Compliance Operations Specialist, JP

Conducts merchant compliance investigations, transaction monitoring, due diligence, and risk-based escalations for Square Japan. Requires at least three years of relevant financial-crime or compliance experience, professional Japanese and English fluency, and knowledge of Japanese payment regulations.

About the job

Responsibilities

Operations & Investigations

Monitor and investigate compliance-related alerts generated through transaction monitoring systems and manual reviews.
Analyze merchant transaction activity, payment flows, customer relationships, and business operations to identify unusual or suspicious behavior.
Conduct investigations related to anti-money laundering (AML), fraud, sanctions, prohibited activities, financial crime risks, and violations of company policies.
Verify merchant information and perform onboarding and ongoing due diligence reviews in accordance with company policies and regulatory requirements.
Document investigative findings and make risk-based recommendations regarding account actions and escalations.
Conduct public-record research and open-source intelligence reviews to support investigations.
Interact with merchants in Japanese and English to obtain information, communicate compliance requirements, and support remediation efforts.
Complete operational reviews and investigations within established service-level agreements (SLAs).
Communicate with payment network partners, banking partners, and other corporate stakeholders to ensure compliance monitoring activities align with applicable requirements.

Requirements

Professional fluency in both Japanese and English, written and verbal.
Bachelor's degree or equivalent professional experience.
At least 3 years of experience in compliance operations, transaction monitoring, AML investigations, fraud investigations, risk management, or policy implementation within a financial institution, payment service provider, fintech company, or regulated financial services organization.
Strong understanding of Japanese financial crime compliance requirements.
Experience conducting customer due diligence (CDD), Know Your Customer (KYC), transaction monitoring, and suspicious activity investigations.
Knowledge of Japanese payment industry regulations, merchant acquiring requirements, and payment network rules.
Strong investigative skills, including familiarity with public-record research and investigative databases.
Strong transaction analysis skills applicable across numerous financial products and services in complex scenarios.
Ability to identify and assess suspicious activity, financial crime risks, and policy violations.
Strong judgment and ability to make risk-based decisions in complex investigative scenarios.
Excellent written communication and case documentation skills in both Japanese and English.
Ability to work in a fast-paced and dynamic environment and deliver strong results.
Based in Japan.

Nice to Have

Experience supporting regulatory examinations, audits, or law-enforcement requests in Japan.
Experience supporting suspicious transaction reporting processes and financial crime investigations.
Experience working with merchant acquiring, payment processing, fintech, or banking products.
Familiarity with sanctions-screening systems, AML monitoring systems, and fraud-detection tools.
Experience working directly with payment networks, banking partners, regulators, or law-enforcement agencies.
CAMS, CFE, CFCS, or similar compliance certifications.

Compensation & Benefits

Remote work.
Medical insurance.
Flexible time off.
Retirement savings plans.
Modern family planning benefits.

Skills

AML, Fraud Investigations, Sanctions Screening, Transaction Monitoring, Customer Due Diligence, Kyc, Open-Source Intelligence, Risk Management, Payment Networks, Merchant Acquiring, Payment Processing, Investigative Databases, Suspicious Activity Reporting