In the intricate world of anti-money laundering (AML) compliance and fraud prevention, Mayra De La Garza distinguishes herself as an exceptional leader with a powerful combination of professional expertise and strategic vision for reshaping the anti-financial crime technology landscape. As the Director of Compliance Software at epay, she translates her vision into action through spearheading the development of Skylight, our AML monitoring, real-time fraud detection, and end-to-end case management solution.
Mayra discovered the world of anti-financial crime and compliance when her family relocated to Northwest Arkansas. This led her to a role at Walmart’s financial services division working with a team dedicated to providing alternative financial services at low costs.
The realization that compliance measures directly impact individuals facing real-life challenges fueled her passion to make a difference in this field. Raised in a family of Mexican immigrants, Mayra’s early exposure to financial transactions, particularly those involving remittances, provided a unique perspective on the importance of secure and efficient financial systems. Accompanying her parents on trips to send money back home to support relatives and friends, Mayra absorbed the significance of these transactions, laying a foundation of understanding the crucial role financial systems play in people’s lives.
During her 13 years at Walmart, Mayra found herself drawn to the management and optimization of the technologies used in their compliance processes. Frustrated by outdated systems and bureaucratic inefficiencies, she recognized an opportunity to affect change. She transitioned into a role that focused on leveraging technology to streamline AML compliance, taking charge of managing the organization’s compliance technologies and facilitating the relationship between the business and compliance teams. In this role, she optimized their technological efficiencies, fostered collaboration, and strategically positioned teams to achieve business objectives, drive innovation, and strengthen fraud prevention and AML monitoring tools.
Mayra’s dedication and understanding of the intersection between technology and compliance marked a turning point in her career. This led her to join epay with a clear mission – develop a solution that redefines how compliance is managed and alleviates the friction points that she had experienced throughout her career.
Throughout my career, I spent countless hours waiting on IT resources to prioritize my team’s needs and having to find workarounds within clunky, inflexible solutions. My teams and I were constantly having to complete additional manual steps to get our providers’ tools to function. I was frustrated. My team was frustrated. The FIU team was frustrated. We were paying millions for tools that didn’t really meet our needs. Then, I found an opportunity that would allow me to create something better, to be part of the solution.” – Mayra De La Garza
Her vision was the development of a solution for compliance teams that is not just a software tool but a fully integrated ecosystem offering a holistic approach to managing enterprise risks. She aimed to bring to the market a system that would remove the silos and separation of compliance functions which often required various technologies that are not interconnected or don’t communicate efficiently.
The development of Skylight has been the culmination of this vision. Skylight was built by Mayra and the epay team to break down these silos, foster collaboration, and empower compliance teams to adapt to the evolving landscape of financial crime. Skylight allows greater team collaboration and flexibility with seamless referrals across specialized functions. It also brings automation to often repetitive tasks, leverages AI to improve accuracy and efficiency, and provides e-filing capabilities. The cost of compliance is a metric that’s often scrutinized by business teams. Skylight empowers compliance teams to do more with less reliance on IT resources, allowing them to focus their time and resources on what matters most – fighting financial crime.
Mayra’s leadership at epay reflects a commitment to positive change in the financial landscape. Our epay team is proud to offer Skylight to customers and recognizes Mayra’s key role in the product journey. As Mayra spearheads our compliance product innovation and collaboration, we are privileged to have her at the helm, helping steer us toward a safer, more transparent future for financial systems worldwide.