NEW YORK—According to new research, a third of financial institutions are accelerating their AI and machine learning (ML) adoption for anti-money laundering technology in response to COVID-19.
At the same time, 39% of compliance professionals say their AI/ML adoption plans will continue unchanged, despite the pandemic's disruption.
The results are from an AML technology study focusing on industry trends conducted by SAS, KPMG and the Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists (ACAMS), Security Brief reported.
The report, “Acceleration Through Adversity: The State of AI and Machine Learning Adoption in Anti-Money Laundering Compliance,” along with a complementing survey, examines results from over 850 ACAMS members globally.
The survey asked each respondent how their employer used technology to detect money laundering, which is estimated to be in the range of 2% to 5% of global GDP or $800 billion to $2 trillion annually.
The Key Technologies
According to the survey, AI and ML have emerged as key technologies for compliance professionals, streamlining the AML compliance processes. Over half (57%) of respondents have either deployed AI/ML into their AML compliance processes, are piloting AI solutions, or plan to implement them in the next 12-18 months.
"As regulators worldwide increasingly judge financial institution's compliance efforts based on the effectiveness of the intelligence they give law enforcement, it’s no surprise 66% of respondents believe regulators want their institutions to leverage AI and machine learning," said Kieran Beer, ACAMS chief analyst and director of editorial content.
"While many in the anti-financial crime world the regulators and financial institutions alike are just coming up to speed on these advanced analytic technologies, there's shared hope these tools will produce effective financial intelligence to catch bad actors."
Small FIs Also Investing
The largest financial institutions are not the only ones leading the charge on technology adoption. The report found 28% of large financial institutions, those with assets greater than $1 billion, consider themselves innovators and fast adopters of AI technology. However, 16% of smaller financial institutions (those valued below $1 billion) also view themselves as industry leaders in AI adoption.