Head of FinCrime Ops, Pennylane
Salary not provided
+ Equity components aligned with impact and responsibility
Senior and Expert level
Paris
More information about location
Financial operating system for European SMEs
Open for applications
Financial operating system for European SMEs
501-1000 employees
FintechB2BBookkeepingSaaSAccountingAutomation
Open for applications
Salary not provided
+ Equity components aligned with impact and responsibility
Senior and Expert level
Paris
More information about location
501-1000 employees
FintechB2BBookkeepingSaaSAccountingAutomation
Company mission
To build the leading financial tool for European SMEs.
Role
Who you are
- 8+ years in financial services operations, ideally in a regulated fintech, bank, or payment institution
- 3+ years managing LoD1 operations (KYB/KYC, transaction monitoring, fraud & risk) in a regulated environment
- Direct experience with ACPR or similar EU regulator (AMF, BaFin, FCA): licence application, audits, reporting
- Track record in scaling environment
- Hands-on experience implementing and optimizing LCB-FT tooling
- Experience working under dual reporting (operational + compliance) in a 3 Lines of Defense model
- Bonus: experience in credit operations (Société de financement scope) or BaaS partnerships
- Deep knowledge of French AML/CTF regulations: ACPR requirements, TRACFIN obligations, FATF standards
- Operational expertise in KYB/KYC workflows, transaction monitoring rules (scenario design, thresholds), fraud typologies
- Data-driven approach: proficient in analytics tools (SQL, BI dashboards), able to interpret operational metrics and drive decisions
- Tooling evaluation and implementation: ability to assess vendors, negotiate contracts, lead integrations with Tech teams
- Process automation and AI: understanding of ML-based fraud detection, RPA for document processing, chatbots for L1 support
- Risk appetite calibration: able to balance compliance rigor with operational efficiency without compromising risk posture
- Strong leadership and ability to influence
- Excellent communication skills across all levels (Board, regulators, operational teams)
- Rigorous, principled, and accountable
- Pragmatic, impact‑driven approach, capable of operating under strong regulatory constraints without blocking innovation
- Comfortable operating in a dual posture of operations and advisory, with clear boundaries between the two
- Strong pedagogy: able to explain complex operations to product managers, engineers and founders in simple, actionable terms
- Challenging yet constructive: comfortable questioning senior leaders, while remaining solution‑oriented and business‑minded
- Languages: Fluent French and English are mandatory
- Based in France, with a strong preference for Paris
- We know that some people are less likely to apply than others, if they don’t feel like they meet the full list of criteria
- If you’re hesitating, we encourage you to apply : who knows, it might be the start of a meaningful and long-lasting collaboration
What the job involves
- Reporting directly to the COO, you will be responsible for the application of the company LCB-FT and risk policies on both payment & credit scopes.
