Meet Ozow:

Ozow is a leading fintech company that's redefining digital payments in South Africa and beyond. We're dedicated to making payments more accessible, secure, and convenient for both businesses and consumers. As a fast-growing player in the financial technology sector, Ozow fosters a culture of innovation, diversity, and inclusivity. We believe in pushing the boundaries of what's possible and are committed to making a positive impact on the world through our payment solutions.

More about this Ozow fantastic position

We are seeking a detail-oriented and analytical Merchant Compliance Specialist to join our dynamic team. The ideal candidate will ensure that our merchant partners comply with all relevant regulatory requirements, internal policies, and industry standards. This role is critical in maintaining trust, mitigating risks, and fostering a culture of compliance within our organization.

You are an ideal candidate if you have:

• Bachelor’s degree in Law, Business Administration, or a related field.
• 3+ years of experience in compliance, risk management, or a similar role within the fintech or financial services industry.
• Strong knowledge of South African regulatory requirements (e.g., FICA, POPIA) and international standards.
• Excellent analytical, communication, and problem-solving skills.
• Strong attention to detail.
• Exhibits a discerning approach to evaluating information and making decisions, ensuring accuracy, quality, and relevance in their work.
• Proficiency in compliance monitoring tools and software is a plus.

Your role and responsibilities:

• Facilitate the onboarding process for new merchants, ensuring all required documentation is submitted and verified in line with regulatory and company standards
• Conduct thorough research and due diligence on prospective and existing merchants, including verifying business legitimacy and assessing associated risks.
• Analyse corporate structures and ownership details to ensure transparency and compliance.
• Develop a comprehensive understanding of merchants’ operational processes and business models to ensure compliance with internal policies and external regulations.
• Collaborate with merchants' post-integration to ensure smooth operations and adherence to compliance requirements.
• Stay up to date with industry trends, emerging issues, and risks that could impact merchant compliance.
• Identify and proactively address potential risks by recommending adjustments to policies or practices.
• Utilize and manage compliance monitoring tools to track merchant activities and detect potential compliance violations.
• Ensure merchants comply with financial services regulations, including corporate and individual Know Your Customer (KYC) requirements.
• Evaluate merchants’ compliance with relevant financial and regulatory requirements, conducting periodic reviews to mitigate risks.
• Partner with internal teams (e.g., legal, risk, and operations) to implement robust compliance procedures.
• Act as an intermediary between merchants and the company to resolve compliance-related issues efficiently.
• Generate reports summarising compliance performance and recommend improvements.

Your skills and competencies:

• Communication. You speak and write clearly and articulately without being overly verbose or talkative. You know when and how much information to communicate. You maintain this standard in all forms of written communication.
• Data-driven. You have experience utilising data from across the business to drive insights and better decision making.
• Flexibility/ adaptability. You adjust quickly to changing priorities and conditions. You cope effectively with complexity and change.
• Follow-through on commitments. You live up to verbal and written agreements, regardless of personal cost. You focus on key priorities.
• High standards. You expect personal performance and team performance to be nothing short of the best.
• Innovation. You generate new and innovative approaches to problems.
• Problem solving. You are able to solve problems by analysing situations and applying critical thinking in order to resolve problems. You are able to decide on courses of action and implement the solutions developed in order to overcome problems and constraints.
• Teamwork. You reach out to peers and cooperate with supervisors to establish an overall collaborative working relationship.

Interview process

During the interview process you will meet with the People team, the hiring manager, and relevant CSuite. Be prepared to complete a technical assessment that will showcase your skills.