Compliance & MLRO

Our Mission
Reduce inequity by helping immigrants move money home, and become the leading cross-border fintech for emerging markets.

The Team
-> Founded by Harvard grads / 3rd-time founders --- also founded Segovia (successful exit) and GiveDirectly (>300M revenue, fastest-growing NGO).
-> Top performers from top and varied organizations (e.g., Bain, Bolt, Google, McKinsey, SafeBoda, Uber, Zipline) --- we like moving fast, and we hire people that do as well.
-> Driven by mission, guided by values (see below) – in deed, not just word.
-> Team as global as the mission, >30 languages from 25 countries (i.e., if you’re interested in learning to make Chicken Moambe, we’re the place).

About Us
Taptap Send is backed by top VCs (Spark, Canaan, Reid Hoffman, Breyer Capital, etc.), rapidly growing and a great place for those looking for both impact and a fast-paced tech startup environment.  Read more about the journey in Reid Hoffman’s words or TechCrunch article

Launched in 2019, Taptap is tapping into a transformative shift in global finance: from banks to phones. While this has affected wealthier countries as well, it has been nothing short of a revolution for the emerging markets where the overwhelming majority of population had been unable to access digital finance previously.  Taptap Send allows immigrants to send money home instantly and with no fee*, saving money in the process. With a formal market size of >700B alone, we’ve got a lot more saving to do for our users. Our mission is to reduce inequity by helping immigrants move money home, and become the leading cross-border fintech for emerging markets. And that’s just the beginning...

*We charge fees for transfers on fixed exchange rate corridors (e.g., XOF, XAF).

Our Investors
Spark Capital, Canaan, Reid Hoffman, Breyer Capital (Jim Breyer), Unbound (Shravin Mittal), Wamda (Fadi Ghandour), Firstminute Capital, Slow Ventures (Sam Lessin), Helios Partners (Souleymane Ba), Crossbeam Ventures (Ali Hamed), Nikesh Arora, Samih Toukan, and many other context-specific angels

The Role

As MLRO, you will play a critical role in strengthening and scaling our compliance and anti-money laundering (AML) functions within our UAE operations. You will work across both compliance and AML functions, providing leadership, expertise, and operational execution.

This role will sit within the Taptap Send entity in the UAE (TTS UAE), working closely with the local team and the global Taptap Send Group. You will be primarily responsible for all aspects of the second line of defense within the UAE entity, ensuring compliance with DFSA, UAE federal and other relevant regulations while engaging with regulatory bodies as required.

Key Responsibilities

• Transaction Monitoring & Financial Crime Prevention: Oversee transaction monitoring, sanction screening, and suspicious activity reporting, ensuring timely reporting of suspicious transactions to the UAE FIU.

• Regulatory Compliance & AML Oversight: Ensure compliance with all UAE local legislation and regulations, while strengthening internal compliance frameworks and policies.

• Regulatory Engagement: Act as a primary liaison with TTS’s  regulatory stakeholders (including the DFSA), building trust and maintaining open communication.

• Policy & Process Development: Own and maintain all compliance and AML policies and procedures, ensuring they align with applicableSA regulations and global best practices.

• Regulatory Reporting: Manage and coordinate regulatory reporting for TTS UAE, ensuring timely and accurate regulatory submissions.

• Risk Monitoring & Testing: Continuously improve systems and processes to monitor regulatory risk, compliance with regulatory requirements, and internal policies.

• Internal Reporting: Prepare compliance reports for management, the board, and risk committees, advising on regulatory developments and compliance performance.

• Training & Culture Building: Lead compliance and AML training programs for customer service, product, and management teams to foster a strong compliance culture.

• Audit & Internal Controls: Work closely with third-line auditors to enhance compliance programs, controls, and oversight mechanisms.

• Due Diligence & Onboarding: Oversee KYC, KYB, and partner due diligence processes, ensuring robust controls for new customers, partners, and products.

What We’re Looking For

• Experience: 5+ years in compliance, AML, or financial crime roles within a regulated financial institution, fintech, or payments company, preferably in cross-border payments, remittances, or FX.

• Regulatory Knowledge: Deep understanding of UAE regulations (DFSA, CBUAE, federal law, etc)  and global AML/CFT standards (FATF, EU, UK, US, etc.).

• SARs/STRs: Experience with Suspicious Activity/Transaction Reports to the authorities - familiarity with UAE FIU and GoAML system are strongly preferred.

• AML & Financial Crime Expertise: Experience in transaction monitoring, suspicious activity reporting, and financial crime investigations.

• Stakeholder Management: Ability to engage effectively with regulators, law enforcement, financial institutions, and internal leadership.

• Technology & Compliance: Experience using technology to enhance compliance operations (e.g., transaction monitoring, sanction screening, automation).

• Analytical & Detail-Oriented: Strong ability to assess risks, interpret regulations, and implement effective compliance controls.

• Fluent in English (Arabic is a plus).

• Education & Certifications: Bachelor's degree in finance, law, business, or a related field; CAMS, ICA, or equivalent compliance certification preferred.

Who You Are

• Execution-Oriented & Strong Operationally – You can execute strategies and get things implemented effectively.

• Mission-Driven – Passionate about financial inclusion and driving positive impact through fintech.

• Highly Organized – Able to manage multiple compliance priorities efficiently.

• Resilient & Adaptable – You can navigate complex regulatory landscapes and provide practical solutions.

Taptap Values 

Impact first

Team next

Accept reality

Propose solutions

Win with grit

Be proactively candid, with yourself and others

Love the particular

Own it

Create positive energy

Maybe, even have fun

Taptap Send is an equal opportunity employer dedicated to building an inclusive and diverse workforce. All employment decisions are decided on the basis of qualifications, experience and business need. We strongly encourage applications who are members of underrepresented communities to apply.

If you require reasonable adjustments to be made during the recruitment process, please do not hesitate to let us know. Any information you provide us in this respect will only be used to accommodate your requirements.

Note: we recognize imposter syndrome is real - any candidate that does not perfectly fit every characteristic of this role is still strongly encouraged to apply.