Customer Due Dilligence / KYC Senior Associate
Pleo
Customer Service
Lisbon, Portugal
Location
Lisbon
Employment Type
Full time
Location Type
Hybrid
Department
Business Operations
About Pleo
Messy spend management is tricky business. And tedious processes are a lose-lose situation for all involved, not just finance. At Pleo, we're changing that. We build spend solutions that make managing money seamless, empowering, and surprisingly effective for finance teams and employees alike - with a vision to help all businesses ‘go beyond’.
The word ‘Pleo’ actually means ‘more than you’d expect’, and living by that mantra has been the secret to our success over the last 10 years.
Now, we’re at a pivotal moment in our journey; every move we make has a direct impact on our 40,000+ customers, our business, and our collective success. We need people who take pride in uncovering customer needs, who turn complex problems into simple solutions, challenge the way things are done (respectfully), and always aim high. With great ambitions driving us forward, we can’t say we’ve got this whole thing figured out. And frankly, that’s half the fun! What we can say is that we’re a driven, progressive, and, importantly, a kind bunch of 850+ people from over 100 nationalities, all committed to delivering the future of business spending, together.
About the role
We're looking for a KYC Support Specialist to join our KYC Support Team at Pleo. In this role, you'll help act as a crucial link between our onboarding team, internal stakeholders, and valued customers and be part of a newly established team as we scale our compliance operations in Portugal. If you're excited about helping shape processes from the ground up and leaving your mark on a brand-new team and are passionate about delivering exceptional customer experiences within FinTech and Compliance, then this is the opportunity for you!
Who you’ll be working with and reporting to
You’ll report to our KYC Support Team Lead and work closely with teams in Onboarding, Sales, and other internal compliance stakeholders. Our team of three (including the Team Lead) is highly collaborative and dedicated to taking full ownership of all KYC-related tasks and inquiries. You’ll also have the chance to partner with teams across the wider organisation to ensure seamless service delivery and shield internal teams from direct KYC handling.
What you’ll be doing
As a KYC Support Specialist, you will:
Resolve Customer & Colleague Queries – Manage and resolve incoming inquiries via email and chat, ensuring timely, effective, and high-quality resolutions.
Manage End-to-End Compliance Requests – Handle company updates, account transfers, admin changes, ODD deadline extensions, wallet blocks, onboarding, screening, and bankruptcy processes.
Execute Ongoing Screening – Perform vigilant, continuous screening of existing business and individual customers, as well as payments, to ensure full compliance.
Drive Process Optimisation – Collaborate closely with your small team to shape day-to-day operations, propose improvements, and define future workflows.
Maintain Service Excellence – Support the team during peak periods to ensure seamless delivery against service level agreements (SLAs) while demonstrating best practices in every interaction.
To put things into context, we currently have the integration of newly added scopes (like bankruptcy and advanced screening processes) and the optimisation of our centralised ticketing workflows on our roadmap.
What you bring
You’ll thrive in this role if you have:
FinTech Support Experience – 3+ years of proven experience in customer support, ideally within a fast-paced FinTech environment.
KYC & Compliance Knowledge – Hands-on exposure to KYC requirements, including screening, requests for information (RFIs), internal risk assessments, and industry regulations.
Excellent Communication – Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to communicate clearly with both external customers and internal colleagues.
Organisational Agility – Strong organisational and multitasking abilities to manage varied query types simultaneously.
An Improvement Mindset – A proactive attitude towards problem-solving, viewing challenges as opportunities to build better processes.
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Nice-to-have: Relevant qualifications or certifications in customer service or KYC/Compliance.
Why is this role a good fit for you
This role is a good fit for you if:
You want high ownership and direct impact within a small, close-knit team where your voice actively shapes decisions.
You enjoy the blend of technical compliance tasks (screening, regulations) and customer-facing support.
You value a culture of trust, accountability, and professionalism that gives you the space to own your work.
This role is not a good fit for you if:
You prefer highly structured, rigid corporate environments with pre-established legacy processes rather than building from scratch.
You prefer working in isolation; this role requires continuous collaboration with both customers and internal colleagues.
