Lead financial operations for Plaid's UK/EU entities, ensuring regulatory compliance, managing financial reporting, audits, and safeguarding controls.
We believe that the way people interact with their finances will drastically improve in the next few years. We’re dedicated to empowering this transformation by building the tools and experiences that thousands of developers use to create their own products. Plaid powers the tools millions of people rely on to live a healthier financial life. We work with thousands of companies like Venmo, SoFi, several of the Fortune 500, and many of the largest banks to make it easy for people to connect their financial accounts to the apps and services they want to use. Plaid’s network covers 12,000 financial institutions across the US, Canada, UK and Europe. Founded in 2013, the company is headquartered in San Francisco with offices in New York, Washington D.C., London and Amsterdam.
The team is responsible for the financial management, regulatory reporting, prudential oversight, and safeguarding of customer funds for Plaid’s UK and EU regulated entities. This includes accounting, capital and liquidity monitoring, treasury operations, financial audits, compliance with FCA/DNB requirements, and ensuring robust controls to protect customer funds and maintain regulatory approval to operate.
This new role will be the first dedicated in-region Finance Manager & Safeguarding Officer for UK/EU and will operate as the primary on-the-ground owner for our UK and BV entities finance and compliance matters. The role will initially report directly to the US Head of Accounting and work closely with the US Head of GL Accounting, as well as our local UK and BV service providers and our Legal and Compliance teams, to support a smooth EMI application process and ensure ongoing financial and regulatory compliance. Successful candidates will have a strong understanding of FCA (UK) and DNB (Netherlands) financial reporting and capital adequacy requirements for EMIs. Familiarity with safeguarding regulations, own funds calculation, and financial compliance controls under the Electronic Money Regulations (UK) and Electronic Money Directives(EU). Experience with financial reporting, audits, and reconciliations in a regulated financial institution.
Responsibilities
- Lead all financial operations for UK/EU entities, including accounting oversight, reconciliations, internal controls, and management reporting.
- Prepare and maintain monthly/quarterly management accounts, prudential metrics, and capital adequacy reporting.
- Coordinate annual financial audits across jurisdictions and ensure audit readiness.
- Ensure consistent application of accounting and prudential standards across UK/EU entities.
- Manage outsourced UK/BV accounting service providers and partner closely with the US Accounting team to ensure a timely and accurate month-end close.
- Oversee treasury and liquidity management, ensuring adequate funding and strict segregation of client and corporate funds.
- Design, operate, and maintain the safeguarding control framework, including daily safeguarding reconciliations and timely investigation of discrepancies.
- Maintain safeguarding and trust accounts with regulated credit institutions and ensure breaches are logged and escalated appropriately.
- Prepare and coordinate the annual independent safeguarding audit and track implementation of recommendations.
- Produce and submit all required regulatory returns, including FCA REP021, FSA056/057 EMI returns, and DNB prudential reports.
- Develop MI and dashboards for senior management and the Board on safeguarding effectiveness, liquidity, and financial soundness.
- Support annual wind-down planning, operational resilience testing, and broader prudential compliance requirements.
- Work closely with Legal, Compliance, and Risk to embed strong financial and safeguarding controls across processes.
- Liaise with banking partners, auditors, and UK/EU regulatory authorities on financial, prudential, and safeguarding matters.
- Support cross-border initiatives to ensure consistent safeguarding, liquidity, and prudential practices across the group.
Qualifications
- Minimum 8 years’ experience in finance, accounting, or treasury within a fintech, payments, or EMI environment.
- Experience working in a firm authorised by both the FCA and DNB (or other EU regulators).
- In-depth understanding of the Electronic Money Regulations (2011), Payment Services Regulations (2017), and equivalent EU frameworks under the PSD2/PSD3 and Wft.
- Proven experience managing safeguarding reconciliations, prudential calculations, and regulatory returns.
- Qualified accountant (ACA, ACCA, CIMA, RA, or equivalent).
- Strong understanding of multi-currency safeguarding and cross-border finance.
- Excellent analytical and reporting skills; confident liaising with regulators and auditors.
- Exceptional attention to detail, integrity, and accountability.
- [Nice to have] Practical involvement in an EMI licence application or safeguarding audit.
- [Nice to have] Knowledge of wind-down planning, operational resilience, and capital adequacy frameworks.
- [Nice to have] Experience managing banking relationships and payments infrastructure partners.
Our mission at Plaid is to unlock financial freedom for everyone. To support that mission, we seek to build a diverse team of driven individuals who care deeply about making the financial ecosystem more equitable. We recognize that strong qualifications can come from both prior work experiences and lived experiences. We encourage you to apply to a role even if your experience doesn't fully match the job description. We are always looking for team members that will bring something unique to Plaid!
Plaid is proud to be an equal opportunity employer and values diversity at our company. We do not discriminate based on race, color, national origin, ethnicity, religion or religious belief, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, transgender status, sexual stereotypes, age, military or veteran status, disability, or other applicable legally protected characteristics. We also consider qualified applicants with criminal histories, consistent with applicable federal, state, and local laws. Plaid is committed to providing reasonable accommodations for candidates with disabilities in our recruiting process. If you need any assistance with your application or interviews due to a disability, please let us know at [email protected].
Please review our Candidate Privacy Notice here.
Top Skills
Electronic Money Regulations
Payment Services Regulations
Regulatory Reporting Tools
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