The posting
About this role:
Wells Fargo is seeking a Lead Financial Crimes Officer to join the Payments Advisory & Oversight team within Financial Crimes Risk Management (FCRM). The Lead Financial Crimes Officer will serve as a subject matter expert, supporting enterprise-wide initiatives to enhance payment transparency, data integrity, and financial crime compliance. This role partners with Product, Operations, Technology, and data governance teams, to ensure end to-end payment flows comply with regulatory expectations (e.g., FATF 16, Wolfsberg, FinCEN Travel Rule) and support effective sanction screening and transaction monitoring among other financial crime controls. The Senior Lead also acts as a bridge between financial crime controls and payment operations, contributing directly to the design, testing, and documentation of enterprise payment control frameworks. Learn more about the career areas and business divisions at wellsfargojobs.com.
In this role, you will:
- Participate and advise on gap assessments and control testing related to Travel Rule, message completeness, and beneficiary/debtor data requirements.
- Support development of the Payment Control Architecture (including inputs to RFPs, control libraries, and data validation routines).
- Contribute to the design of end-to-end payment transparency controls aligned with enterprise policy.
- Document control points, dependencies, and validation steps across payment processing, data lineage, and sanctions & monitoring systems.
- Partner with the Chief Data Office and Technology teams to trace payment data lineage for key financial crime use cases.
- Provide SME input into policy and procedure updates covering Travel Rule and Wolfsberg Payment Transparency, ISO 20022 adoption, and data validation.
- Review global payment messaging changes (SWIFT, CBPR+, Fedwire, ISO migration) and assess implications for AML & Sanctions controls.
- Represent FCRM in cross-functional working groups on payment standards and industry initiatives.
- Track and report progress against enterprise payment transparency and control enhancement goals.
- Support development of KEIs on control activities, KRIs & KPIs on payment data quality, transparency, and compliance adherence.
- Contribute to QA sampling or control testing to validate improvements and readiness for regulatory reviews.
- Document Payment Transparency Control Framework components.
- Conduct Travel Rule gap assessments and remediation tracking.
- Deliver data mapping with financial crime attributes and lineage documentation.
- Provide advisory memos for payment product changes (e.g., instant payments, CIB products, cross-border services).
- Provide management reporting on payment transparency, initiatives, and controls.
Required Qualifications:
- 5+ years of Financial Crimes, Operational Risk, Fraud, Sanctions, Anti-Bribery, Corruption experience, or equivalent demonstrated through one or a combination of the following: work experience, training, military experience, education
Desired Qualifications:
- In-depth knowledge of payment systems (SWIFT, Fedwire, CHIPs, RTP, ACH) and financial crime regulations relating to FATF 16, Wolfsberg, FinCEN, and OCC.
- Experience and data lineage mapping, control, design, or system testing related to sanctions/transaction monitoring environments.
- Strong understanding of ISO 20022 message elements and their impact on sanctions screening and Travel Rule compliance.
- Proven ability to collaborate across Compliance, Data, Technology and Operations functions.
- Deep understanding of payment rails (SWIFT, Fedwire, CHIPs, RTP, ACH, FedNow) and their respective risk profiles.
- Knowledge of key risk management practices by payment type, including sanctions, AML, and data governance considerations.
- Analytical mindset with ability to interpret data payment structures and control gaps.
- Strong technical communication, with being able to translate regulatory requirements into actionable control designs.
- Excellent documentation, presentation, and coordination skills.
- Ability to operate in a complex matrix and cross functional environment.
- Highly organized and self-driven individual contributor who delivers under minimal supervision.
Posting Locations:
- 401 S Tryon Street, Charlotte, NC
- 401 Las Colinas Blvd, Irving, TX
- 600 S 4th Street, Minneapolis, MN
- 800 S Jordan Creek Pkwy, West Des Moines, IA
- 114 N Beaumont St, Saint Louis, MO
Job Expectations:
- Required location(s) listed above. Relocation assistance is not available for this position
- This position is not eligible for VISA sponsorship
- This position is subject to FINRA Background Screening Requirements, including successful completion and clearing of a background check. Internal transfers are subject to comply with 17 CFR 240.17f-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and FINRA Bylaws, Article III, Section 3, which states that Associated Persons should not be subject to statutory disqualification. Successful candidates must also meet ongoing regulatory requirements including additional screening and are required to report certain incidents.
- Specific compliance policies may apply regarding outside activities and/or personal investing; affected employees will be expected to provide information to the Wells Fargo Personal Account Dealing Team and abide by applicable policy requirements if hired. Information will be shared about expectations during the recruitment process.
Pay Range
Reflected is the base pay range offered for this position. Pay may vary depending on factors including but not limited to demonstrated examples of prior performance, skills, experience, or work location. Employees may also be eligible for incentive opportunities. $119,000.00 - $206,000.00
Benefits
Wells Fargo provides eligible employees with a comprehensive set of benefits, many of which are listed below. Visit Benefits - Wells Fargo Jobs for an overview of the following benefit plans and programs offered to employees.
- Health benefits
- 401(k) Plan
- Paid time off
- Disability benefits
- Life insurance, critical illness insurance, and accident insurance
- Parental leave
- Critical caregiving leave
- Discounts and savings
- Commuter benefits
- Tuition reimbursement
- Scholarships for dependent children
- Adoption reimbursement
Posting End Date:
1 Nov 2026
*Job posting may come down early due to volume of applicants.
We Value Equal Opportunity
Wells Fargo is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, status as a protected veteran, or any other legally protected characteristic.
Employees support our focus on building strong customer relationships balanced with a strong risk mitigating and compliance-driven culture which firmly establishes those disciplines as critical to the success of our customers and company. They are accountable for execution of all applicable risk programs (Credit, Market, Financial Crimes, Operational, Regulatory Compliance), which includes effectively following and adhering to applicable Wells Fargo policies and procedures, appropriately fulfilling risk and compliance obligations, timely and effective escalation and remediation of issues, and making sound risk decisions. There is emphasis on proactive monitoring, governance, risk identification and escalation, as well as making sound risk decisions commensurate with the business unit’s risk appetite and all risk and compliance program requirements.
Applicants with Disabilities
To request a medical accommodation during the application or interview process, visit Disability Inclusion at Wells Fargo.
Drug and Alcohol Policy
Wells Fargo maintains a drug free workplace. Please see our Drug and Alcohol Policy to learn more.
Wells Fargo Recruitment and Hiring Requirements:
a. Third-Party recordings are prohibited unless authorized by Wells Fargo.
b. Wells Fargo requires you to directly represent your own experiences during the recruiting and hiring process.
