As digital financial services continue to expand across Africa, protecting financial transactions and preventing financial crime have become important priorities for fintech companies. Businesses operating across international markets must maintain effective systems for verifying customers, identifying suspicious activities and complying with financial regulations.
This has created growing demand for professionals with experience in financial crime prevention, anti-money laundering procedures and customer due diligence.
Pesa, a financial technology company specialising in cross-border payments, is currently recruiting a Financial Crime Analyst to strengthen its customer onboarding and compliance operations in Nigeria.
The successful candidate will play an important role in reviewing business account applications, conducting Know Your Customer (KYC) checks, assessing potential risks and ensuring that customers meet the company’s compliance requirements.
This is a remote opportunity for professionals with experience in banking, financial services, fintech compliance or customer due diligence who want to contribute to the security and reliability of digital financial services.
Job Details
Job Title: Financial Crime Analyst
Company: Pesa
Location: Nigeria
Work Arrangement: Remote
Employment Type: Full-Time
Experience Required: Minimum of 2 Years
Job Category: Finance, Risk Management and Compliance
Qualification: Relevant educational or professional background
Salary: Not Specified
Application Deadline: Not Specified
About Pesa
Pesa is a financial technology company focused on making international money transfers and cross-border payments simpler, faster and more accessible.
The company develops financial products that help individuals and businesses send, receive and manage money across different markets.
Its services are designed to provide customers with convenient payment experiences while maintaining appropriate security and regulatory standards.
Operating within the international payments industry requires strong compliance procedures. Financial institutions and payment providers must understand who their customers are, verify business information and identify transactions or activities that could expose them to financial or regulatory risks.
Pesa recognises the importance of these processes and is looking for a Financial Crime Analyst to support its business customer onboarding and risk management activities.
Job Overview
The Financial Crime Analyst will be responsible for reviewing and onboarding business customers who want to use the Pesa platform.
The role involves conducting customer verification checks, reviewing corporate documents, screening individuals and businesses against relevant sanctions and politically exposed persons databases, and assessing potential financial crime risks.
The successful candidate will work closely with the Growth and Marketing, Compliance and Customer Success teams to ensure that business customers are onboarded efficiently without compromising the company’s compliance standards.
An important part of the job is identifying incomplete documentation, inconsistencies in customer information and potential warning signs that require additional investigation.
This position requires someone who understands financial crime prevention and can balance efficient customer onboarding with thorough risk assessment.
Key Responsibilities
1. Business Customer Onboarding and KYC Verification
The Financial Crime Analyst will review applications submitted by businesses seeking to open accounts or access services on the Pesa platform.
Responsibilities include:
- Review and process new business account applications.
- Conduct Know Your Customer (KYC) checks on new and existing business customers.
- Verify corporate documents and supporting information.
- Review certificates of incorporation and other company registration documents.
- Examine shareholder registers and director information.
- Confirm relevant business ownership and corporate structures.
- Identify missing or inconsistent information in submitted applications.
- Request additional documentation where necessary.
- Ensure business applications are consistent with the products and services offered by Pesa.
2. Anti-Money Laundering and Financial Crime Screening
An important responsibility of this position is identifying potential financial crime risks before businesses are onboarded.
The successful candidate will:
- Conduct sanctions screening on prospective and existing customers.
- Perform Politically Exposed Person (PEP) checks.
- Review adverse media information relating to individuals and businesses.
- Identify potential connections to prohibited or high-risk activities.
- Conduct initial customer due diligence and risk assessments.
- Investigate unusual findings during the verification process.
- Escalate suspicious or high-risk cases to the appropriate Compliance personnel.
- Ensure customer onboarding activities follow applicable Anti-Money Laundering (AML) requirements.
3. Corporate Documentation and Due Diligence
Business customer verification requires careful examination of company ownership, registration and operational information.
Responsibilities include:
- Collect and examine corporate onboarding documents.
- Review company registration certificates and ownership information.
- Assess documentation relating to directors and shareholders.
- Identify inconsistencies between submitted information and available records.
- Review third-party AML and regulatory documentation.
- Maintain appropriate records of due diligence activities.
- Ensure customer files meet internal documentation requirements.
4. Risk Assessment and Compliance Monitoring
The successful candidate will help identify potential risks associated with business customers and their intended use of Pesa’s financial products.
Duties include:
- Perform preliminary risk assessments on prospective business customers.
- Identify customers requiring enhanced due diligence.
- Assess potential exposure to financial crime risks.
- Recognise warning signs associated with suspicious business activities.
- Escalate cases that require additional investigation.
- Support the implementation of appropriate risk management procedures.
- Ensure that customer onboarding decisions follow established compliance policies.
5. Documentation and Record Management
Accurate documentation is essential in financial crime prevention because customer verification decisions must be properly recorded and traceable.
The Financial Crime Analyst will:
- Maintain accurate customer onboarding records.
- Document KYC checks and due diligence findings.
- Keep records of sanctions and adverse media screening.
- Maintain appropriate audit trails within internal systems.
- Ensure customer documentation is complete and properly organised.
