United Kingdom · Compliance, quality and safety · Principal/Manager (12-16 years)

Banking Compliance Officer

Here is the whole job, in plain words. What it is, what you decide, how you're judged, how people get here and where they go next. Then the part no course gives you: twelve AI tutors who learn your work.

See how AI is changing this job, and get the full read by email.

As a Banking Compliance Officer, a good place to start on Ethical AI Governance & Explainability is Planning Automation Across a Department, a free Future Fluency module at Level 5. You'd practise working out what in your department's work could be automated, what should not be, and what to recommend.

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One email: what AI is changing in this job, the new skills it asks for, where it leads, and where to start free. With a link back here. Nothing else follows unless you confirm your address.

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  • Experience bandPrincipal/Manager (12-16 years)
  • Direct reports5-8 reports
  • Reports toDirector of Compliance
  • UK framework levelUsually someone running a function, or a director

Also advertised as Head of Compliance (Specific Business Line) · Principal Compliance Advisor · Senior Compliance Programme Lead · Regulatory Affairs Manager

Built on 43,079 real UK job descriptions we analysed · grounded in what real qualifications cover

1From this job to a course

The qualifications matched to this job

CISI Level 6 Diploma in Investment Compliance Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment · Level 6 · covers 3 of 10 standards
City & Guilds Level 3 Certificate In Providing Financial Services City & Guilds Limited · Level 3 · covers 5 of 10 standards
CISI Level 3 Certificate in Investment Operations Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment · Level 3 · covers 3 of 10 standards
CICM Level 5 Diploma in Credit and Collections Management Chartered Institute of Credit Management · Level 5 · covers 1 of 10 standards
City & Guilds Level 3 Award in Providing Financial Services City & Guilds Limited · Level 3 · covers 4 of 10 standards
CISI Level 3 Award In Global Financial Compliance Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment · Level 3 · covers 1 of 10 standards

Matched from the standards this job is measured against: a suggestion, not an official ruling.

The units you would start with

Combating Financial Crime CISI Level 6 Diploma in Investment Compliance
Ensure compliance with legal, regulatory, ethical and social requirements City & Guilds Level 3 Certificate In Providing Financial Services
Global Financial Compliance CISI Level 3 Certificate in Investment Operations
Compliance with legal, regulatory, ethical and social requirements CICM Level 5 Diploma in Credit and Collections Management

The future skills this job leans on

AI Fluency working with AI as a thinking partner
Data Fluency turning numbers into a decision
AI Governance Fluency using AI responsibly
Frontier Fluency the next wave, beyond mainstream AI
Systems Fluency seeing the whole picture
Your Plan Illustration

Built for Banking Compliance Officer

4 units that map to this job, from the qualifications that cover it.

  1. Combating Financial Crime Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment · covers 3 of 10 standards Level 6
  2. Ensure compliance with legal, regulatory, ethical and social requirements City & Guilds Limited · covers 5 of 10 standards Level 3
  3. Global Financial Compliance Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment · covers 3 of 10 standards Level 3
  4. Compliance with legal, regulatory, ethical and social requirements Chartered Institute of Credit Management · covers 1 of 10 standards Level 5
These are the real units behind this job, in the order they rank for it. Nothing here is marked done, because this plan has not been started by anyone yet. Yours would fill in as you go.

2AI and this work

Will AI change your work as a Banking Compliance Officer?

Nobody can say exactly how. Here is what this job is being asked for next, and where to start.

The new skills this role is being asked for

  • Ethical AI Governance & Explainability
  • Digital Asset & Web3 Compliance
Why each one is rising

The future skills this job leans on

We'll only ever tell you what we can actually back up. No hype, no scare tactics.

What happens when you start

Next, a free account. We build your Banking Compliance Officer plan as you set up, starting with the free Automation Fluency module. No card.

Your first Future Fluency module is free. After that, your AI tutor is £70 a month.

Keep this read. One email with what AI is changing in this job, the new skills it asks for and where to start free. Nothing else follows unless you confirm your address.

3What this role really is

A Banking Compliance Officer manages a team that checks a bank meets regulatory rules, reporting risks to senior committees.

4What you'd actually use

The tools this job runs on, and how well you'd need to know each one.

