The financial services sector is a cornerstone of modern economies. It plays a critical role in the economic development of any society, providing economic stability. Players within the sector continuously seek new and innovative ways to streamline operations and cater to the ever-changing needs of the industry.

The simulation of human intelligence processes by computer systems, commonly referred to as Artificial Intelligence (AI), has driven significant advancements in the financial sector.

It has increased the efficiency of doing work and provided better solutions for the operational challenges faced by financial institutions (FIs).

AI has gradually become an indispensable tool for FIs, with at least 75 per cent of global banks implementing AI-driven solutions in at least one operational area, according to Statista (Statista.com, 2024).

Its use has facilitated the integration of fraud prevention and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) efforts, helping in the identification of overlapping risks and streamlining their strategies.

The 2024 PwC Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) AML survey report further revealed that emerging financial markets in the Middle East and Africa are eager to implement new technologies to fight money laundering.

Over 71 per cent of African financial institutions stated that they will allocate over 10 per cent of their budget to digital spending.

A key area where AI has been instrumental is in the analysis of transactions in real time, identifying patterns and anomalies that may be indicative of fraud. This results in a reduction in the number of false positives, allowing experts to focus their efforts on investigating suspicious transactions and increasing detection rates.

The integration of AI into Know Your Customer (KYC) processes has also proven to be beneficial within the financial services sector, by enhancing verification and monitoring of customer identities.

Through the use of unique biological features such as fingerprints, voiceprints or facial recognition, financial institutions can accurately identify individuals. This makes it difficult for criminals to impersonate customers or create false identities.

The use of AI also enables players in the financial services sector to remain compliant with the laws and policies while managing their costs. Through the use of AI-driven compliance tools, they can stay up-to-date with legal and regulatory requirements by automating the monitoring of regulatory changes.

Additionally, customer experience and awareness have improved significantly, with interactive chatbots which guide various aspects, including alerting customers to potential scams.

The use of AI for the detection and prevention of financial crime has been backed by various laws and policies globally. The European Union (EU) Payment Services Regulation (PSR) provides a legal basis for information sharing under the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR).

Under the PSR, the revised Payment Services Directive (PSD2) requires financial institutions to strengthen their security protocols and cooperate through information sharing to prevent fraud.

AI and other digital technologies can be leveraged upon to collect this data from a variety of sources and ensure there is secure information sharing.

In Singapore, an information-sharing platform, the collaborative sharing of Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing (ML/TF) Information  Cases (Cosmic), has been developed to enhance the detection of financial crime.This progressive approach can be adopted by other countries to help them be recognised as trusted financial hubs. Beneath the transformative promise of AI for the financial sector lies a darker side.

Criminals may also use AI to simulate legitimate transactions or behaviours. These activities may include vishing, which aids fraudulent activities through voice impersonation, as well as AI-generated digital forgeries to deceive biometric authentication systems. As a result, Financial Institutions should ensure that their systems are continuously monitored and updated so that they are resilient against new fraud techniques.

Despite AI taking root in some countries and sub-sectors, its full potential in financial crime management is yet to be realised. Notably, in Kenya, the adoption of AI by financial institutions is still in its nascent stages due to challenges in data quality as well as the often-prohibitive initial acquisition cost.

Financial institutions are faced with the need to balance their obligations to detect and report financial crime with the need to uphold the privacy and security of data subjects.

This requires robust data governance policies and systems, demanding an investment in both expertise and data infrastructure. The absence of clear guidelines and standards for AI implementation in the financial services sector also creates uncertainty, which hampers the ability of financial institutions to utilise AI optimally.

With the advent of new and emerging technologies, the financial services sector faces the crucial task of balancing the use of AI with data privacy obligations.

To achieve this, financial institutions must ensure that the AI systems they implement are secure and ethically designed to prevent misuse and maintain the integrity of the financial system.