Experienced Monitoring Analyst (Transaction & Merchant Monitoring)

Cardaq Limited; London; Hybrid; GBP 28,000; Full time

Job summary

A financial services firm in London seeks an Experienced Monitoring Analyst to focus on fraud prevention and AML monitoring. The ideal candidate will have 3-5 years of relevant experience, analytical skills, and the ability to draft thorough SARs. This mid-senior level role offers a hybrid working model and a supportive working environment with mentorship opportunities for junior analysts. The position requires a detailed understanding of regulatory compliance and modern transaction monitoring tools.

Benefits

Private healthcare

Pension contribution

Paid holidays

Professional development support

Wellness perks

Qualifications

• 3 - 5+ years of experience in fraud detection or AML compliance roles.
• Proven experience handling fraud investigations and AML alert reviews.
• Strong knowledge of key financial crime regulations.

Responsibilities

• Continuously monitor transactions for signs of fraud.
• Conduct investigations into complex fraud and money laundering cases.
• Draft and submit Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs).
• Provide mentorship and training to junior analysts.

Skills

Fraud detection

AML compliance

Analytical skills

Report drafting

Team collaboration

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Business, Criminal Justice or related field

Tools

Mastercard Brighterion

Visa Cybersource Decision Manager

Finchecker

Job description

Experienced Monitoring Analyst (Transaction & Merchant Monitoring)

Experienced Monitoring Analyst (Transaction & Merchant Monitoring)

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Cardaq UK, established in October 2011, brings over 12 years of experience in transparent global payment processing. We are dedicated to facilitating seamless and efficient payment transactions. Our expertise in the industry allows us to offer our clients outstanding service and innovative solutions for their payment needs.

Role Overview

Cardaq Limited is seeking anExperienced Transaction Monitoring Analystto join our Risk & Compliance team. In this role, you will focus on advanced fraud prevention and AML transaction monitoring across our card issuing and acquiring business lines. You will utilize cutting-edge monitoring systems – including Mastercard’sBrighterionAI platform, Visa’sCybersource Decision Manager, andFinchecker– to detect and investigate suspicious transactions in real time. As a senior analyst, you will handle complex fraud cases and potential money laundering alerts, digging deep into transaction patterns and customer profiles to identify illicit activity. A core part of this role is drafting thorough Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) for regulatory reporting and helping to ensure our investigations meet the highest standards. You will also serve as a mentor to junior analysts on the team, sharing your expertise and best practices. This is a hands-on investigative role, working closely with the FIU Team Lead to protect the business and ensure compliance with all regulatory requirements.

Location:Central London, UK

Reporting to:FIU Team Lead – Transaction & Merchant Monitoring

Salary Range: (Depending on experience and qualifications)

Department: Risk & Compliance – Financial Intelligence Unit (Reports to Head of Risk)

Working Model: Hybrid (3 Days Office)

Key Responsibilities

Alert Monitoring & Review:Continuously monitor card transactions (issuing and acquiring) for signs of fraud or suspicious AML activity. Review daily system-generated alerts (fraud flags, AML alerts) and act as asecond-line reviewerfor complex or high-risk alerts escalated by junior analysts. Decide whether to clear alerts or escalate them for further investigation, ensuring no critical alert is overlooked.

Complex Case Investigation:Conduct in-depth investigations into complex or unusual cases of potential fraud and money laundering. Gather and analyse all pertinent information – transaction details, account history, customer KYC data, and broader patterns – to determine if activity is suspicious. Utilize advanced analytical techniques and open-source intelligence (OSINT) as needed to build a complete picture. Document your findings in a clear, concise case narrative, identifying the who/what/when/how of any confirmed suspicious activity.

SAR Preparation:Draft comprehensive Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) for cases that require regulatory reporting. Ensure each SAR contains all necessary details, including the nature of the suspicious activity, parties involved, and supporting evidence, written in a clear narrative format. Work with the MLRO and compliance team to finalize SAR filings and respond to any follow-up queries from regulators. Maintain an internal log of submitted SARs and follow up on any further actions required (e.g. account closure or law enforcement liaison).

Mentorship & Training:Serve as a go-to resource for junior transaction monitoring analysts. Provide mentorship and on-the-job training to new or less experienced team members – for example, demonstrating effective investigative techniques, explaining complex fraud patterns, and guiding them on how to interpret alert scenarios. Review junior analysts’ investigation reports and provide constructive feedback to help improve their accuracy and thoroughness. Contribute to team knowledge-sharing sessions by presenting interesting cases or new typologies.