- You will be monitoring and optimizing the performance of the first line of defense, including onboarding, transaction monitoring, fraud & risk
- We are currently operating approximately 30k business accounts under a BaaS model. The role of Financial Services in Pennylane’s strategy is set to grow, both in terms of revenue and product contribution, to serve our 750k+ current customer base
- As such, we are initiating a process to get licensed as Etablissement de paiement et Société de financement to meet our current functional scope at the very least. Our ambition is to start onboarding new customers by early 2027 before starting migrating existing customers
- To meet this ambition, we are starting to hire our Tech, Product, Compliance and Ops leaders
- Build & lead three teams of analysts (KYB, Transaction monitoring, Risk & Fraud)
- Deploy LCB-FT policies & control their proper application by your teams
- Contribute to KYB & TM tooling implementation & team training
- Optimize the efficiency of your teams and tools, leveraging AI and automating processes while protecting at all cost our risk appetite
- Work in close collaboration with the Compliance & Fraud & Risk teams of the LoD2
- This is a greenfield project with high autonomy and responsibility, direct exposure to regulators, and the opportunity to shape the operations of a fast-growing fintech with a robust pre-existing customer base
- Phase 1 (pre-licence & migration, 2026-2027) :
- Work closely with the COO & Strategic Project Manager to support licence application and customer migration from BaaS to EP
- Focus 100% on payment operations (KYB, TM, Fraud) and building LoD1 infrastructure
- Phase 2 (post-licence, 2027+) :
- Progressively integrate credit operations (credit assessment & decisioning) as the Société de Financement scope ramps up
- Scale LoD1 to support both payment and credit activities across a growing customer base
- Build and scale LoD1 from 30k to 300k+ accounts within 24 months post-licence
- Recruit, onboard and train 3 operational teams: KYB/KYC L1 (target: 15-20 FTE), Transaction Monitoring L1 (target: 10-15 FTE), Fraud & Risk L1 (target: 5-8 FTE)
- Define team structures, roles, responsibilities, and career paths aligned with regulatory requirements
- Establish SLAs and performance frameworks for each team
- Define collaboration models with Pennylane SAS (agent of Pennylane Financial Services) and with the LoD2
- Own the full operational lifecycle: onboarding → transaction monitoring → fraud detection → offboarding
- Manage budget and forecasting for LoD1 operations (headcount, tools, training)
- Deploy and enforce LCB-FT policies defined by translating regulatory obligations into daily operations
- Ensure 100% compliance with KYB/KYC workflows: customer risk classification, high-risk escalations, PEP screening, sanctions checks
- Execute transaction monitoring rules as defined by Compliance, escalate L2 alerts to TM L2 within SLA
- Apply fraud detection policies and manage escalation to Fraud & Risk L2
- Challenge policy applicability when operational friction is excessive; propose pragmatic adjustments to LoD2 while maintaining risk appetite
- Apply credit & merchant risk policies as per our risk classification
- Own vendors relationship for LoD1 tooling (SLAs monitoring, escalations, improvements)
- Deploy AI-powered automation on repetitive tasks: document verification, anomaly detection, alert triage
- Own back-office access management for all LoD1 teams (suspend, block, temporary wallets)
- Contribute to design the back-office of your teams by collaborating with a dedicated Product squad
- Own monitoring & reporting KPIs : definition of metrics, development of performance dashboard & reporting
- Identify bottlenecks in workflows and tooling and implement corrective actions
- Implement QA framework (random sampling, calibration sessions, peer reviews…)
- Run continuous improvement cycles by implementing red-bin processes & collaborating with LoD2
- Benchmark performance against industry standards (other EPs, fintechs)
- Leverage data analytics to predict operational load and adjust team capacity proactively
- Consider outsourcing to BPOs and own the integration & deployment of this strategy
- Train LoD1 teams on LCB-FT requirements, tooling, escalation procedures
- Translate complex compliance requirements into simple, actionable guidance for product, business & tech counterparts
- Act as operational advisor to Product on new features: assess feasibility, identify compliance risks, propose mitigations
- Develop training materials: playbooks, SOPs, decision trees for analysts
- Participate in quarterly risk committees with LoD2 and Executive Committee
- Maintain audit trails for all operational decisions (KYB rejections, TM escalations, fraud cases) to ensure regulatory traceability
- Coordinate with LoD2 on controls testing: provide evidence, remediate gaps identified by internal audits
