We all know the theoretical power of collaboration in enhancing effectiveness and improving quality. But in financial crime-fighting spaces, what does that really look like? The Wolfsberg Group has released a paper discussing this very topic, specifically focusing on the role of Public-Private Partnerships in strengthening anti-money laundering and counter-financing terrorism (AML/CFT) regimes. Meaningful collaboration has long been a coveted feature of any successful initiative and when it comes to financial crime-fighting capabilities, operating in isolation is a significant hindrance carrying huge potential risks.
Defining a successful Public-Private PartnershipThe Wolfsberg Group lists several essential features for a strong partnership. These include:
Senior-level participation and sponsorship. Active involvement by high-up individuals from financial institutions, law enforcement, and other public sector participants lends an air of legitimacy, importance, and respect to the partnership, encouraging more meaningful information sharing.
Regular meetups. A structure that brings participants together regularly fortifies better working relationships, more trust, and better collaboration. Whether in-person or virtual, regular meetups with a designated time slot ensures prioritisation of the initiative and helps create a better community.
An inclusive group. Purposeful and fruitful discussions are more likely to emerge from a diverse group. A multidisciplinary membership encompassing a cross-section of actors like smaller financial institutions, FinTechs, national level law enforcement agencies, key regulators and supervisors, NGOs and academics will provide a more thorough understanding of emerging threats and typologies.
Prioritise actionable information. Instead of high-level typologies that are vague and abstract, centring on the sharing of actionable information will create better results.
A legal framework for information-sharing. National legislation needs to permit information sharing that allows actors to do their job better. While the Wolfsberg Group acknowledges the significant progress in many jurisdictions for such a framework, more work must be done.
Multi-directional information sharing. Maximum collaboration includes allowing financial institutions to share information with each other.
Impact tracking. With all initiatives, tracking impact and metrics are vital to identify any areas of improvement. This includes the maintenance of performance metrics, such as the number of suspicious transaction reports filed, arrests made, or funds seized.
The underlying fundamental truth, as highlighted by the Wolfsberg Group, is that “collaboration and dialogue lead to far better outcomes than initiatives pursued in a silo”.
For FinTechs looking to thrive free from the threats of financial crime, how can they effectively move out of silos and into a supportive and collaborative space?
The short answer is — to join a collaborative global community of FinTechs that concentrates on fostering and fortifying anti-financial crime strategies. Curated information and resource sharing are fundamentally game-changing, as FinTechs can leverage a worldwide network of partners to give them an advantage in fighting financial crime and focus on booming as a business.
What is the FinTech FinCrime Exchange?
The FinTech FinCrime Exchange, or as we affectionately call it, the FFE, is a global network of FinTechs that regularly collaborate on best practices in financial crime risk management. Connecting over 200 FinTechs to share information on criminal typologies and controls, members help each other and, by extension, the entire sector’s ability to detect and counter the global threat of financial crime.
The FFE was created by FINTRAIL and the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) and has evolved from a small roundtable to an extensive global community with monthly meet-ups boasting informative presentations, expert working groups and white papers, a vibrant Slack community, and an annual in-person conference which is a staple of the FinTech FinCrime community. All FinTechs, big and small, are welcome! Join the community here.
The FFE ticks many of the boxes that the Wolfsberg Group lays out:
Multidisciplinary in nature, involving presenters from academia, law enforcement, and non-profit groups sharing financial crime threats from their perspectives
An engaging membership — meet-ups allow for question-asking and sharing experiences as part of the FFE’s architecture
Presentations from members provide real-life case studies and typologies, practical advice, and actionable recommendations.
FinTechs need meaningful collaboration to thrive and support their anti-financial crime strategies. As financial crime threats are global in nature, having access to a global network gives members a trusted place to exchange information and an increasingly far-reaching network of resources and perspectives to leverage.
Tom Keatinge, Director, Centre for Financial Crime & Security Studies, RUSI
“The FFE has set the pace globally on developing PPP leadership for the FinTech sector since 2017. Recognising the value of collaborative working, but also that FinTechs are generally excluded from government-led PPPs, the FFE provides a forum through which the FinTech community can collaborate as an industry as well as with invited guests from the public sector and other areas of the private sector to strengthen their collective response to financial crime.”
To join the growing community of FinCrime professionals click here.