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You find fast-paced FinTech environments or handling high-volume query channels (chat and email) overwhelming.
How you’ll develop in this role
In your first few months at Pleo, you’ll:
Lead the onboarding and integration of our newly expanded scope (such as screening and bankruptcy processes) to drive impact in the Portugal region.
Collaborate with your Team Lead to improve day-to-day ticketing systems and communication channels.
Grow your skills in risk assessment and compliance regulations, taking on new challenges as the company continues to scale.
We’re committed to helping you develop your career, whether that means taking on bigger compliance projects, stepping into leadership as the team grows, or acquiring new skills in financial crime prevention.
The location
Please note: We can hire on a remote, hybrid or in-person set-up in Portugal, but you will need to be physically based in the country with a valid right to work. We are unable to offer visa sponsorship for this role.
Show me the benefits!
Your own Pleo card (no more out-of-pocket spending!)
Lunch is on us for your work days - enjoy catered meals or receive a lunch allowance based on your local office
Comprehensive private healthcare - coverage options include Médis for Portugal
We offer 25 days of holiday + your public holidays
For our Team, we offer both hybrid and fully onsite working options
We use MyndUp to give our employees access to free mental health and well-being support with great success so far
Paid parental leave - we want to make sure that we're supportive of families and help you feel that you don't have to compromise your family due to work
The interview process
We want to ensure you are set-up for success and understand what will be expected of you. If your application is successful, our interview process is as follows:
Intro call: A 30-minute chat with our Talent Partner to discuss the role and your background.
Hiring Manager Interview: A deep dive with the KYC Support Team Lead to discuss your KYC experience, customer support approach, and team fit.
Collaborative/Case Review: A short practical session or conversation exploring how you handle compliance scenarios and team collaboration.
Transparency is important to us so we also wanted to share some insights about what we’re looking for in applications to ensure you can set yourself up for success!
Last time we hired a KYC Support Specialist, we received a total of 97 applications but only 13 were selected for an intro call. Some of the key reasons why previous candidates didn’t make it past the application screening stage include:
CV writing and content: We receive a lot of CVs, and many of them are AI-generated. We love seeing people leverage AI—it’s a big focus for us internally too—but without human intervention, these CVs can sometimes become generic and fail to show a candidate in the best light. What we're really looking for is the specific details of real impact that only you know from your previous experience. A top tip from us is to use the “Achieved X, as measured by Y, by doing Z” formula (credit: Laszlo Bock, ~2014) to give a really clear picture of what you’ve worked on. A final note: including links to your previous companies' websites is a huge help and allows us to truly understand your background!
Application care: Every single application we receive is reviewed by a human (yes, hundreds of them) because we believe that candidates' efforts should be matched by an equal level of human care. This means that we expect a similar level of attention put into your application. Read and answer the application questions carefully, they make a huge difference in our decision-making process.
Profile to role fit: We are specifically looking for a hybrid skill set: 1–2 years of actual customer support experience combined with hands-on KYC/screening exposure. Applications that show great customer service but zero compliance exposure, or heavy compliance experience with no customer-facing track record, often miss the mark for what this specific support squad needs. Ensure your profile highlights both sides of this equation!
About your application
English first. Since it's our company language, please submit your application in English. You’ll be using it a lot if you join us.
A fair look for everyone. Our talent team reads every single application to ensure the process is fair. To keep things running smoothly, we only accept applications through our system—our support team can’t pass on calls or emails.
Diversity drives us. We can only reach our goals if our team reflects the world around us. That starts with you hitting apply, even if you don't tick every single box. We encourage people from all backgrounds and experiences to join us.
Interview at your best. We want you to feel comfortable throughout the process. If you have any accessibility requirements or need a specific format, email belonging@pleo.io. We’ll design a process that works for you.
Your data is safe. When you apply, we process your personal data as a data processor. For more information on how Pleo processes personal data, read our Privacy Policy here.
Applying for multiple roles? Nothing is stopping you, and we assess every role independently. However, we do look for alignment, so make sure you can explain why your interest and experience are right for each specific role.
Reapplying. If you’re applying for the same role again, please wait six months from your last decision before hitting submit.