- Support Lod2 on regulatory reporting (incidents escalation, statistics, potential support to LoD2 analysts for SAR)
- Defines & executes operational crisis protocols, post-mortem analysis & remediation plans
- Recruit and lead a multi-layer organization of ~80 FTEs across KYB L1, TM L1, Fraud & Risk L1 within 18 months
- Build your N-1 lines with dedicated performance framework and dedicated team cultures
- Foster a culture of rigor, accountability, and continuous learning
- Ensure work-life balance despite operational intensity; implement shift rotations, on-call schedules
- Develop talent internally: promote high performers, create senior analyst / team lead roles
- Collaborate cross-functionally with Tech, Product, Compliance, and Risk teams
- Accompany licence passporting to other European markets, starting with Germany : own organization evolution, localization and process adaptation
- Plan & accompany customers migration out of the BaaS model together with the Strategic Project Manager overseeing our licence project (knowledge transfer, incident management, coordination)
- Deploy credit risk policies defined by LoD2 across all credit products (wallet financing, invoice financing, BNPL)
- Manage credit origination workflows
- Monitor active credit portfolio by tracking repayment schedules & low signals
- Challenge risk policies when operational friction blocks growth
- Oversee credit risk performance and implement credit decisioning tools
Application process
- HR interview with Lucie (Senior Recruiter)
- Who interview Stanislas de Villoutreys (Head of Legal, Compliance and Risk) and Maxime Leclercq (General Manager Financial Services)
- Case Stanislas and Eric Scaramozzino (VP Strategic Initiatives)
- Team Fit with Tiffany Dubois (Strategic Project Manager) and Hippolyte Prost (Associate Team Lead Strategy & Operations)
- Last round with Felix Blossier (COO and cofounder) and Guillaume Nicolle (Lead Internal Control & Risk)
Our take
In multiple mature markets, companies have been using QuickBooks, Xero and other SaaS solutions for accounting, but it is a fragmented industry with each country using its own software solution. In France, there is no definitive SaaS solution for accounting.
Pennylane wants to overhaul current tools and modernise the tech stack of accounting firms, by connecting directly with third-party services that hold valuable information. Accounting firms can use Pennylane collaboratively by accessing the platform to centralise receipts, create invoices and automate tasks. Instead of sending information back and forth with spreadsheets and photo attachments, both clients and accounting firms can interact directly on the platform.
Pennylane has a significant market opportunity ahead, with an ambitious goal to become the preferred management platform for European companies. The company already claims an impressive number of customers and strong backing which will allow it to further develop its platform and expand to other markets in Europe.
Freddie
Company Specialist at Welcome to the Jungle
Insights
Top investors
25% employee growth in 12 months
Company
Funding (last 2 of 8 rounds)
Jan 2026
$200m
SERIES E
Apr 2025
$85.7m
LATE VC
Total funding: $461.3m
Company benefits
- Work remotely from anywhere in Europe, as long as your contract allows you to
- Company shares to enjoy a piece of the success story you're building with us
- A budget to turn your home into a more comfortable workspace, as well as a monthly allowance to work from a coworking space whenever you feel like it
- Access to 8000 fitness spaces in Europe and more than 300 activities related to wellness through our partner Gymlib
- Access to Busuu to perfect your english or your french
- The latest Apple equipment
- Be part of a vibrant social community: we do lots of sports together (running, climbing...), we love to hang out and have a drink together (Thursday afterwork drinks on our rooftop is a usual thing)
- Twice-a-year company seminars
- Wonderful office in the center of Paris
- 10 additional days off (to the 25 standard ones) for those based in France
- Lunch credits (Swile card) to buy your favorite food every day, for those based in France
- Great healthcare cover (Alan Blue) to take care of yourself and your family, for those based in France
Company HQ
Chaussée-d'Antin, Paris, France
Leadership
Arthur Waller
(Co-founder & CEO)Founded PriceMatch in 2012, and progressed from Product Owner to Senior Product Owner at Booking.com between 2015-2018. Co-founded Pennylane in 2020.
Felix Blossier
(Co-founder & COO)Founding Partner of PriceMatch in 2012 and experience as Director General of the French Treasury from 2018-2020. Co-founded Pennylane in 2020.
Tancrède Besnard
(Co-founder & CPO)Co-founded PriceMatch in 2012. Experience as Product Manager for Booking.com between 2016-2018, and current advisor for Predictus. Co-founded Pennylane in 2020.
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