New frontiers in Risk and Compliance

Technologyis revolutionising the financial sector and in the coming years will furthertransform its operations. How are regulators and compliance professionalskeeping abreast? By David Povey and Janet Adams.

David Povey is content development manager,ICA Learning and Janet Adams is an AI and risk expert at theInternational Compliance Association, a professional body for the globalregulatory and financial crime compliance community. They offer courses in DemystifyingCryptocurrencies and FinancialCrime Risk and New Technology. To learn more visit: www.int-comp.org/course-finder/.

We are at the edge of a major shift in how technology andfinancial services interact with one another. The past 30 years have seenmassive developments in how financial services operate and deal with customers.We have seen a move from all business being conducted face-to-face in branchesto an increase in the number of interactions being carried out digitally (with theimpacts of Covid-19 accelerating this trend). With technology moving at such apace, we are now at the point of a critical change. Cryptocurrency, blockchain,artificial intelligence, fintech, DeFi (decentralised finance) ­­– these termsare no longer the playthings of enthusiasts and dark corners of the internetbut are about to burst onto the mainstream stage and change the face offinancial services forever. This article considers these technologies, andtheir impact on financial services, in greater detail.