- Follow established information management and confidentiality procedures.
6. Internal Collaboration and Customer Communication
The role involves working with different departments to ensure that customer onboarding is efficient and compliant.
Responsibilities include:
- Collaborate with Growth and Marketing teams on business onboarding requirements.
- Work with Customer Success personnel to resolve documentation-related issues.
- Communicate with prospective customers when additional information is required.
- Explain relevant verification requirements to internal teams.
- Escalate compliance concerns to the appropriate departments.
- Help reduce unnecessary onboarding delays while maintaining proper risk controls.
7. Process Improvement
The successful candidate will also contribute to improving the company’s customer onboarding and compliance procedures.
This includes:
- Identify inefficiencies in existing onboarding workflows.
- Recommend improvements to verification procedures.
- Support the development and maintenance of internal compliance policies.
- Contribute to improvements in customer due diligence processes.
- Help optimise onboarding timelines without weakening compliance standards.
- Identify opportunities to improve the use of compliance tools and internal systems.
Educational and Professional Requirements
Interested applicants should possess relevant experience and knowledge in financial crime prevention, customer onboarding or compliance.
The key requirements include:
- At least two years of experience in KYC, customer onboarding or compliance.
- Previous experience working in fintech, banking or financial services.
- Practical knowledge of corporate customer verification.
- Experience reviewing company registration and ownership documentation.
- Understanding of Anti-Money Laundering (AML) requirements.
- Familiarity with sanctions screening and adverse media checks.
- Experience conducting customer due diligence and risk assessments.
- Understanding of compliance procedures for business customers.
Candidates should also demonstrate the ability to investigate inconsistencies, document findings and escalate potential risks appropriately.
Essential Skills for the Position
Beyond professional experience, the following skills will be important:
Analytical Thinking: Ability to examine customer information, identify inconsistencies and assess potential financial crime risks.
Attention to Detail: Accuracy when reviewing corporate documents, shareholder information and verification records.
Risk Assessment: Ability to recognise warning signs and determine when additional due diligence is necessary.
Communication: Confidence in requesting missing documentation and explaining compliance requirements to customers and internal teams.
Organisation: Ability to manage several customer onboarding applications while maintaining accurate records.
Problem-Solving: Capacity to investigate documentation issues and recommend appropriate solutions.
Confidentiality: Understanding of the importance of protecting customer information and sensitive financial records.
Technology Proficiency: Comfort working with CRM platforms, customer verification systems and compliance tools.
Understanding the Importance of KYC and AML in Fintech
Know Your Customer and Anti-Money Laundering procedures are essential components of financial services operations.
KYC involves verifying the identity of customers and understanding relevant information about their business activities. For corporate customers, this may include examining registration documents, identifying directors and shareholders, and understanding who ultimately owns or controls the business.
AML procedures go further by helping financial institutions identify and prevent activities associated with money laundering and other financial crimes.
For example, a payment company onboarding a business may need to establish whether the company is legally registered, identify its beneficial owners and determine whether any individuals associated with the business appear on relevant sanctions lists.
These checks help financial service providers reduce exposure to regulatory, operational and reputational risks.
A Financial Crime Analyst therefore plays an important role in protecting both the organisation and its customers.
Who Should Apply?
This opportunity is particularly suitable for professionals with backgrounds in:
- Banking operations and compliance.
- Financial crime prevention.
- Anti-money laundering operations.
- Know Your Customer verification.
- Corporate customer onboarding.
- Risk management and regulatory compliance.
- Fintech operations.
- Customer due diligence.
Professionals who have previously worked with business account verification, corporate documentation and financial risk assessment should consider applying.
Candidates with experience using automated KYC platforms, sanctions screening databases and compliance management systems may also have an advantage.
How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should submit their applications through Pesa’s official recruitment platform.
Official Application Link:
Applicants should prepare an updated CV highlighting their experience in KYC verification, AML procedures, customer onboarding and financial risk assessment.
It is advisable to include specific examples of previous responsibilities involving corporate document reviews, sanctions screening, customer due diligence and compliance investigations.
Candidates should ensure that their applications clearly demonstrate how their professional experience matches the requirements of the position.
Conclusion
The Financial Crime Analyst position at Pesa offers an opportunity for experienced compliance and financial services professionals to contribute to the growth of a cross-border payments business.
As fintech companies continue expanding their operations across international markets, the need for effective customer verification, financial crime prevention and risk management will remain important.
For professionals with practical experience in KYC, AML, corporate onboarding and compliance operations, this role provides an opportunity to apply their expertise in a technology-driven financial services environment.
If you have the required experience and are interested in working remotely within the fintech industry, visit Pesa’s recruitment portal and submit your application.
Israel Otoijamun is a digital business strategist, technology entrepreneur, and the founder of Xcrow, a platform connecting businesses with top remote talent.
With more than 15 years of experience across online platforms, technology, and digital payments, Israel regularly publishes insights on freelancing, tech job opportunities, remote workforce strategies, and modern hiring ecosystems.
Read more about Israel Otoijamun.
