PayPal seeks blockchain expert to help tackle financial crimes

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Online payments giant PayPal is hiring a blockchain expert to join its financial crimes division, as the firm steps up its resources for tackling frauds and theft.

According to a job listing, PayPal is in the market for a new director of anti-money laundering and blockchain strategy, with a remit of “evaluating blockchain use cases with an eye towards financial crimes risk management and overseeing AML investigative activities and emerging trends in this space.”

The successful candidate will be based at their New York City office, where they will be required to “assess risks” relating to PayPal’s blockchain portfolio, as well as “lead external partner diligence meetings related to blockchain opportunities and potential.”

The listing requires applicants to have at least 10 years’ experience in compliance, and PayPal is keen on securing an experienced hire to head up the division.

The move comes at a time when PayPal is already working on several compliance initiatives related to blockchain technology. In April 2019, the company invested in Cambridge Blockchain, which uses the technology to handle sensitive data.

According to the company, it chose to invest in Cambridge Blockchain because “it is applying blockchain for digital identity in a way that we believe could benefit financial services companies including PayPal.”

PayPal also participated in a funding round for emerging crypto banking compliance firm Initialized Capital, a one-time member of the Libra Association, as well as securing several patents relating to blockchain technology.

One of the patents involves a tool for detecting crypto ransomware and preventing it causing further damage to infected systems.

This continues a long-standing interest in blockchain and digital currency at PayPal, which was amongst the first payment processors to support digital currency payments back in 2014.

In recent times, the company has turned its back on BTC, preferring the underlying technology while stopping short of endorsing the inefficient BTC for payments.

The new hire is set to expand PayPal’s work with blockchain, setting the strategic direction for its involvement with blockchain technology over the months and years ahead.