Compliance Director, High-Risk

About Finix

Finix is building the global operating system for fintech, starting with payments. From startups to publicly traded companies, Finix processes tens of billions of dollars annually both in-store and online. Finix was founded in 2015 and is headquartered in San Francisco.

To date Finix has raised over $200M, including a $75M Series C led by Acrew Capital and Lightspeed Venture Partners and backed by American Express Ventures, Bain Capital Ventures, Homebrew, Inspired Capital, Visa, and others

About the Role:

Finix is hiring a Compliance Director to be the compliance partner to our business teams on the front end: new merchants, new partners, and new sectors. This role will report to our Head of Compliance & Regulatory Counsel and will work side by side with Sales, Partnerships, Underwriting, and Payment Operations to bring on new business quickly and with a growth mindset, while always staying within applicable law, card network rules, and sponsor bank requirements.

The initial focus will be gaming and gambling, followed by the other high-risk sectors we support, such as nutraceuticals, wellness, CBD, and digital products and services. You will shape underwriting standards, build the procedures and guides that make these sectors workable, and give business teams clear, timely answers on what we can do, under what conditions, and what we can’t. You will also support the Head of Compliance in guiding and developing our Compliance Operations team.

• Serve as the primary compliance partner to Sales, Partnerships, and Underwriting, giving fast, practical, well-documented guidance on prospects and deals
• Lead compliance strategy for our gaming and gambling vertical, including iGaming, sports wagering, sweepstakes, and predictive markets, with state-by-state and provincial regulatory analysis, licensing and registration requirements, and merchant and vendor eligibility standards
• Develop and maintain underwriting standards, risk-tiering, approval gates, and escalation paths for high-risk sectors suc as nutraceuticals, wellness, CBD, and digital products and services, so that low-risk applicants move quickly and higher-risk applicants receive appropriate scrutiny
• Lead compliance evaluation of new sectors, business models, and structures (e.g., ISV, marketplace, and merchant-of-record models), performing market and regulatory research and setting minimum requirements before launch
• Write and maintain procedures, onboarding guides, and underwriting playbooks for high-risk and restricted verticals
• Translate laws, card network rules, and sponsor bank requirements into clear guidance for Product, Sales, Technology, and Operations teams
• Work closely with Payment Operations, including Underwriting and Partnerships, to streamline onboarding workflows and remove bottlenecks without weakening controls
• Guide and develop the Compliance Operations team through coaching, review of work product, and clear standards for quality and documentation
• Support sponsor bank and network relationships on onboarding and sector-related matters, including approvals, due diligence requests, and program reviews
• Support the AML/BSA, sanctions, and fraud programs from the business side, including KYC/KYB standards and escalation of risk signals from onboarding and monitoring
• Contribute to audit and regulatory exam readiness, policy and procedure updates, and remediation of findings tied to onboarding and merchant risk
• Monitor regulatory and network rule changes (US, Canada, state and provincial) that affect target sectors and update guidance accordingly, working with external counsel where appropriate
• Prepare clear, decision-ready summaries for senior management, sponsor banks, and partners

• 7+ years of experience in…