Archer GRC Suite (or similar: ServiceNow GRC, MetricStream) Strategic

Leading platform selection/integration for new modules, defining the enterprise-wide GRC data model for your business unit, presenting GRC insights to senior leadership and the board regarding risk posture and control effectiveness.

NICE Actimize (SAM, CDD) (or similar: Verafin, FICO Tonbeller) Strategic

Owning the relationship with the vendor, approving model validation plans for AML scenarios, and defending the AML programme's effectiveness to regulators and auditors. You'll drive the strategic use and optimisation of these tools.

Thomson Reuters Regulatory Intelligence (TRRI) (or similar: Wolters Kluwer OneSumX, LexisNexis Regulatory Compliance) Strategic

Setting the scope for regulatory horizon scanning for your business unit, interpreting major regulatory shifts, and briefing executive leadership on their strategic impact. You'll ensure your team is proactively identifying upcoming changes.

SQL (T-SQL/PLSQL) Advanced

Defining key risk indicators (KRIs) and key performance indicators (KPIs) to be tracked, and overseeing your team's use of SQL to pull data for complex investigations and management reporting. You'll guide the data strategy for your function.

Power BI / Tableau (or similar data visualisation tools) Advanced

Designing and approving key risk dashboards for senior management and committees. You'll use data to tell a compelling story about compliance performance and risk exposure, ensuring clarity and actionable insights.

Diligent Boards / Nasdaq Boardvantage (or similar board portal software) Advanced

Designing and authoring the CCO report sections relevant to your business unit for the board, ensuring clarity, accuracy, and strategic focus on material risks. You'll be preparing and reviewing materials for senior leadership consumption.

5What you get to decide, and how that grows

Power in a job isn't your title. It's what you're allowed to decide. Here's how it grows as you move up.

The choiceComing in Where you are nowThe step above
Policy Approval Drafts initial sections, requires full review and approval by Senior Officer. Drafts full policy, proposes changes, requires Manager approval. Designs and drafts complex policies, recommends to Manager/Lead, typically owns final review before formal approval.
Regulatory Interpretation Identifies relevant sections of regulations, asks for clarification from Senior Officer. Interprets regulations for routine scenarios, seeks Manager input on complex cases. Provides definitive interpretation for non-routine situations, consults Lead/Manager on novel issues, translates into business requirements.
Risk Acceptance/Mitigation Identifies risks, proposes basic mitigation steps, requires Senior Officer review. Assesses risks, proposes mitigation plans, requires Manager approval. Performs detailed risk assessments, designs comprehensive mitigation strategies, recommends to Lead/Manager.
Team Hiring & Performance No hiring authority. Receives performance feedback. No hiring authority. Contributes to peer performance reviews. Interviews junior candidates, provides input on hiring decisions. Mentors junior staff.
Budget Allocation (Team/Projects) No budget authority. Manages small project budgets (<£10K) under supervision. Manages project budgets up to £50K, requires Manager approval.

6How you'll be judged

The scoreboard, and what is not on it. The hard targets, how often each is actually looked at, and the quiet signals that never reach a dashboard.

Regulatory Breach Rate (Business Unit)
The number of identified regulatory breaches within your assigned business unit, categorised by severity.
Target · Zero 'Significant' or 'Material' breaches annually; <5 'Minor' breaches annually.

Your business unit recorded two minor breaches in Q2, both self-identified and remediated, resulting in no regulatory action. This is better than the target of fewer than five.

Audit/Regulatory Finding Closure Rate
The percentage of internal audit and external regulatory findings related to your business unit that are closed on time, with robust evidence.
Target · >95% of findings closed within agreed timelines; <5% requiring extensions.

Your team oversaw the closure of 18 out of 19 findings this quarter, with the remaining one on track for an agreed extension. That's a 94.7% closure rate, just under target but still very strong.

AML/CTF Alert False Positive Reduction
The percentage reduction in the number of false positive alerts generated by transaction monitoring systems under your oversight, through effective rule tuning and scenario optimisation.
Target · 10-15% reduction year-on-year for key scenarios.

After your team's review and tuning, the 'Structuring' scenario's false positive rate dropped by 12% in the last six months, freeing up analyst time.

