Priorities for 2026 and 2027
Fraud prevention and AML lead respondents’ challenges. Members should assess whether investment plans address their risks and deliver measurable improvements.
Fraud prevention and AML lead respondents’ financial crime challenges.
Among FC360 registration respondents, 24% selected fraud prevention as their biggest financial crime challenge for the next 12 months; 20% selected AML and transaction monitoring effectiveness.
For members, the task is to translate these pressures into investment decisions. The findings describe reported challenges and spending intentions, rather than control effectiveness. Leaders should use them to question whether their own plans address the risks they face and how improvements will be measured.
Respondents report overlapping financial crime risks
In the Pulse Survey, 92% of respondents reported at least one of ten listed financial crime risks in the previous 12 months. Digital identity and know your customer (KYC) weaknesses were the most frequently reported risk; mule account activity was the least frequently reported. These responses describe exposure to listed risks, rather than the effectiveness of firms’ defences.
In the AML typologies session, 4 of 11 respondents selected real-time monitoring as the weakest point in AML transaction monitoring, 4 selected micro-transaction patterns and 2 selected mule detection. These small counts illustrate concerns among session participants and cannot establish their prevalence across the industry.
"Real-time payments have transformed the user experience, but they have also increased the speed at which fraudsters can move money and have reduced the time available to intervene."
David Crawford, Chief Strategy and Product Officer, Pay.UK.
In the Fraud Strategy poll, 17 of 59 respondents selected AI regulation as the regulatory or policy change creating the greatest uncertainty for their organisation.
Fraud prevention and AML lead reported challenges
Among registration respondents who answered the financial crime questions, 24% selected fraud prevention, including APP scams and card fraud, as their biggest financial crime challenge for the next 12 months. AML and transaction monitoring effectiveness came second, at 20%. Registration respondents were a different group from participants in the live session polls.
Among registration respondents, 13% of budget holders selected the cost of compliance as their biggest financial crime challenge, compared with 4% of other respondents.
Among registration respondents who answered the spending question, 57% selected “Don’t know” for predicted spending over the next 12 months. Approximately one-third of budget holders gave that answer. This does not establish that their organisations lack budgets: respondents may not know or have access to the relevant figures.
Half of Pulse respondents selected AI fraud prevention among the capabilities they were most likely to invest in over the next 12 months. Separately, 6 of 12 respondents in the fraud and AML session said they were moving towards a combined fraud and AML function or already operated one. The session result is illustrative and does not establish an industry trend.
Anna Sweeney, Head of Advisory, fscom
Interview takeaway: Calibrate controls and improve transaction monitoring to strengthen effectiveness in 2027.
Humera Yakub, Head of Fraud, Pay.UK
Interview takeaway: Additional pre-payment data could support fraud prevention through Pay.UK’s proposed Enhanced Data Exchange (EDEx).