How to Find and Hire Compliance Professionals

Last year, the Wall Street Journal published an article highlighting the increasing need for hiring compliance professionals at the cryptocurrency exchange amid the rising number of frauds through virtual assets. Given the reputational damage and financial hits in the form of penalties and fines due to failure to stay compliant with the ever-evolving regulatory landscape of KYC and AML, hiring the right compliance professionals is also challenging for VASPs and other fintech companies. Let us explore how to find the right compliance talent and make their hiring and onboarding in FinTech companies easier.

Belal Mahmoud

KYC Product Consultant

Who are Compliance Professionals and What is Their Role in KYC and AML?

A Compliance professional is an individual who ensures that a company is adhering to and fulfilling the external regulatory requirements as well as the internal policies and bylaws. Compliance professionals are responsible for the mitigation of risks associated with non-compliance in any form. Mainly, Compliance professionals help businesses manage the regulatory risks at different levels within the organization and work closely with the management and employees.

Types of Compliance Professionals

Different recruiting platforms have classified compliance careers into different categories under different job roles. We have listed down the most relevant types of Compliance Professionals as per the KYC (Know Your Customer) and AML (Anti-Money Laundering) below:

Compliance Officer	Compliance Officers have mostly a specialized area of focus where they oversee and manage the organization’s compliance program. Usually, they are reportable to senior management. Mostly, they are responsible for KYC AML and data privacy domains.
KYC/AML Compliance Analyst	These professionals specialize in identifying and analyzing the threats of money laundering and fraud within an organization. They are responsible for devising strategies to prevent financial crime across the organizational activities and support the implementation of KYC and AML Regulations. They conduct due diligence on customers and draft suspicious activity reports (SAR).
Ongoing Monitoring Officer	Ongoing Monitoring Officers are responsible for a sensitive duty to monitor the transactions, and customer activities throughout the bank’s operations. As soon as a suspicion is raised, they have to alert the law enforcement and regulatory authorities by raising red flags helping in reporting SARs. They are also reportable to senior management but in some data-sensitive organizations, they may be reportable to only designated and trusted individuals in the interest of organizations and other stakeholders.
Regulatory Compliance Specialist	These compliance experts have more or less the same job role as that of a KYC AML Analyst. The difference is in their tier of employment or the level of authority. A Regulatory Compliance Specialist may also oversee other areas of compliance like healthcare and ethics.
Data Privacy Compliance Officer	There is an increased focus on the data privacy regulations by GDPR and CCPA. this has called for a separate position in compliance called a data privacy compliance officer. They are mostly reportable to the senior management or compliant specialists. Their job is to ensure that customer’s data, the company’s data, and other sensitive information remains confidential and is not compromised at any cost.

Role of Compliance Professionals in KYC/AML

Compliance Professionals fulfill the following 4 core duties in KYC and AML.

Customer Due Diligence: Through a risk-based approach, Compliance professionals carry out customer due diligence procedures in the KYC Identity Verification procedure and ensure the end goal of AML compliance is achieved. If the associated risk level is increased, Enhanced Due Diligence is carried out.
Transaction Monitoring: All customer transactions are monitored at different levels of suspicion they raise. In case the minimum threshold is exceeded, Compliance professionals have to report it to the authorities.
Reporting: Properly documented reporting is necessary for carrying out legal action against criminals. Compliance professionals are obligated to submit timely and quality reports to law enforcement authorities such as FIU (Financial Intelligence Unit).
Policy Making: Compliance professionals are also responsible for developing and implementing policies, procedures, and controls to prevent money laundering and ensure compliance with AML/KYC regulations.

Why is it Important to Hire Compliance Professionals?

Compliance requirements need a professional hand to manage the associated risks. It is far more complicated than it looks to handle compliance-related issues, especially in KYC and AML. Here are a few reasons why compliance professionals are needed by organizations:

Mitigation of the Regulatory Risks
Protecting the Reputation of fintech and KYC Vendors
Prevention of financial losses in the form of regulatory penalties & fines, fraud, and money laundering.
Supporting Organizational Sustainability & Growth
Enhancing Risk Management & promoting the culture of Due Diligence
Meeting Stakeholders’ Expectations

How to Find the Right Compliance Talent?

As a fintech business or KYC Vendor, recognize the crucial role of a compliance professional in your strategy. However, the challenge lies in acquiring the right talent for your specific needs within the ever-evolving regulatory compliance landscape. Many individuals present themselves as proficient in compliance, yet the discipline encompasses a wide array of specialties and skills. Therefore, it is imperative that the ideal candidate not only possesses industry-level compliance knowledge but also aligns closely with your organization’s unique requirements.

KYC AML Guide’s CaaS Marketplace: The Only Freelancing Platform for Compliance Professionals

Imagine hiring a compliance specialist from a wide variety listed at Upwork. You will witness several candidates listed who are not qualified as compliance professionals. There’s a high chance that you may hire the underqualified individual or even go for a person who serves an entirely different niche of compliance. To resolve this issue, KYC AML Guide has pinpointed the recruitment process and has made the acquisition of compliance professional services easier than ever. CaaS Marketplace is a central hub where we watchfully and quickly connect you to the right compliance specialists.

Experience the power of seamless hiring through a trusted professional platform. Here’s how simple it is:

Find your Relevant Compliance Expert
Finalize your Hiring
Onboard your Candidate within 24 hours

These 3 simple steps are backed by comprehensive and detailed human resourcing where we ensure that every compliance official we list is authentic, experienced, and serves the most specific category. We also maintain that the candidate possesses a high level of commitment to the work your organization assigns and is capable of going the extra mile to perform and excel. In short, we serve both ends by being laser-focused on KYC AML compliance.

Belal Mahmoud

Belal possess over 8 years experience in the KYC Identity Verification industry. He has consulted KYC solutions for over 20 new economy companies at DIFC and ADGM while ensuring a seamless technical integration and helped in jurisdictional compliance audits.