Compliance Training Completion Rate
The percentage of staff within your assigned business unit who complete mandatory compliance training modules on time.
Target · >98% completion rate for all mandatory modules.

Your business unit achieved a 99.2% completion rate for the annual AML training, significantly above the bank-wide average.

Business Partnership & Advisory Quality
How effectively you and your team are seen as trusted advisors by the business, rather than just 'the department of no'.
  • Business unit heads proactively seek your advice on new products or initiatives. Your team is invited to early-stage project meetings. Positive feedback from business stakeholders in 360-degree reviews. Your recommendations are generally adopted without significant pushback. You're seen as helping them achieve their goals safely.
Regulatory Engagement Effectiveness
The quality of your interactions with regulators, including preparedness for examinations and the clarity of your responses.
  • Positive feedback (informal or formal) from regulators post-examination. No unexpected findings or escalations during routine supervisory visits. Your team's responses to regulatory queries are clear, concise, and accurate, requiring minimal follow-up. You anticipate regulatory concerns rather than reacting to them.
Team Development & Retention
How well you develop your direct reports, ensuring they grow in their careers and remain engaged.
  • Low voluntary turnover rate within your team (below department average). At least one direct report promoted internally each year. Positive feedback from team members in engagement surveys regarding mentorship and growth opportunities. Your team consistently meets or exceeds performance targets.
Programme Ownership & Strategic Impact
Your ability to own and drive significant compliance programmes, ensuring they deliver tangible risk reduction and strategic value.
  • Successful implementation of major policy updates across your business unit. Evidence of systemic control improvements based on your team's analysis. Your contributions to senior committees are seen as insightful and actionable, leading to better strategic decisions. You're not just managing tasks
  • you're shaping the compliance landscape.

7Would you like it

Both sides. What people enjoy, and what grinds them down.

What people enjoy
Protecting the Organisation

You'll feel a deep sense of responsibility for safeguarding the bank's reputation and financial health. This shows up in your meticulous review of new product proposals, your insistence on robust controls, and your willingness to challenge business decisions that carry undue risk.

Spending extra hours to ensure a new digital product launch has every compliance 'i' dotted and 't' crossed, knowing it could prevent a future data breach or mis-selling scandal.

Solving Complex Puzzles

You genuinely enjoy unpicking complicated regulatory texts, figuring out how they apply to our specific business, and then designing practical solutions. It's like being a detective for risk, finding the hidden connections and vulnerabilities.

Taking a new, ambiguous regulatory consultation paper and working with your team to dissect it, then mapping its potential impact across multiple business lines and proposing a clear action plan.

Developing and Leading a Team

You get a real kick out of seeing your team members grow, learn, and take on more responsibility. You'll spend time mentoring, coaching, and empowering them to tackle complex compliance challenges, building a strong collective capability.

Coaching a Senior Compliance Officer through a tricky conversation with a business head, then seeing them confidently handle similar situations independently a few months later.

What frustrates people
  • The 'Department of No' perception – always being seen as a blocker, not an enabler.
  • Dealing with legacy systems that make data extraction and analysis a nightmare.
  • The constant scramble for Management Information (MI) when a regulator asks for something urgent.
  • Business units formally 'accepting' risks on paper but not genuinely owning the remediation.
  • The sheer volume of new regulations and the challenge of keeping up with them all.
  • Having to explain basic compliance concepts repeatedly to senior business leaders.
What this role does not give you
  • A quiet, predictable 9-to-5 where every day is the same.
  • A role where you're always the most popular person in the room.
  • A place where you can avoid difficult conversations or challenging senior people.
  • A job where you'll see every single one of your ideas implemented immediately.
  • A 'set it and forget it' approach to risk management; it's a constant battle.

8Who you work with

This role directly shapes the compliance posture of a significant business unit or functional area. Your decisions and the effectiveness of your team directly influence the bank's ability to avoid regulatory breaches, maintain its operational licence, and protect its public image. You're essentially the 'air traffic controller' for compliance risks in your domain.

Inside the business
  • Business Unit Heads (e.g., Head of Retail Banking, Head of Wealth Management)
  • Risk Committee members
  • Internal Audit leadership
  • Legal Department
  • Product Development teams
Outside the business
  • Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)
  • Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA)
  • External Auditors
  • Industry bodies and associations

9What you need before you start

Not a wish list. The things you would be expected to already have.

