Meet Becky, our VP of Risk & Compliance and Money Laundering Reporting Officer (MLRO)
The Risk & Compliance team works to protect Tide and our members – they ensure we are compliant with any necessary regulations and manage our risks to make sure we operate and grow Tide in a safe way. We’d love for you to meet the people behind the Risk & Compliance team– so first up, here’s our VP Risk & Compliance and MLRO: Becky!
👋 Hi Becky, it’s great to speak with you today! Could you please introduce yourself?
Hello, I’m Becky, the VP Risk & Compliance and Money Laundering Reporting Officer (MLRO).
You have been at Tide for 3 years, can you tell us how your team has evolved?
When I started at Tide we had about 10 people in the team and we were only focused on Financial Crime and KYC. We heavily relied on our banking partner for a lot of risk and compliance, which is normal for small Fintechs.
The team is unrecognisable now in comparison! We have grown to nearly 100 people across 3 countries, covering many more risk areas. We have a bigger structure and more governance in place, and our team meetings are no longer able to fit around the office kitchen table!
Wow the team has grown so much, it’s amazing! And within the past 3 years, what has been your favourite Tide memory?
There have been so many, but probably when we won the BCR grant in partnership with ClearBank. It was such an amazing atmosphere in the office, and really a turning point for Tide. It completely shifted the pace and dynamic of the business overnight, such an exciting time!
It was definitely a very special day! Now, we talked about the Risk & Compliance team but, I’d also like to ask you about the leadership team which you’re part of. Tide is working to support more women in moving into leadership roles, how are we doing this?
I think it’s very important to have diverse leadership – which goes way beyond gender of course. Having female leadership not only reflects the diversity of the business, but creates diversity in decision making and thinking, and brings a different perspective. Finance and tech are two typically male dominated industries, certainly at leadership level, so having more women leaders is really important to set examples and take these industries forward to make them more inclusive.
At Tide we do a number of things to promote and encourage female leaders – including in our hiring strategy, providing opportunities for female leaders to come together to network and find ways to support other women in the business, giving the broader team access to senior female leaders, but there’s always more we can do.
Absolutely, and we will keep pushing this! As our VP Risk & Compliance and MLRO you have a key role at Tide, how do you stay ahead in your field?
Risk and compliance is a really evolving quickly area so staying ahead is really important. I read lots of articles and blog posts, listen to podcasts, read industry papers and insights, and make sure I stay connected and network with my peers, particularly at other Fintechs. I’m a big fan of exchanging knowledge and learning from others.
One last question! When you’re not at Tide, what’s your favourite thing to do?
This will surprise no-one that knows me…. Be with my dogs! Fun fact – they’ve both starred in different Tide tv adverts, making me one very proud dog mum.
