Head of Transaction and Fraud Monitoring

Since launching in 2018, DNA Payments has become one of the UK’s largest independent, fully integrated omnichannel payments providers. We enable businesses of all sizes to seamlessly accept payments, from cutting-edge POS systems to powerful payment gateway, ecommerce and in-app solutions.

Recognised by Beauhurst as one of the UK’s top 50 fintech innovators, we’re reshaping the payments landscape with technology that makes transactions simpler, faster, and more secure. Backed by £100 million in Private Equity funding from Alchemy, we process £1.2+ billion in payments every month for over 60,000 merchants across the UK and Europe.

With a growing team of 375 specialists operating from our London HQ and regional offices in Hull, Nottingham, and Kazakhstan, we’re scaling rapidly. Join us on our journey to redefine the future of payments.

The Head of Transaction & Fraud Monitoring is responsible for designing, leading, and continuously improving the firm’s transaction monitoring and fraud risk framework across acquiring activities. This role provides strategic and operational leadership over fraud, AML/CTF transaction monitoring, sanctions screening, and scheme-driven monitoring requirements, ensuring the business remains compliant, resilient, and scalable while protecting customers and the firm from financial crime and fraud losses.

The role acts as a subject matter expert, a senior decision-maker, and a key interface with regulators, card schemes, auditors, and senior management.

Key Responsibilities

• Own the end-to-end governance of transaction monitoring alerts, investigations, decision-making, and outcomes, ensuring consistency and defensibility.
• Define and maintain clear escalation frameworks, decision thresholds, and approval authorities for high-risk cases, merchant actions, and terminations.
• Lead periodic effectiveness testing and validation of monitoring rules, scenarios, and controls, including post-incident reviews and thematic analysis.
• Develop and maintain fraud and financial crime typologies relevant to acquiring, including card-not-present, MOTO, account takeover, and merchant fraud risks.
• Partner with Technology and Data teams to enhance data quality, automation, and analytics capability within monitoring systems.
• Support new product launches, sector expansion, and high-risk MCC onboarding by providing transaction monitoring and fraud risk input.
• Ensure timely and accurate scheme, regulatory, and law enforcement reporting relating to fraud and transaction monitoring activity.
• Establish and monitor key performance and risk indicators (KPIs/KRIs) for transaction monitoring effectiveness and team performance.
• Ensure the function is audit-ready and aligned with FCA, PSD2, AMLD, and JMLSG requirements.
• Drive remediation activity arising from audits, scheme findings, incidents, or regulatory feedback, ensuring sustainable control uplift.
• Act as a senior escalation point for complex, high-impact fraud and financial crime cases and lead, coach, and develop a high-performing transaction monitoring and fraud team.
• Contribute to enterprise-wide risk assessments, operational resilience planning, and scenario testing where transaction monitoring is a key control.
• Provide leadership, training, and development to monitoring analysts, embedding a strong compliance culture.
• Maintain strong relationships with external vendors, schemes, and partners supporting monitoring capabilities.

About You

Skills and Experience

• Strong understanding of AML, CTF, sanctions, and fraud typologies in card acquiring and payments.
• In-depth knowledge of transaction monitoring systems, rules calibration, and alert management processes.
• Familiarity with FCA, PSD2, AMLD, JMLSG requirements and Visa/Mastercard scheme rules.
• Proven ability to design and deliver effective management information (MI) and risk reporting.
• Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills, including with regulators and auditors.

Experience

• Significant experience in financial crime compliance, fraud risk, or transaction monitoring, preferably in an acquiring or payments firm.
• Track record of leading and developing teams in a regulated financial services environment.
• Experience engaging with card schemes, regulators, and external auditors.
• Demonstrable success in optimising monitoring models and driving operational improvements.
• Exposure to merchant risk management and cross-functional collaboration (e.g. underwriting, credit risk).

Personal Attributes

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with attention to detail.
• Clear communicator able to translate technical issues into business language.
• Leadership style that builds capability, motivates teams, and embeds a strong compliance culture.
• Resilient and adaptable, able to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.

What’s in it for you?

You’ll work with a collaborative team and join a fast growth fintech where you’ll get the chance to learn and develop, and if that’s not enough, you also receive the following benefits:

• 25 days holiday per year
• Private Medical
• Life Assurance
• Ride to work
• Access to self-learning platform
• Bookboon
• Income Protection
• Employee Assistance Programme

At DNA Payments, we put our values into action through real initiatives. From our dedicated in-house Sales and Operations training programmes that support career development, to DNA Day where we come together to celebrate our people and culture, we’re committed to investing in our teams. We’re also proud to support wider community initiatives, such as attending Hull Pride, reflecting our dedication to equality, inclusion, and celebrating diversity.