The Financial Crime 360 report reveals rising fraud risks, uneven tech readiness, regulatory divides, and strong investment ahead.
Financial crime prevention dominates the payments agenda, yet confidence in regulatory approaches has reached a critical low. Analysis from The Payments Association’s 2025 Financial Crime 360 conference reveals that whilst 75% of payments leaders identify financial crime as their primary concern, only 42% express confidence in current regulatory frameworks—down from 83% in previous surveys. This 41-percentage-point collapse highlights an industry wrestling with threat complexity that has outpaced regulatory evolution.
To help members navigate this confidence gap, The Payments Association has published its Financial Crime 360 registrant findings, drawing insights from 1,618 senior decision-makers across 51 countries representing the full payments ecosystem.
Here are five themes that stand out.
1) AI dominates as the consensus solution to financial crime
Artificial intelligence captures 24% of all opportunity mentions—3.3 times higher than digital currencies at 7% and nearly five times higher than cross-border payments at 5%. This represents decisive market alignment: whilst the industry divides sharply on regulatory effectiveness, it unites completely behind technology as the path forward. AI interest spans all segments without exception, with 71-78% of budget holders, compliance professionals, technology providers, and financial services organisations prioritising AI-powered financial crime solutions. The convergence suggests payments leaders view AI not as a complement to regulation but as a necessary evolution beyond traditional compliance approaches.
2) Regulatory confidence reveals structural crisis across all segments
The confidence distribution shows stark polarisation: 43% of respondents score five or below on a ten-point scale, whilst 42% score seven or above, leaving only 15% in the middle ground. Mean confidence scores 6.18, masking fundamental disagreement about regulatory effectiveness. This divide persists across all cohorts: budget holders score 5.99, compliance functions 6.43, and even the highest-scoring segment—financial services at 6.53—falls short of strong readiness. Combined with 46% feeling unprepared for regulatory changes, these moderate scores indicate structural gaps rather than isolated concerns.
3) Financial crime prevention shifts from compliance function to product integration
The intersection of attendee interests reveals how leading organisations are restructuring their approach. Whilst 75% focus on financial crime, the overlap with cross-border payments (38%), digital currencies (34%), and open banking (33%) indicates successful firms no longer treat financial crime as standalone compliance. Leading payments firms are embedding prevention directly into product development and innovation roadmaps, dissolving traditional boundaries between compliance, product, and technology teams. This integration approach—where compliance becomes a feature rather than friction—represents a fundamental shift from reactive monitoring to proactive design.
4) Technology investment transitions from advantage to operational necessity
The challenge hierarchy provides clear strategic direction: financial crime leads concerns at 21%, but regulatory compliance ranks lower at 11% and digital transformation at just 6%. This suggests throwing more compliance resources at the problem yields diminishing returns. The 24% identifying AI as their biggest opportunity signals competitive advantage comes from technological leverage rather than expanded compliance teams. Organisations unable to deliver AI-enabled financial crime prevention face talent, capital, and competitive disadvantage. The gap between technology leaders and laggards will widen as AI adoption accelerates.
5) Senior leadership drives technology procurement authority
Survey composition demonstrates decision-making power: 49% of respondents hold C-suite or director positions, 18% are explicit budget holders, and 38% work in risk and compliance functions. This seniority mix ensures participants possess both strategic authority and procurement influence to drive technology adoption. When combined with universal preparedness deficits ranging from 5.86 to 6.25 across all segments, the data indicates immediate market opportunity for AI-enabled solutions that bridge confidence gaps and deliver capabilities current regulatory frameworks cannot provide.
Looking ahead
The Financial Crime 360 findings show an industry at an inflexion point: financial crime threats evolve faster than regulations can adapt, creating a structural confidence crisis that spans the entire payments ecosystem. But the research also highlights decisive market consensus around the solution. AI adoption represents not just a strategic advantage but an operational necessity, with technology-enabled approaches now defining industry best practice. Organisations that transform financial crime prevention from a cost centre to a competitive differentiator will be those achieving this integration earliest.
TPA members can access the full 2025 Financial Crime 360 registrant findings for detailed analysis, segment breakdowns, and strategic recommendations. If you are not yet a member, now is the time to join the community shaping the future of payments.
