Complaints Handling – Legal Advisor

Position Overview

We are seeking a highly experienced and strategic Complaints Handling – Legal Advisor to join our bank’s leadership team. This senior position plays a critical role in overseeing all legal and compliance aspects related to customer and merchant complaints across our full suite of payment solutions, including card payments, digital wallets, merchant services, wire transfers, and alternative payment methods.

The ideal candidate will have strong expertise in banking compliance, a thorough understanding of regulatory frameworks, and a proven background in managing complex complaint cases within the financial sector. This role requires a proactive professional who ensures full adherence to legal and regulatory requirements while driving process improvements to reduce future risk and enhance customer experience.

Key Responsibilities

Complaint Management

• Lead the intake, assessment, investigation, and resolution of all client complaints across payment channels.
• Ensure complaints are addressed within regulatory timelines and in accordance with internal policies as well as the specific requirements of referring financial institutions.
• Serve as the primary escalation point for complex or high-risk complaint cases.

Compliance Oversight

• Monitor and enforce compliance with local and international banking regulations, particularly those governing payment processing, consumer protection, and AML/CFT obligations.
• Collaborate with internal stakeholders (Operations, Customer Service, Risk, etc.) to maintain complaint-handling processes that are compliant, efficient, and customer-focused.

Legal Advisory

• Provide expert legal guidance on consumer rights, merchant agreements, payment regulations, and regulatory expectations.
• Draft and review legal correspondence, position papers, and responses to regulators or legal claims stemming from customer complaints.

Policy & Process Improvement

• Develop, implement, and enhance policies and procedures to strengthen the complaints management function and ensure regulatory compliance.
• Analyze complaint trends and root causes to propose and execute preventive actions and systemic improvements.

Qualifications & Experience

• Minimum 4–5 years of experience in legal or compliance roles within the banking or financial services sector, with a focus on payment services and complaint handling.
• Strong understanding of relevant banking regulations, including consumer protection laws, PSD2, EMI/PI regulations, AML/CFT laws, and applicable local regulatory frameworks.
• Proven experience handling client complaints, conducting investigations, and responding to regulatory inquiries.
• Prior experience interacting with regulatory authorities is highly desirable.