SIMON MILLER, DIRECTOR OF STRATEGY, POLICY AND COMMUNICATIONS, CIFAS
Simon Miller, Cifas
Simon Miller discusses the growing scale and sophistication of fraud, explaining how organised criminal networks are increasingly using AI, deepfakes and impersonation techniques to carry out scams at an unprecedented pace. He highlights the rapid rise in investment fraud and the challenges facing organisations and consumers as fraudulent communications become increasingly convincing and difficult to identify. He also outlines how Cifas brings together 800 organisations across 25 sectors to share data and intelligence, helping prevent fraud and reduce losses.
The conversation also explores the importance of meaningful cross-sector collaboration in tackling fraud. Simon argues that organisations need greater clarity around data-sharing rules, alongside stronger international cooperation, to develop more effective solutions. He stresses that businesses must move beyond simply talking about collaboration and become more willing to share intelligence and take action, even if that means starting with smaller initiatives.
DANE PEDRO, HEAD OF UK COMPLIANCE & MLRO, MOLLIE
Dane Pedro, Mollie
Dane Pedro explores the growing challenges facing anti-money laundering and compliance teams as financial crime becomes increasingly sophisticated and regulations continue to evolve. She discusses how AI is accelerating existing fraud methods, including romance scams and money laundering through money mules, while making it harder for organisations to identify fraudulent activity. She also highlights the pressure on businesses to keep up with regulatory changes, invest in staff training and resources, and demonstrate how their use of AI delivers effective and accountable results.
The conversation also examines how organisations can use AI to strengthen transaction monitoring and customer onboarding, with Dane encouraging businesses to adopt the technology gradually, starting with clearly defined problems and regularly reviewing the results. She emphasises the importance of human oversight, effective data sharing and making better use of the information businesses already hold to tackle financial crime. She also discusses the need to balance security measures that prevent fraud with a smooth customer experience that doesn’t create unnecessary friction for legitimate customers.
IAIN ARMSTRONG, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF FCC STRATEGY, COMPLYADVANTAGE
Iain Armstrong, ComplyAdvantage
Iain Armstrong explores the importance of cross-sector collaboration and information sharing in the fight against organised financial crime. He argues that financial institutions, telecommunications companies and big tech businesses all hold valuable information that could help identify and prevent criminal activity, but that organisations need clearer accountability for sharing it effectively. He highlights the importance of making information sharing an explicit responsibility within businesses, with individuals held accountable for their contribution to wider financial crime prevention efforts.
The conversation also examines how AI is transforming financial crime compliance, particularly through agentic AI, automated screening processes and the ability to analyse and connect large volumes of data. Iain explains how AI can help reduce false positives, improve adverse media analysis and strengthen the identification of relationships between individuals and organisations, while emphasising that high-quality data remains essential. He also discusses the need to reform suspicious activity reporting to reduce defensive filings and suggests giving law enforcement and regulators greater visibility of payment networks to help trace the movement of money across financial institutions.
RORY TANNER, HEAD OF UK GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS AND PUBLIC POLICY, REVOLUT
Rory Tanner, Revolut
Rory Tanner explains how Revolut works with government, regulators and industry partners to strengthen the fight against fraud and organised crime. He highlights the importance of cross-sector collaboration and data sharing, pointing to initiatives such as the UK’s Online Crime Centre and Stop Scams UK as examples of how financial institutions, technology companies and telecommunications providers can work together. He also discusses Revolut’s role in influencing policy and legislation, particularly around the Online Safety Act and the responsibility of social media platforms to identify and remove fraudulent advertising. However, he warns that progress needs to happen more quickly and that inconsistent standards across platforms allow fraudsters to exploit weaker protections and move their activities elsewhere.
The conversation also examines what more can be done to hold technology companies accountable for preventing fraud. Rory argues that consistent standards, stronger regulatory enforcement and mandatory data sharing are needed to prevent scammers from exploiting gaps between platforms. He also highlights the potential of introducing shared liability for technology companies, similar to the reimbursement framework already applied to payment providers. He believes that platforms where scams originate should have a financial incentive to prevent fraud, rather than placing the responsibility solely on banks and payment providers when customers are often deceived before they ever make a transaction
MICHAEL WILLIAMS, CONSULTANCY HEAD, SIGNICAT
Michael Williams, Signicat
Michael Williams highlights how digital identity and orchestration can help businesses simplify customer onboarding, improve transaction monitoring and make better use of fragmented data. He explains how an orchestration layer allows organisations to retrieve the right information at the right time, reducing friction for customers while removing some of the development burden from internal teams. He also challenges the misconception that automated decisioning means losing control, arguing that the right combination of data, policy rules and automation can help businesses turn potential customer rejections into approvals without always requiring manual intervention.
The conversation also looks at how fraud prevention has evolved from manual data analysis towards more sophisticated, automated processes. Michael emphasises that better data sharing between organisations is essential if the industry is to keep pace with increasingly sophisticated fraudsters. He argues that businesses need to find ways to share insights and intelligence more freely, without allowing concerns around legal and GDPR implications to prevent meaningful collaboration. He believes a stronger culture of information sharing across the industry could make a significant difference in identifying and preventing fraud.
CLOSING SUMMARY
Tackling financial crime requires more than individual organisations strengthening their own defences. Across the episode, the discussions highlight how increasingly sophisticated fraud, gaps in regulation and limited information sharing continue to create opportunities for criminals. While AI and technology are helping businesses detect suspicious activity more effectively, the biggest opportunity lies in greater collaboration, clearer accountability and a more united approach to protecting consumers.