Rule Tuning & System Enhancement Support:Collaborate with the FIU Team Lead to improve our monitoring systems and rules. Based on your frontline experience with alerts, suggest adjustments to risk scoring thresholds or new rule logic to better capture suspicious activity (while minimizing false positives). Participate in testing any updates to the Brighterion, Cybersource, or Finchecker systems – for example, validating that new rules are triggering correctly. Share insights from investigations that could inform enhancements to our fraud/AML models.

Cross-Functional Collaboration:Work closely with other departments when investigating and resolving cases. Coordinate with Compliance on customer due diligence reviews or enhanced checks if a customer is involved in suspicious activity. Partner with Operations or Customer Support to gather additional transaction context or to take swift action (such as blocking a card or refunding a transaction) in response to fraud incidents. Communicate significant findings and recommended actions to the Head of Risk and other stakeholders, ensuring everyone is aligned in mitigating the issue.

Continuous Improvement:Stay current on evolving fraud schemes, scam trends, and AML typologies (e.g. changes in how criminal networks launder money through cards). Keep an eye on industry news, regulatory updates, and card scheme fraud advisories. Proactively share relevant updates with the team and contribute ideas to refine Cardaq’s monitoring techniques and internal processes.

Required Qualifications & Experience

·Education:Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Business, Criminal Justice, or a related field (or equivalent work experience). Relevant professional certifications such asACAMS(Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist) or similar are a plus.

·Experience:3 - 5+ years of hands-on experience in fraud detection, transaction monitoring, or AML compliance roles within financial services (ideally in a fintech, payments, or banking environment). Proven experience handling both fraud investigations and AML alert reviews from start to finish is essential. Experience drafting SARs or investigative reports as part of previous roles is highly valued.

·Systems Knowledge:Practical experience with automated fraud and AML monitoring tools is required. Familiarity with platforms like Mastercard Brighterion, Visa Cybersource Decision Manager,Finchecker, or comparable transaction monitoring systems is strongly preferred. You should be comfortable navigating case management systems, triaging large volumes of alerts, and tweaking rule parameters or query filters to aid investigations.

·Regulatory Knowledge:Strong knowledge of key financial crime regulations and guidelines, including UK anti-money laundering regulations, the Proceeds of Crime Act, and relevant FATF recommendations. Understanding of card network fraud programs and dispute/chargeback processes. Awareness of obligations around suspicious activity reporting and confidentiality requirements.

·Analytical Skills:Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills with keen attention to detail. Capable of interpreting large datasets of transactions to spot anomalies or trends. Able to think analytically under pressure, dissect complex transaction patterns, and distinguish legitimate customer behaviour from illicit activity.

·Communication:Strong written and verbal communication skills. Ability to write clear and well-structured investigative reports and SAR narratives that convey the story and risk of a case. Confident in explaining complex fraud/AML issues and presenting investigation findings to management or during internal discussions.

·Organization:Highly organized in managing a queue of alerts and investigations, able to juggle multiple cases and priorities without sacrificing quality. Meets deadlines for investigations and reporting. Demonstrates a high level of integrity and professionalism, handling sensitive information with discretion and following all confidentiality protocols.

Desired Skills & Competencies

·Technical Proficiency:Advanced Excel skills for data analysis (e.g. using formulas, pivot tables, data visualization to analyse transaction data). Experience with data query languages like SQL or analytics tools is an advantage. Familiarity with machine learning-driven fraud detection approaches is a plus, as our systems incorporate AI/ML for decisioning.

·Critical & Strategic Thinking:Innate ability to think both like a fraudster (to anticipate their next move) and like a compliance officer (to enforce controls). Proactive in identifying patterns or control gaps and suggesting new monitoring rules or fraud prevention strategies. Not afraid to question anomalies and dig deeper until you find an answer.

·Adaptability:Comfortable working in a dynamic, fast-paced fintech environment. Adapts quickly to new policies, products, or technologies that impact the risk landscape. Willingness to continuously learn and keep pace with changes in regulatory expectations or card scheme rules.

·Team Player:Collaborative attitude with the ability to work effectively in a small, close-knit team and across departments. Willingness to support colleagues and share knowledge. Open to receiving and providing feedback. You take initiative in mentoring junior analysts and contribute to a positive team culture focused on vigilance and continuous improvement.

·Professionalism:Self-motivated and dependable, with a strong sense of responsibility towards protecting customers and the business. Maintains composure and sound judgment when handling potentially high-stakes fraud or AML cases. Upholds the highest ethical standards and serves as an example of thoroughness and dedication in the fight against financial crime.

Cardaq offers a comprehensive benefits package including private healthcare, pension contribution, paid holidays, and professional development support. We also provide flexibility through our hybrid work model and other wellness perks.

Seniority level

• Seniority level

  Mid-Senior level

Employment type

• Employment type

  Full-time

Job function

• Job function

  Business Development and Sales

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