Officer, Merchant Underwriter at Stratostaff

RESPONSIBILITIES

Merchant Risk Assessment & Onboarding

• Conduct thorough KYC/KYB checks (CR12, KRA PIN, Director IDs).
• Analyze financial statements and bank records to determine financial viability.
• Perform targeted digital audits or site visits for high-risk merchants or those with historical chargeback ratios exceeding 1%.
• Review and assign accurate Merchant Category Codes (MCC) based on risk profiles.
• Coordinate with Risk and Compliance departments to ensure all anti-money laundering (AML) and fraud checks are cleared.

Decision Making & Risk Mitigation

• Approve, decline, or recommend conditional approvals for merchant accounts.
• Establish transaction limits, settlement cycles, and rolling reserves.
• Negotiate risk terms with Sales teams without compromising bank security.

Compliance & Regulatory Oversight

• Screen applicants against AML/CFT sanctions lists (FRC, OFAC, UN) and MATCH / VMSS.
• Ensure merchant compliance with PCI DSS data security standards.
• Maintain detailed audit trails for every underwriting decision.

 Portfolio Monitoring & Reporting

• Monitor for "Transaction Laundering" and suspicious volume spikes.
• Investigate accounts with high chargeback ratios and initiate terminations if needed.
• Escalate high-risk trends to the Manager, Card Operations, Manager, Specialist Merchant Sales and Head Card, Payments
• Monitor dormant Terminals and recommend actions to various sales teams and Merchant analysts

KEY RELATIONSHIP

• Internal: Card Operations Team, Merchant Acquiring team, E-commerce team, Sales, Fraud Investigation Unit, Finance, Legal, and IT.
• External: Central Bank of Kenya (CBK), FRC, Card Schemes (Visa, MasterCard, CUP, Payment Processors, Merchants (as needed) Payment Processors, Merchants (as needed), and Merchants

Requirements
QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

• Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Economics, Business, Law, or a related field.
• Minimum 2-3 years’ experience in risk management or merchant underwriting.
• Deep knowledge of Kenyan regulatory frameworks (POCAMLA, CBK Guidelines).

SKILLS AND COMPETENCIES

• Strong analytical and investigative skills.
• High attention to detail and accuracy.
• Proficiency in risk-scoring models and data analysis tools.
• Ability to work independently and meet tight onboarding deadlines.
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills.