Published
October 12, 2023
Author
Block
Published
October 12, 2023
Author
Block
John Alfano leads the Compliance Global Policy and Governance team at Block, Inc. (formerly Square, Inc.). But his role goes beyond the ordinary — working from Melbourne, Australia, John likens his global team as “compliance architects.” End to end, their tasks include aiding the design, implementation, and testing of compliance frameworks that turbocharge all teams across Block, helping them work faster and better. With over 30 years of risk and compliance wisdom under his belt, and an unwavering dedication to diversity and innovation, John is sharing his tips for staying ahead in the ever-shifting world of fintech.
From Law Enforcement to Global Policy and Governance
Q: Describe your journey from being a member of the New South Wales Police Force to now a Global Policy and Governance lead at Block. What were the key milestones or experiences that led to this transition?
John: I’ve been fortunate to have strong mentors and leaders who played pivotal roles in shaping my journey, especially in my early career. Some early milestones include transitioning from law enforcement to a corporate investigation role at a major bank, where I became involved in various payment-related projects. This led to my exploration of data-driven practices in payment and insider fraud detection. Something about payments in a high-volume, fast, data-rich, and networked context really piqued my interest and laid the foundation for where I was headed.
Those experiences propelled me into leadership roles, expanding my capabilities in risk management and financial crime management. The next step for me was consulting, which allowed me to help financial service clients solve broader and more complex business problems, particularly in regulation. The last 15 years of my career have focused on risk and compliance leadership within the fintech space. My current role at Block is dynamic, offering a mix of challenges, and I can confidently say that I continue to learn something new every day.
Integrating Diverse Perspectives in Compliance Strategies
Q: How do you prioritize and ensure the integration of diverse perspectives within the compliance strategies you develop and implement?
John: It starts with our recruitment philosophy and practices that embrace diverse perspectives in decision making. At Block, we have an established diversity program ingrained in our DNA and embedded into how we work. An example of how Compliance contributes to our decision-making is our annual planning. We take a bottom-up approach, involving all our teams in defining our goals for the year ahead and aligning them with Block's vision of economic empowerment. Each of my teams plays a role in establishing our annual plan, which is then aligned and incorporated across teams within Compliance.
Staying Ahead of Regulatory Changes
Q: As compliance landscapes are constantly evolving, how do you stay ahead of regulatory changes while also aligning these changes?
John: Horizon scanning is a critical activity for compliance professionals to stay ahead of the curve. Essentially, I lock time in my calendar to review new and emerging regulatory changes. With Block’s global footprint and distributed workforce, I also get valuable insights and snippets on regulatory change by reading internal updates shared across the team. These allow us to read, ask questions, and gain further insights asynchronously.
At Block, we also have a very collaborative model between Public Policy, Legal, and Compliance to share developments and plans. My team conducts in-depth analysis of regulatory advisories and enforcement actions, helping us to understand the root causes of failures across industry and regulatory expectations. We often share our insights and assessments with our Board and executive management.
The Future of Compliance, Technology, and Innovation
Q: The fintech landscape is rapidly evolving. How do you see the relationship between compliance, technology, impact, and innovation evolving in the future?
John: Compliance, technology, and innovation are intrinsically linked. Equally important to understanding regulatory obligations is leveraging data and adopting available technologies that may support solving compliance challenges. We have an embedded Compliance Engineering and Technology (CET) team — they’re great partners in helping us navigate data sources and key controls that may be upstream (or downstream) of our compliance systems.
The Role of Compliance in Fostering Trust and Growing Business Success
Q: The impact of a robust compliance culture goes beyond regulatory adherence—it also influences the organization's reputation and growth. How has your team contributed to enhancing stakeholder trust to drive sustainable business growth?
John: I like to think of my team as “compliance architects,” crafting lasting frameworks for actionable outcomes. Adding value to our organization all comes down to doing the right thing. We prioritize building trust with stakeholders by investing time in explaining the underlying purpose and goals of our compliance programs. I think breaking down why we do the things we do in compliance is the simplest way to communicate it, and therefore drive comprehension and maintain confidence.
Published
October 12, 2023
Author
Block
John Alfano leads the Compliance Global Policy and Governance team at Block, Inc. (formerly Square, Inc.). But his role goes beyond the ordinary — working from Melbourne, Australia, John likens his global team as “compliance architects.” End to end, their tasks include aiding the design, implementation, and testing of compliance frameworks that turbocharge all teams across Block, helping them work faster and better. With over 30 years of risk and compliance wisdom under his belt, and an unwavering dedication to diversity and innovation, John is sharing his tips for staying ahead in the ever-shifting world of fintech.
From Law Enforcement to Global Policy and Governance
Q: Describe your journey from being a member of the New South Wales Police Force to now a Global Policy and Governance lead at Block. What were the key milestones or experiences that led to this transition?
John: I’ve been fortunate to have strong mentors and leaders who played pivotal roles in shaping my journey, especially in my early career. Some early milestones include transitioning from law enforcement to a corporate investigation role at a major bank, where I became involved in various payment-related projects. This led to my exploration of data-driven practices in payment and insider fraud detection. Something about payments in a high-volume, fast, data-rich, and networked context really piqued my interest and laid the foundation for where I was headed.
Those experiences propelled me into leadership roles, expanding my capabilities in risk management and financial crime management. The next step for me was consulting, which allowed me to help financial service clients solve broader and more complex business problems, particularly in regulation. The last 15 years of my career have focused on risk and compliance leadership within the fintech space. My current role at Block is dynamic, offering a mix of challenges, and I can confidently say that I continue to learn something new every day.
Integrating Diverse Perspectives in Compliance Strategies
Q: How do you prioritize and ensure the integration of diverse perspectives within the compliance strategies you develop and implement?
John: It starts with our recruitment philosophy and practices that embrace diverse perspectives in decision making. At Block, we have an established diversity program ingrained in our DNA and embedded into how we work. An example of how Compliance contributes to our decision-making is our annual planning. We take a bottom-up approach, involving all our teams in defining our goals for the year ahead and aligning them with Block's vision of economic empowerment. Each of my teams plays a role in establishing our annual plan, which is then aligned and incorporated across teams within Compliance.
Staying Ahead of Regulatory Changes
Q: As compliance landscapes are constantly evolving, how do you stay ahead of regulatory changes while also aligning these changes?
John: Horizon scanning is a critical activity for compliance professionals to stay ahead of the curve. Essentially, I lock time in my calendar to review new and emerging regulatory changes. With Block’s global footprint and distributed workforce, I also get valuable insights and snippets on regulatory change by reading internal updates shared across the team. These allow us to read, ask questions, and gain further insights asynchronously.
At Block, we also have a very collaborative model between Public Policy, Legal, and Compliance to share developments and plans. My team conducts in-depth analysis of regulatory advisories and enforcement actions, helping us to understand the root causes of failures across industry and regulatory expectations. We often share our insights and assessments with our Board and executive management.
The Future of Compliance, Technology, and Innovation
Q: The fintech landscape is rapidly evolving. How do you see the relationship between compliance, technology, impact, and innovation evolving in the future?
John: Compliance, technology, and innovation are intrinsically linked. Equally important to understanding regulatory obligations is leveraging data and adopting available technologies that may support solving compliance challenges. We have an embedded Compliance Engineering and Technology (CET) team — they’re great partners in helping us navigate data sources and key controls that may be upstream (or downstream) of our compliance systems.
The Role of Compliance in Fostering Trust and Growing Business Success
Q: The impact of a robust compliance culture goes beyond regulatory adherence—it also influences the organization's reputation and growth. How has your team contributed to enhancing stakeholder trust to drive sustainable business growth?
John: I like to think of my team as “compliance architects,” crafting lasting frameworks for actionable outcomes. Adding value to our organization all comes down to doing the right thing. We prioritize building trust with stakeholders by investing time in explaining the underlying purpose and goals of our compliance programs. I think breaking down why we do the things we do in compliance is the simplest way to communicate it, and therefore drive comprehension and maintain confidence.