  • At least 5-8 years of hands-on experience as a Senior Compliance Officer or Lead Compliance Specialist within a regulated financial institution (preferably banking).
  • Demonstrable experience leading significant compliance projects or workstreams from end-to-end, showing clear ownership and impact.
  • Proven ability to interpret complex financial regulations and translate them into practical business requirements.
  • Experience managing relationships with senior business stakeholders, including challenging their perspectives when necessary.
  • A solid track record of identifying compliance risks, designing effective controls, and overseeing remediation efforts.
  • Experience in mentoring or informally leading junior team members.

10What to practise next

Where the job is going, and what to do about it starting this week.

Advanced Data Storytelling & Visualisation

While your team will build the dashboards, your job is to turn complex data into compelling narratives for the board and regulators. They don't want raw numbers; they want insights and clear calls to action. This means moving beyond basic charts to impactful visualisations that highlight key risks and trends.

Narrative structure for data presentations · Principles of effective data visualisation (e.g., Tufte's principles) · Audience-centric reporting

  • This month: Review our existing board reports. How could they be clearer? More impactful? What story are they really telling?
  • Next quarter: Find a good book or online course on 'Data Storytelling' or 'Information Design'.
  • Month 3-6: Mentor one of your team members on improving a key report or dashboard, focusing on the narrative and visual impact.
  • Month 6-12: Volunteer to present a complex compliance issue to a senior committee, focusing purely on the story the data tells.

Quick win: Before your next presentation, ask yourself: 'What's the single most important message I want my audience to take away?' Then build your entire presentation around that.

11Staying current once you are in

What people here do to keep up
  • Regularly attend industry conferences, webinars, and roundtables focused on regulatory developments and emerging risks in banking.
  • Maintain active membership in professional compliance associations (e.g., ICA, ACAMS) and participate in their working groups.
  • Engage in continuous professional development (CPD) to stay current with changes in financial crime, data privacy, and conduct regulations.
  • Seek out opportunities to mentor junior colleagues, as teaching often solidifies your own understanding.

12The rising capability

The rising capability

Zavmo analysis

What's rising in its place

This is where the work is heading, and the higher pay with it. Get fluent here and the shift stops being a threat and starts being your edge.

Ethical AI Governance & Explainability

As we use more AI in areas like AML alert triage, fraud detection, and even regulatory interpretation, we need to ensure these systems are fair, unbiased, and transparent. Regulators are already asking tough questions about 'black box' algorithms. Your team will be using these tools, so you need to understand their ethical implications.

  • Bias detection and mitigation in AI models
  • Explainable AI (XAI) techniques
  • AI model validation & testing frameworks
  • Data privacy in AI (e.g., federated learning, differential privacy)

Digital Asset & Web3 Compliance

Cryptocurrencies, NFTs, and decentralised finance (DeFi) are no longer niche; they're becoming mainstream. Our clients are getting involved, and so are the criminals. Regulators are rapidly developing rules, and we need compliance leaders who understand this space, not just from a theoretical perspective, but how it impacts our bank.

  • Blockchain fundamentals (public vs. private, consensus mechanisms)
  • FATF Travel Rule & VASP regulation
  • DeFi risks (e.g., smart contract vulnerabilities, oracle manipulation)
  • Crypto forensics & tracing tools

13What you’ll use

What you’ll use

Skills this role draws on

Technical

  • Regulatory Interpretation & Applicability Analysis
  • Risk & Control Self-Assessment (RCSA) Design & Oversight
  • AML/CTF/Sanctions Programme Management
  • Compliance Monitoring & Testing Programme Design
  • Policy Lifecycle Management & Governance
  • Root Cause Analysis (RCA) & Remediation Oversight

14The pathway

The pathway

How you actually get there, here

How you become one varies far more by country than what one does. This is the UK route. Most people take one of these ways in; the right one depends on where you're starting from.

  1. 1

    Senior Compliance Officer (L3) to Lead Compliance Officer (L4) to Manager (L5)

    Roughly 4-7 years from Senior to Manager

    Skills to master

    • At the Senior level, it's about leading projects and advising. As a Lead, you're architecting solutions and becoming an SME. To make the jump to Manager, you need to prove you can lead people, own programmes, and influence senior stakeholders effectively, not just on a project-by-project basis.

