AML Regulatory Change: A Growing Strategic Priority for Compliance Teams

Anti-money laundering (AML) regulatory changes are a consistent part of the compliance landscape rather than a cyclical phenomenon. AML-related updates now represent an increasingly significant proportion of global regulatory activity, signalling that financial crime prevention has become a core priority for supervisory authorities worldwide. For organisations operating in high-risk sectors such as banking and payments, this trend demands heightened attention, as the financial and reputational consequences of non-compliance can be costly.

In an environment where regulatory expectations are evolving continuously, and often faster than formal regulations themselves, companies need to be establishing proactive risk assessment, technological investment and adaptive compliance frameworks that are capable of responding to emerging requirements before they become mandatory.

The Bigger Picture

Vixio's Horizon Scanning data shows, even with fluctuations, a significant number of industry-specific updates related to AML are released every month globally, only dropping below 20 for one month in the last year. The highest peak in 2025 so far was in July, which is unusual for a summer month when regulatory activity typically slows. There was a flurry of activity in the UK that month, which included the release of the national risk assessment and a crypto-asset threat assessment, and in New Zealand, which revealed reforms to its anti-money laundering/counter-terrorism financing (AML/CTF) framework.

Although AML updates from the Latin America region lag far behind Europe so far this year, there is potential for regulatory impact to grow moving forward, with draft frameworks being introduced in Peru and Uruguay.

AML/CTF: A growing regulatory priority

Vixio Horizon Scanning data also highlights that AML-related regulatory updates are progressively representing a larger percentage of global regulatory activity, reflecting an overall trend toward increased focus on financial crime compliance. At this point last year, just over 10 percent of updates published each month related to AML, whereas it is now up to around 20 percent for the last four months.

The focus on AML/CTF could be regulators’ reaction to keeping pace with the increasing sophistication and advancements of financial crimes. Legacy regulation and systems were created long before some technologies or financial crimes were even born or known about.

The legislative process can be slow, when taking into consideration discussions, consultations, reviews, etc., which means that regulators and authorities are not equipped with keeping up to date with the rapid-paced world of financial crime. Crimes that are also becoming more coordinated and harder to detect. So although AML regulatory activity remains high, it appears reactive, responding to rather than anticipating innovations in technology and criminal advancements. This also suggests that AML-related regulatory activity could continue to grow in an ever-evolving technological world.

Key AML regulatory trends in 2025 and beyond

For companies to understand how to plan strategically and allocate resources effectively with regard to AML compliance, they need to identify and understand the main focuses of regulatory activity. In 2025, key trends include:

• Crypto-assets now coming squarely into focus of AML regulation.
• Automation and AI being embedded more and more into the AML compliance process, which can bring benefits but can also allow for potential weaknesses to appear.
• A lot of movement by those who have been recently removed from, or are looking to exit, the so-called FATF “grey list”, again with a particular focus on crypto-assets.

Why should you care?

Although the initial compliance burden could be substantial, institutions that invest in robust, adaptable systems will ultimately benefit from streamlined processes that enhance both security and operational efficiency.

With more and more onus being placed on companies’ ability to anticipate and prevent financial crimes before they happen, they should:

• Monitor and track regulatory developments: identifying trends and patterns across jurisdictions could allow firms to predict future regulatory direction before it even happens and can ensure they are compliant when it does catch up. This should mean firms do not encounter costly enforcement action as a result of lax compliance.

• Develop and build out technical capabilities and systems: automation and AI solutions should help free up the time of compliance professionals to focus on the tasks they need to; however, such solutions should always be accompanied with strict governance and compliance practices to safeguard against operational failures. The volume and impact of regulatory changes also looks to be ever increasing, which means digital solutions to help with regulatory reporting and other tasks could be a massive time-saving investment.

• Train and invest in personnel: ensuring staff are kept up-to-date and trained on all the latest developments and requirements will help to make sure companies remain compliant and not susceptible to criminal elements. It doesn’t matter what the size of a company is, the AML requirements stay the same, so smaller companies may not have the capabilities of larger companies but they will still be required to comply, which means ensuring they have the right skills and knowledge available to them. Staff not being informed or prepared could again lead to costly enforcement action, reputational damage and operational disruptions.

• Establish relationships with AML supervisors in jurisdictions: fostering these kinds of relationships could be beneficial in understanding the AML regulatory landscape. For example, if operating in the EU, high-risk financial institutions and obliged entities should look to establish a relationship with AMLA, as it will be directly responsible for supervision. However, building relationships with national competent authorities and financial intelligence units will help ensure you keep up to date with the latest developments, and could give you an advantage over competitors.

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