Compliance Operations Specialist

Since we opened our doors in 2009, the world of commerce has evolved immensely, and so has Square. After enabling anyone to take payments and never miss a sale, we saw sellers stymied by disparate, outmoded products and tools that wouldn’t work together.

So we expanded into software and started building integrated, omnichannel solutions – to help sellers sell online, manage inventory, offer buy now, pay later functionality, book appointments, engage loyal buyers, and hire and pay staff. Across it all, we’ve embedded financial services tools at the point of sale, so merchants can access a business loan and manage their cash flow in one place. Afterpay furthers our goal to provide omnichannel tools that unlock meaningful value and growth, enabling sellers to capture the next generation shopper, increase order sizes, and compete at a larger scale.

Today, we are a partner to sellers of all sizes – large, enterprise-scale businesses with complex operations, sellers just starting, as well as merchants who began selling with Square and have grown larger over time. As our sellers grow, so do our solutions. There is a massive opportunity in front of us. We’re building a significant, meaningful, and lasting business, and we are helping sellers worldwide do the same.

The Role

The mission of the Compliance Operations team at Square Japan is to perform the day-to-day operational activities associated with regulatory, payment network, and partnership requirements. The team is responsible for monitoring and investigating potential compliance concerns, including anti-money laundering (AML), sanctions, fraud, prohibited business activity, and violations of Square's Merchant User Agreement.

The Compliance Analyst will conduct investigations, perform merchant transaction monitoring reviews, support compliance monitoring programs, and collaborate with internal and external stakeholders to ensure compliance with applicable Japanese laws, regulations, payment network requirements, and company policies.

This role is fully remote based in Japan only.

You Will

Operations & Investigations

• Monitor and investigate compliance-related alerts generated through transaction monitoring systems and manual reviews.
• Analyze merchant transaction activity, payment flows, customer relationships, and business operations to identify unusual or suspicious behavior.
• Conduct investigations related to anti-money laundering (AML), fraud, sanctions, prohibited activities, financial crime risks, and violations of Square policies.
• Verify merchant information and perform onboarding and ongoing due diligence reviews in accordance with company policies and regulatory requirements.
• Document investigative findings and make risk-based recommendations regarding account actions and escalations.
• Conduct public record research and open-source intelligence reviews to support investigations.
• Interact with merchants in Japanese and English to obtain information, communicate compliance requirements, and support remediation efforts.
• Ensure operational reviews and investigations are completed within established service level agreements (SLAs).
• Communicate with payment network partners, banking partners, and other corporate stakeholders to ensure compliance monitoring activities align with applicable requirements.

You Have

• Professional fluency in both Japanese and English (written and verbal).
• Bachelor's degree or equivalent professional experience.
• Minimum 3 years of experience in compliance operations, transaction monitoring, AML investigations, fraud investigations, risk management, or policy implementation within a financial institution, payment service provider, fintech company, or regulated financial services organization.
• Strong understanding of Japanese financial crime compliance requirements, including:
• Experience conducting customer due diligence (CDD), Know Your Customer (KYC), transaction monitoring, and suspicious activity investigations.
• Knowledge of Japanese payment industry regulations, merchant acquiring requirements, and payment network rules.
• Strong investigative skills, including familiarity with public record research and investigative databases.
• Strong transaction analysis skills that apply across numerous financial products and services in complex scenarios.
• Ability to identify and assess suspicious activity, financial crime risks, and policy violations.
• Strong judgment and ability to make risk-based decisions in complex investigative scenarios.
• Excellent written communication and case documentation skills in both Japanese and English.
• Ability to work in a fast-paced and dynamic environment with a drive to deliver outstanding results.
• Based in Japan.

Nice to Have

• Experience supporting regulatory examinations, audits, or law enforcement requests in Japan.
• Experience supporting suspicious transaction reporting processes and financial crime investigations.
• Experience working with merchant acquiring, payment processing, fintech, or banking products.
• Familiarity with sanctions screening systems, AML monitoring systems, and fraud detection tools.
• Experience working directly with payment networks, banking partners, regulators, or law enforcement agencies.
• CAMS, CFE, CFCS, or similar compliance certifications.

We’re working to build a more inclusive economy where our customers have equal access to opportunity, and we strive to live by these same values in building our workplace. Block is a proud equal opportunity employer. We work hard to evaluate all employees and job applicants consistently, based solely on the core competencies required of the role at hand, and without regard to any legally protected class.

We believe in being fair, and are committed to an inclusive interview experience, including providing reasonable accommodations to disabled applicants throughout the recruitment process. We encourage applicants to share any needed accommodations with their recruiter, who will treat these requests as confidentially as possible. Want to learn more about what we’re doing to build an inclusive workplace? Check out our Inclusion & Diversity page

Application Guidelines

Candidates may submit up to 9 active applications within a 60-day period. Reapplications to the same role are accepted 90 days after a previous application has been reviewed.

Use of AI in Our Hiring Process

We may use automated AI tools to evaluate job applications for efficiency and consistency. These tools comply with local regulations, including bias audits, and we handle all personal data in accordance with state and local privacy laws. 

Contact us here with hiring practice or data usage questions.

Every benefit we offer is designed with one goal: empowering you to do the best work of your career while building the life you want. Remote work, medical insurance, flexible time off, retirement savings plans, and modern family planning are just some of our offering. Check out our other benefits at Block.

Block, Inc. (NYSE: XYZ) builds technology to increase access to the global economy. Each of our brands unlocks different aspects of the economy for more people. Square makes commerce and financial services accessible to sellers. Cash App is the easy way to spend, send, and store money. Afterpay is transforming the way customers manage their spending over time. TIDAL is a music platform that empowers artists to thrive as entrepreneurs. Bitkey is a simple self-custody wallet built for bitcoin. Proto is a suite of bitcoin mining products and services. Together, we’re helping build a financial system that is open to everyone.

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