    You're ready to move on when

    • Successfully led multiple complex, cross-functional compliance projects.
    • Consistently provided high-quality, pragmatic compliance advice to business units.
    • Demonstrated informal leadership or mentorship of junior colleagues.
    • Taken initiative to improve compliance processes or controls within your area.
    • Successfully managed a challenging regulatory interaction or audit finding.
  2. 2

    Compliance Specialist (L4) from another regulated industry

    Roughly 1-3 years in a Lead/Specialist role before Manager

    Skills to master

    • If you're coming from another regulated sector (e.g., insurance, asset management), you'll need to rapidly get up to speed on banking-specific regulations and nuances. The leadership and programme management skills are transferable, but the domain knowledge needs to be solid.

    You're ready to move on when

    • Quickly assimilated banking-specific regulatory frameworks (e.g., FCA, PRA).
    • Successfully applied your specialist knowledge to banking contexts.
    • Built credibility with banking stakeholders and demonstrated understanding of their unique challenges.
    • Proven ability to lead a team or significant workstream in a new environment.
  3. 3

    Internal Audit or Risk Manager (L4) to Compliance Manager (L5)

    Roughly 2-4 years in Audit/Risk before Manager

    Skills to master

    • Your understanding of controls, risk assessment, and governance will be excellent. The gap to bridge is moving from independent assurance (Audit) or risk identification (Risk) to being the 'owner' of the 2nd Line of Defence – designing and implementing the controls, and advising the business directly.

    You're ready to move on when

    • Developed a deep understanding of the 2nd Line of Defence's role and responsibilities.
    • Demonstrated a proactive, advisory mindset rather than purely assurance/oversight.
    • Built strong relationships with compliance professionals and understood their day-to-day challenges.
    • Taken on projects that involve designing or improving compliance controls, not just auditing them.

15Where this role leads

The long view: This work can lead to Chief Compliance Officer, Chief Risk Officer, or Head of Regulatory Affairs.

The ten Future Fluencies

Zavmo analysis

The credential is what you can do today. These are what keep you valuable.

A qualification proves you can do the job as it's defined today. These ten are what decide whether you're still the obvious person for it in five years. They're the capabilities employers are now writing into senior roles faster than people are learning them. Zavmo weaves them through whatever you study, so you come out with both: the credential and the fluency.

The highlighted ones are the Fluencies your role leans on hardest, from how Banking Compliance Officer is actually changing.

How you would learn this

One to one, on the work you already do

A tutor sets the task against your own job and marks the reasoning, at your pace. There is no cohort to fall behind.

A lesson from Combating Financial Crime, worked against Banking Compliance Officer.

Combating Financial Crime Level 6

Applied to your work in Banking Compliance Officer

This unit aims to provide learners with a comprehensive understanding of the regulations, practices, and reporting requirements related to combating financial crime within the financial services industry. Learners will be able to describe regulations, explain the importance of KYC procedures, and explain reporting requirements related to suspected financial crime.

How the thinking builds
  1. 1 Remember
  2. 2 Understand
  3. 3 Apply
  4. 4 Analyse
  5. 5 Evaluate
  6. 6 Create
An illustration of a Zavmo lesson, built from this role’s own route. The unit, its objective and every criterion above are the awarding body’s own words, not an example.

It is £70 a month, billed monthly. Your free first module is Future Fluency, and you can cancel any time.

See Your Progress Grow Illustration
Banking Compliance Officer
  • Regulatory Interpretation & Applicability Analysis
  • Risk & Control Self-Assessment (RCSA) Design & Oversight
  • AML/CTF/Sanctions Programme Management
  • Compliance Monitoring & Testing Programme Design
  • Policy Lifecycle Management & Governance
  • Root Cause Analysis (RCA) & Remediation Oversight
This is your Mind Palace on learn.zavmo.ai. Every skill above comes from this role's own record, not an example borrowed from another job. A node lights up when you evidence it, and what you build stays yours between jobs. That is the part a course cannot do.

16The detail, folded away

Everything else the record holds

The career branches in full, how AI is already showing up in the day-to-day, and the questions people ask about this job. Here when you want them, out of the way while you decide.

