Card Fraud Forensic Investigator at Equity Bank Kenya

• The Fraud Investigations Manager will play a crucial role in conducting thorough investigations into potentially fraudulent card and merchant activities, suspicious transactions and compliance breaches, to safeguard the integrity of the Bank and to mitigate risks.

The Key Responsibilities

• Card Fraud Investigations
• Conduct end-to-end forensic investigations of card fraud cases, including debit, credit, and prepaid card transactions.
• Analyze transaction data to identify fraud typologies, trends, and root causes.
• Review card authorization logs, merchant data, chargebacks, and customer activity to establish fraud events and timelines.
• Identify control weaknesses, system vulnerabilities, and process gaps contributing to card fraud incidents.
• Prepare detailed investigation reports with clear findings, loss assessments, and actionable recommendations.
• Support chargeback management and dispute resolution processes in line with card scheme rules (e.g., Visa, Mastercard, AmEx, China Union Pay).
• Risk Management & Control Framework
• Identify emerging fraud typologies and vulnerabilities impacting card portfolios.
• Recommend and implement process, control, and policy enhancements to reduce fraud exposure.
• Ensure effective escalation and reporting of material fraud risks and incidents.
• Collaborate with Fraud Risk, Cybersecurity, IT, Operations, and Compliance teams to enhance card fraud detection and prevention.
• Liaise with law enforcement agencies, card schemes, and external stakeholders when required.
• Monitor emerging card fraud trends and recommend enhancements to detection rules, controls, and customer awareness initiatives.
• Ensure investigations are conducted in compliance with regulatory requirements, internal policies, and data protection standards.
• Stakeholder & Governance Engagement
• Partner with internal stakeholders including Card Operations, Customer experience, Compliance, Legal, and Risk.
• Engage with external stakeholders such as card schemes, merchants, acquiring banks, and law enforcement where required.
• Contribute to fraud governance forums and risk committees.
• Data Analytics, Management Information & Continuous Improvement
•  Analyze fraud trends, losses, and investigation outcomes for management information.
•  Produce regular reporting for senior management and risk committees.
• Drive continuous improvement through automation, tooling enhancements, and process optimization.
• Compliance & Governance
• Manage complaint escalations relating to card fraud investigations and outcomes.
• Support internal and external audits, regulatory reviews, and card-scheme assessments
• Ensure adherence to internal policies, regulatory guidelines, and industry best practices.
• Lead audits (internal/external), risk assessments, and compliance reviews related to card and merchant fraud.   
• Leadership & Stakeholder Management
• Lead, coach, and develop card fraud investigators and card analysts.
• Promote a strong risk-aware and customer-focused culture within the team.
• Maintain high investigation quality standards through regular case reviews and quality assurance frameworks.

Qualifications 

Experience Requirement:

• 5 years’ experience in card fraud investigation, financial crime, forensic analysis, or fraud risk management within a bank, fintech, payment service provider, or card processing environment.
• Proven hands-on experience investigating debit, credit, and prepaid card fraud, including card-present and card-not-present fraud typologies.
• Demonstrated experience conducting end-to-end forensic investigations, including transaction analysis, root cause determination, and loss quantification.
• Experience working with fraud monitoring systems, card management platforms, transaction monitoring tools, and data analytics solutions.
• Working knowledge of regulatory requirements, internal controls, and card scheme compliance standards relevant to fraud investigations.
• Experience collaborating with internal stakeholders (Fraud Risk, Operations, IT, Compliance) and, where applicable, engaging with law enforcement and external partners.
• Strong experience preparing clear, accurate investigation reports for management, audit, and regulatory purposes.

Academic Qualifications & Certifications

• Bachelor’s degree in finance, Accounting, Information Systems, Criminology, or a related field
• Over 5 years’ experience in card fraud investigations, forensics, or financial crime
• Professional certifications such as CFE, CAMS will be an added advantage.
• Experience within banking, financial services, or payment service providers preferred.