Where do governments and regulators around the world draw the line between protecting the privacy of their citizens and providing the appropriate level of oversight and transparency that helps keep them safe from criminal activity? How can they protect their citizens and safeguard their rights at the same time?
The solution isn’t fighting fire with fire, nor is it a fintech arms race in hopes of leveraging the latest technological innovations to stay one step ahead of criminals.
Rather, what is needed is a new approach to combating these types of illegal activities through joint efforts by both the public and private sectors.
This will require government regulators to work closely with the international banking industry to create global data standards that balance data protection with the ability to securely share data across borders and sectors. It will also require the development of better mechanisms by which financial institutions can check for suspicious activity. The role of technology can only be to improve the scope, efficiency and effectiveness of these processes.
Ultimately, this is about trust – both in terms of individuals trusting their governments and banks to use their data appropriately, and in terms of banks and regulators having a high degree of confidence in the identities of account holders.
Collaboration is key
Achieving this again requires a commitment to collaboration. We need to build new frameworks that allow for better data sharing across sectors, between banks, governments, regulators, security agencies and technology companies, increasing transparency and security while preserving individual privacy.
Technology can help make the system more secure, but building the trust and processes that are the foundation of success will require a collaborative effort from new public and private partners in fighting crime.
In other words, to thwart financial crime today, financial institutions and law enforcement agencies alike must embrace not only new technologies, but new ways of working.
