Fighting financial crime has always taken an international perspective, requiring global anti-money laundering standards and cross-jurisdictional information-sharing. But what about the financial crime fighters who are instrumental in building firms’ defences and catching bad actors?
What lessons can be learned from working in a different country with foreign regulations and cultural nuances? And what value can FinCrime professionals get and give from working in different corners of the world?
As one of FINTRAIL’s international hires and someone who works from different countries frequently (thanks to FINTRAIL’s progressive digital nomad policy 🎉) — I connected with three members of the FinTech FinCrime Exchange (FFE) who have lived and worked in foreign countries to find out.
If you’re a FinCrime professional curious about moving to another country for work, read on for some peer-driven wisdom, insight, and invaluable advice.
🇦🇪 UAE
Shruti moved from the UK to work for a Dubai-based FinTech in September 2022. She describes her experience as “amazing” while noting the inherent challenges of working in a new environment with different rules. The UK, which is a major global financial centre with a structured financial services system and long-established, well-regarded regulators, is contrasted to the UAE. In this region the financial free zones such as the Dubai International Finance Centre and the Abu Dhabi Global Market have been set up more recently. As the country is relatively new, its legal system and regulatory landscape is extremely agile, rapidly changing and evolving.
While a lot of the payment services regulation for the Dubai Financial Services Authority is similar to that of the Financial Conduct Authority in the UK, the complexity in the region lies in practical differences like identification documents, proof of address, and business communication styles. Unlike in the UK, business communication often happens through informal non-traditional channels. Shruti describes working informally with third-party partners in a positive light:
“we will exchange voice notes on WhatsApp to discuss arrangements which is really useful. We continue to maintain an audit trail via official channels, but this almost informal communication helps you build relationships better.”
When asked what advice she would give to a FinCrime employee looking to cross countries, Shruti says,
“Keep an open mind as to how that individual country operates and its own complexities within its own regulatory landscape. I think I assumed at times that I could easily apply regulation that I was familiar with to various jurisdictions but this didn't take into account the nuances of each country and it's way of operating. There's a social, economic and political view to also consider. You need to get to the country to work out what they do, how they do it and why they choose to do it in a particular way. So make sure you don’t get lost in your previous experience and just be very open to different ways of working and educating yourself.”
🇦🇺 Australia
David moved to Australia from the UK to work for a FinTech remittance company. In addition to favourable weather and a different pace of life, he discovered many regulatory similarities between the two jurisdictions. On key differences, David notes,
“the main thing that was difficult to adjust to was how involved some of the transaction reporting or customer information reporting obligations are. That’s something we don’t have in the UK.”
Overall, the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre and the Australian Federal Police are highly engaged: “There’s a clear line of communication and transparency of communication about their intentions when they come and speak to regulated firms and the work on all the requested information around cases or financial crime investigations”. The involvement, transparency, and feedback around financial crime investigations was incredibly motivating, making David’s team “feel really engaged with the process of stopping financial crime”. Chalking it up to Australia’s regulatory culture he says,
“there are very clear lines of authority here whereas in other countries there’s a more nuanced approach. This clarity transfers into how Australia’s set up their infrastructure for fighting financial crime.”
Beyond solid engagement with the regulator and law enforcement, adjusting to regional financial crime risks was also vital. For example, in the case of Australia, this meant being mindful of the South Pacific drug shipment corridors where a lot of the risk management is focused.
When asked to share wisdom for FinCrime professionals headed abroad, David said, “Do some homework. Go read the regulations before you get there but don’t be scared if you don’t know them backwards. Look at the intention of the law. Secondly, in our current remote-first environment, spend time in the office because you’re going to want to get to know your team.”
🇸🇬 Singapore
Genevieve has lived and worked in Singapore for the last five years, having previously lived in the UK and Australia. Speaking fondly about her time in the culturally-diverse Wise office, she recounted some of the unique experiences and exchanges that make living abroad so special. From a FinCrime perspective, being in Singapore for a significant time allowed her to witness major regulatory developments, like the expansion from manual to technology identification verification. “When I first joined, there was a piece of work done to lobby the Singapore government around face-to-face verification,” she recalls. Seeing the progression and regulator’s acceptance of online verification and the use of technology has been “really cool”. Noting the regulator’s openness and eagerness to understand and engage, Genevieve points to newer collaborative developments, such as the efforts of the Singapore Police, the Monetary Authority of Singapore, and the FinTech community to discuss escalating scam rates. Being part of these collaborative experiences add to your toolkit as a financial crime fighter, no matter which country you work in.
When asked to provide advice to other FinCrime professionals considering moving countries, Genevieve shares,
“Go for it. Don’t wait. You become so much richer for moving to other markets and understanding the FinCrime priorities and how that translates into the local rules. It’s also a great opportunity to share your experience locally. So don’t wait; go for it.”
If you want to feel connected to the international FinTech community, see job postings, or share and learn about typologies — join the FFE today.
For a practical and comprehensive overview of fincrime risks, regulatory risks, and operational issues in some key markets — check out our Know Your Market guides.