountability within its remit.
The MLRO will report to the Head of Legal & Compliance (Europe), who retains overall senior leadership responsibility for the firm’s financial crime framework. The MLRO is responsible for the effective operation of AML and fraud controls and for escalating material risks and issues as appropriate.
Given the firm’s risk profile, the MLRO will also initially act as the firm’s lead internal authority on fraud, recognising fraud as a key predicate offence to money laundering, and will work closely with relevant teams to ensure risks are identified and addressed promptly.
Responsibilities
- Act as the firm’s MLRO under UK regulations, including accountability under the UK Money Laundering Regulations and FCA expectations.
- Receive, assess, and determine appropriate action on internal SARs, including submission of external SARs to the NCA.
- Maintain and enhance the UK AML/CTF framework, including policies, procedures, controls, and risk assessments.
- Serve as the primary point of contact with the FCA on AML/CTF and financial crime matters, including supervisory engagement, audits, and inspections.
- Provide AML oversight for Dutch entities, ensuring compliance with EU AML directives and local legislation.
- Coordinate AML activity across jurisdictions.
- Drive consistency of AML standards across the UK and EU while allowing for local regulatory nuance.
- Support engagement with EU competent authorities where required.
- Set clear expectations for investigation standards, documentation quality, and regulatory defensibility.
- Ensure sufficient resourcing, escalation pathways, and controls are in place to manage volume spikes and emerging risks.
- Act as the final escalation point for complex or high-risk cases reviewed by the team.
- Work allocation, prioritisation, and quality assurance
- Performance management and professional development
- Coaching analysts on AML, SAR decision-making, and fraud-related escalation
- Influence the design and improvement of fraud detection and prevention controls where they overlap with AML risk.
- Act as the firm’s initial escalation point for fraud, particularly where fraud intersects with AML obligations.
- Identify emerging fraud typologies
- Assess money laundering risk arising from fraud incidents
- Ensure appropriate SARs, reporting, and remediation actions are taken
- Own and maintain the enterprise-wide AML/CTF risk assessment for the UK and EU.
- Provide regular, clear reporting to senior management and the Board on AML and fraud risk.
- Deliver credible challenge to the business when financial crime risk exceeds appetite (even when that’s inconvenient).
- Oversee AML and fraud-related training programmes, ensuring they are practical, role-specific, and current.
Qualifications
- 5+ years of proven experience as an MLRO or a highly experienced Deputy MLRO within a regulated financial services environment.
- Demonstrated experience managing and leading compliance analysts or investigations teams.
- Strong working knowledge of UK AML/CTF regulations, SAR obligations, and FCA expectations.
- Practical experience with EU AML frameworks, including cross-border operational challenges.
- Solid understanding of fraud typologies and fraud as a predicate offence to money laundering.
- Experience in fintech, payments, banking, or financial infrastructure.
- Prior engagement with regulators and auditors.
- [Nice to have] Experience scaling or transforming a compliance function in a growth environment.
- [Nice to have] Relevant professional qualifications (ICA, ACAMS, etc.).
Our mission at Plaid is to unlock financial freedom for everyone. To support that mission, we seek to build a diverse team of driven individuals who care deeply about making the financial ecosystem more equitable. We recognize that strong qualifications can come from both prior work experiences and lived experiences. We encourage you to apply to a role even if your experience doesn't fully match the job description. We are always looking for team members that will bring something unique to Plaid!
Plaid is proud to be an equal opportunity employer and values diversity at our company. We do not discriminate based on race, color, national origin, ethnicity, religion or religious belief, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, transgender status, sexual stereotypes, age, military or veteran status, disability, or other applicable legally protected characteristics. We also consider qualified applicants with criminal histories, consistent with applicable federal, state, and local laws. Plaid is committed to providing reasonable accommodations for candidates with disabilities in our recruiting process. If you need any assistance with your application or interviews due to a disability, please let us know at accommodations@plaid.com.