Head of Compliance & MLRO – UAE

About the role

PayerMax, a global payment service provider operating in more than 80 countries, is expanding its footprint across the Middle East. The company seeks a senior compliance leader to head its UAE operations and lay the groundwork for regional growth.

Key responsibilities

• Serve as the primary liaison with the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) and the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), managing licensing, examinations and regulatory road‑maps.
• Act as the statutory Money Laundering Reporting Officer (MLRO), handling SAR/STR filings and AML/CFT reporting obligations.
• Coordinate compliance reporting for banking partners and card schemes (Visa, Mastercard) to maintain operational stability.
• Oversee the compliance framework for on‑shore merchant acquiring, including onboarding, transaction monitoring and risk assessments.
• Design scalable compliance policies and procedures that can be rolled out across additional MENA markets.

Required profile

• 10+ years of compliance/AML experience in payments, fintech or banking.
• Proven track record of direct interaction with the CBUAE and familiarity with licensing frameworks such as SVF/RPSC.
• Experience managing compliance across multiple GCC/MENA jurisdictions is a strong advantage.
• Professional certification (CAMS, ICA or equivalent) is mandatory.
• Fluent English; Arabic is a significant advantage.

Required skills

What we offer

• Opportunity to own the UAE market and later expand to a regional compliance leadership role.
• High impact position shaping the regulatory foundation for a fast‑growing fintech.