Where it leads next, rung by rung

Where it leads

The career path, and where it branches

Banking Compliance Officer is a start, not a ceiling. Each step below asks for new skills and hands back more autonomy.

  1. Director of Compliance / Head of Financial Crime (L6)

    3-5 years as a Manager

    From managing a team/programme to shaping the compliance strategy for an entire business unit or a major functional area (e.g., Head of AML for the bank).

    • Developing and defending the bank's overall compliance framework.
    • Overseeing multiple compliance programmes and teams.
    • Leading major regulatory examinations and remediation programmes.
    • Driving cultural change around compliance across a large organisation.
    • M&A due diligence and integration from a compliance perspective.
Working with AI on the job

Working with AI

Where AI is starting to help

Let's be real, managing a compliance team and keeping up with regulations is a demanding job. What if you could cut down on the grunt work and focus on the strategic stuff? That's exactly what AI-powered tools are starting to offer, and we're embracing them.

We're building an AI Productivity Hub specifically for our Compliance_Quality_Health_Safety team. This isn't about replacing people; it's about giving you and your team superpowers. Imagine automating the tedious parts of regulatory analysis, speeding up investigations, and drafting policies in a fraction of the time. This means you can spend more time on high-value activities: coaching your team, engaging with business leaders, and strategically managing risk.

Alert Triage Automation

Use AI to perform the initial analysis of transaction monitoring alerts, automatically closing low-risk or obvious false positives. It'll also enrich high-risk alerts with supplementary data, giving your team a massive head start before they even look at a case. This means your officers spend less time on noise and more on genuine threats.

Network Analysis Acceleration

Leverage machine learning tools to chew through vast datasets and uncover complex, non-obvious money laundering rings or sanctions evasion networks. These are the patterns that traditional rule-based systems often miss, and they can take human investigators weeks to piece together. AI can highlight these connections in minutes.

Regulatory Impact Summariser

Feed new regulatory publications, consultation papers, and enforcement actions into an NLP model. It'll give you an executive summary, highlight key changes, and identify sections that directly impact the bank's existing policies. No more slogging through hundreds of pages just to find the relevant bits.

First-Draft Policy Generator

Use a generative AI assistant to create the initial draft of a new policy or procedure based on a specific regulation and a set of internal principles. This gives your team a structured, compliant starting point, cutting down the drafting time significantly so they can focus on refinement and customisation.

Common questions

Common questions

How do you become a Banking Compliance Officer?

Common routes in include Senior Compliance Officer to Lead Compliance Officer to Manager (Roughly 4-7 years from Senior to Manager), Compliance Specialist from another regulated industry (Roughly 1-3 years in a Lead/Specialist role before Manager) and Internal Audit or Risk Manager to Compliance Manager (Roughly 2-4 years in Audit/Risk before Manager). Times vary with prior experience.

Where can a Banking Compliance Officer progress to?

This role can lead on to Director of Compliance / Head of Financial Crime (3-5 years as a Manager), depending on the skills you build.

What new skills matter most for a Banking Compliance Officer?

Increasingly, Ethical AI Governance & Explainability and Digital Asset & Web3 Compliance. These are the skills our record of this role lists as growing.

Free tools

Want a read on where you stand?

Three free tools, no account needed. Each one ends with a role, a level and a way in.

17Where to go from here

Other roles at Level 6

Same depth of qualification, different job. Useful if the work appeals but this particular role does not.

This job at other levels
More jobs in compliance, quality and safety

Stay in the field you know and move sideways rather than up.

If you leave this industry

Skills in compliance, risk management and regulatory interpretation carry across financial services, including asset management, insurance and fintech, and into other regulated industries. The core work of safeguarding an organisation and working within complex rules applies broadly.

This role profile is © 2026 Growth Engineering Technologies Ltd. Built from UK occupational standards and regulated qualification data, and written for Zavmo.

You're not behind. You're right on time. The shift is only just beginning. Your role won't look the same in two years. Be the one who leads the change, not the one it happens to. Start my free Automation Fluency module What happens next: a free account, then we build your plan as you set up. No card. Build your plan, see your roadmap and meet the twelve tutors matched to you. All free. When you're ready to start learning, it's £70 a month, billed monthly. Cancel any time and billing stops.