Treasury Operations Specialist (Payments/Multi-Currency)

Our client specialises in seamless personal and business banking solutions. Offering multi-currency accounts that support over 40 currencies, they enable efficient international transactions for individuals and businesses alike. Clients can open accounts in their own or their business’s name, benefiting from direct ZAR outbound payments, tax certificates, and exchange control guidance. Integrated with major financial networks like SWIFT, SEPA Instant, and UK Faster Payments, they provide competitive foreign exchange rates and 24/7 electronic transaction capabilities. Regulated by top financial authorities in the UK and South Africa, our client ensures compliance, security, and efficiency in all their financial operations.

 

Job Type: Full Time/Permanent

Location: Cape Town, South Africa, supporting our client’s UK operations during UK business hours

Workplace: Hybrid

Reports to: UK Managing Director and Head of Operations

 

Role Overview

To run the day-to-day treasury and FX payment operations that keep our client’s UK payments business moving — managing intraday liquidity across our banking partners, funding and settling FX trades, and making sure client funds are in the right place, in the right currency, at the right time.

What success looks like

Our client’s UK cash positions are accurate and well-managed across 4 UK banking and treasury partners. FX trades are confirmed, funded and settled cleanly, payment SLAs are met without exception, and breaks are investigated and resolved quickly. Treasury controls hold up under audit and regulatory scrutiny, partner-bank relationships are strong, and the operation runs more efficiently each quarter as processes are tightened and automated.

 

Requirements

• Two or more years of hands-on FX payment operations, FX settlements, treasury operations or cash management experience in a regulated payments business or bank — ideally an EMI, payments institution or FX broker.
• Practical, day-to-day understanding of multi-currency cash management, FX settlement (spot and forward), nostro reconciliation and intraday liquidity.
• Strong understanding of international payment systems and SWIFT message formats (MT103, MT202, MT300 and similar), and a working feel for global currency markets.
• Working knowledge of UK payment rails (Faster Payments, CHAPS, Bacs, SWIFT) and SEPA, and familiarity with how EMIs operate within the FCA’s safeguarding and Payment Services Regulations framework.
• Working knowledge of AML, sanctions screening and other regulatory requirements relevant to cross-border payments.
• Strong Excel skills and confidence working with bank portals, FX trading platforms, payment systems and reconciliation tools.
• Sharp attention to detail and sound judgement under time pressure — treasury work has hard cut-offs and small errors carry real cost.
• Clear written and verbal communication and strong client-service instincts, with the ability to flex tone between internal colleagues, banking partners, clients and external counterparties.
• Willingness and ability to work UK business hours from our Cape Town office.
• Exposure to safeguarding reconciliations and the segregation of client funds in an EMI or payments environment.
• Experience with treasury management systems, payment hubs or workflow tools, and comfort using SQL or data tools to query and analyse treasury data.
• Experience leading or contributing to UAT and the rollout of new banking, payment or treasury platforms.
• Familiarity with stablecoins, on/off-ramp flows, or digital asset settlement.
• Exposure to BaaS, distributor or programme-manager models.

 

How you work

• Comfortable owning live, time-critical operational processes and making sensible decisions under pressure.
• Organised and methodical, with the discipline to follow controls without losing pace.
• Self-sufficient — able to work autonomously, while knowing when to escalate issues to the right person quickly.
• Quick to learn new systems, platforms and products, with the technical aptitude to spot errors, inconsistencies and special requests in daily flows and act on them.
• Curious about how the plumbing works — and motivated to make it work better.
• Collaborative team player who builds trust quickly with colleagues, banking partners and counterparties across time zones.

 

Responsibilities

 

Cash and liquidity management

• Maintain an accurate daily cash position across all UK bank accounts and currencies, including reconciliation of prior-day activity and intraday updates.
• Monitor intraday liquidity across banking partners, initiate transfers to keep accounts appropriately funded, and pre-fund for known large settlements.
• Forecast short-term cash requirements based on client trade pipeline, scheduled settlements and known funding events.
• Flag liquidity risks and funding shortfalls to the UK Managing Director and Head of Operations in good time.

 

FX trade processing and settlement

• Oversee timely settlement of FX spot and forward transactions across multiple currencies and settlement systems.
• Check that trade details entered into operational systems align with front-office confirmations, and resolve discrepancies before they cause settlement issues.
• Fund and settle client and hedging FX trades with our liquidity providers and banking partners.
• Support the trading desk on settlement instructions, standard settlement instruction (SSI) maintenance, and counterparty onboarding.

 

Payment operations

• Initiate, review and release inbound and outbound FX payments through bank portals
• Work closely with operations and compliance team to triage stuck or returned payments, and respond promptly to RFIs from banking partners.

 

Reconciliation and investigations

• Reconcile trade settlements daily, investigate breaks, settlement failures and aged items, and resolve them with counterparties, custodians and internal teams before they age further.
• Maintain accurate, well-evidenced records for audit and regulatory purposes.

 

Compliance and risk control

• Operate within our client’s treasury policies, internal risk controls, segregation of client funds requirements and the FCA safeguarding regime applicable to EMIs.
• Apply AML and sanctions screening requirements in day-to-day treasury and payment activity, and escalate unusual activity or potential fraud to compliance and management promptly.
• Support compliance with UK and group regulatory reporting requirements.

 

Reporting and audit

• Prepare daily, weekly and monthly treasury reports — cash positions, FX exposure, settlement breaks, key bank balances — for the UK Managing Director, Head of Operations and the wider leadership team.
• Support internal and external audits, regulatory submissions and safeguarding reconciliations with timely, well-evidenced data.
• Help maintain and improve treasury policies, procedures and the related control framework.

 

Client and partner-bank support

• Provide operational support to corporate and individual clients and business partners on FX transactions, including payment status, transaction charges and settlement timelines.
• Develop and maintain strong day-to-day working relationships with our partner banks and liquidity providers.
• Provide training and ongoing support to colleagues on FX, payments and treasury matters.

 

Continuous improvement and projects

• Identify opportunities to automate manual treasury workflows, reduce reconciliation effort, tighten controls and reduce settlement risk — and work with engineering and finance to deliver them.
• Lead and participate in UAT, testing and implementation of system upgrades, new bank integrations and new payment platforms.
• Contribute to treasury workstreams supporting new product launches, including BaaS and stablecoin-related payments.
• Work closely with finance, compliance, operations and trading colleagues across the UK and South African offices.