Digital solutions are an enabler for financial crime prevention for 86% of companies

Digital solutions are an enable for financial crime prevention for 86% of companies

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Companies and individuals have faced difficulties during the pandemic, taking shortcuts and making fast decisions.

Criminals have upped their game and taken advantage of remote working and cloud-based information.

Despite this, there are increasing ways for companies to tackle this with digital technology.

Based on a survey of 2920 managers in large organizations across 30 countries, Refinitiv’s report looks at how technology, data and automation act as enablers and transformers for tackling fraud. The survey is comprised of 20% C-suite, 39% senior management and 41% middle management.

Taking shortcuts and technology uptake

Technology is shaping the future of risk. Whilst working together helps, 86% of respondents agreed that innovative technologies have also helped identify financial crime – faster than humans can. Collaboration between the two is key.

86% of respondents either use technology to support them with fraud detection or are looking to do so in future. It is becoming omnipresent, where the pandemic has increase investment in technology to fight financial crime. 43% admitted they felt under extreme pressure to increase revenue and would look at deploying digital technologies like artificial intelligence and machine learning to assist and ease stress.

Closing the compliance gap
Figure 1 – Company efforts to prevent financial crime: How would you allocate your company’s overall efforts (cost and time) to prevent the following aspects of financial crime?

Remote working and the use of cloud technologies have made individuals and companies more vulnerable to attacks, including fraud. Technology is an enabler to fight this, with 20% of respondents claiming this has become a greater priority (figure.1). Moreover, it is helping to raise awareness and detect compliance failings.

Technology leads the way
Figure 2 – Detecting financial crime: How strongly do you agree or disagree with the following statement?

The report reveals that companies not using technology are choosing to operate in ignorance and are putting themselves at risk. Technology and data play a key role in reducing such risks, but also have the power to reshape it: its use for tackling fraud is only increasing and nearly half of respondents admitted that using innovative digital technologies has helped identify more financial crime issues (figure.2).

“Organisations which use innovative technologies are not just better protected from customer and third-party risk, they are more aware of them and crucially are more likely to continue investing in further prevention and mitigation.”
Phil Cotter, Group Head, Customer & Third Party Risk Solutions, Data & Analytics, Refinitiv
Figure 3 – Investing to prevent financial crime: What key categories of financial crime prevention are seeing the most investment by your company in 2021?

57% of respondents reveal their companies have invested in automation and digitisation beyond people and talent as it can be quicker and cheaper (figure.3).

Figure 4 – Technology used to prevent financial crime: Which of the following technologies do you presently use for financial crime prevention?

Which technologies are being used to prevent financial crime? Refinitiv‘s respondents reveal they’ve a combination from cloud-based data and technology (65%) to blockchain and AI and ML, which many still wanting to implement more (figure 4).

KEY TAKEAWAYS

  • Technology is a key enabler for tackling fraud
  • Companies have to reduce risk and help build a safer future
  • Innovative technologies can help identify and disrupt criminal activity
  • Advanced companies investing in technology have more ability to collaborate
  • Companies choosing not to use appropriate technologies are operating in the blind

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