A deep dive with Becki LaPorte on AML innovation, regulatory pressures, and how fintechs can scale compliance in an increasingly real-time financial world.
Becki, you’ve held diverse roles across the compliance ecosystem. Could you tell us about your professional background and how has your career journey shaped your perspective on AML strategy and innovation today?
I always say that I have taken a tour of the industry. I have been a practitioner, a regulator, a consultant, and an advisor across multiple verticals. This experience has given me a multi-faceted perspective on any compliance challenge. I know what it feels like to be the end user, and I know how a regulator conducts an examination and what they look for and why. In a lot of ways, it makes my job easier because I’m not guessing what the challenges are. It also makes it easier to work with customers because I speak their language. There are so many things you need to consider when choosing a technology solution. Does it create efficiencies? Is it easy to use and understand? Is it trustworthy? How good is the service when something goes sideways (because it usually does)? Being able to think that way organically helps me partner internally to deliver the solution that best meets our customers’ needs.
You’ve spoken about the importance of a supportive yet sensible regulatory environment. How do you interpret the signals currently being sent by the Financial Conduct Authority to fintech firms, and what impact could this have on the UK’s competitiveness as a fintech hub?
The FCA is sending mixed signals. Its Regulatory Sandbox and Innovate Hub program remain genuinely world-class, but firms are experiencing slower authorizations, heavier compliance burdens, and a regulatory culture that can feel risk averse. The Consumer Duty, while well-intentioned, adds real cost particularly for smaller fintechs.
What makes this consequential is the competitive context. The FCA now has a statutory obligation to consider UK competitiveness, yet Singapore, the UAE, and the EU are all actively courting fintech investment. If authorization timelines remain lengthy and compliance costs disproportionate, firms will simply locate elsewhere.
My interpretation is that the FCA’s intent is broadly right, but execution lags ambition. The danger is that cautious regulation ends up protecting incumbents rather than enabling challengers. The UK has the talent and infrastructure to lead — but that position isn’t guaranteed, and regulatory friction is a very real threat to that leadership potential.
How can early-stage fintechs balance rapid innovation and speed to market with building strong, sustainable compliance controls from the outset?
Fintechs must innovate with the customer in mind. I have seen startups create really cool, cutting-edge stuff that they can’t sell. The customer might think it’s interesting, but is it something they can explain to their regulator? Is it something the customer actually needs? How are they going to convince leadership it’s worth the financial investment – especially if those first two requirements aren’t met? I would also encourage fintechs to become deeply knowledgeable about the regulations in the jurisdictions they are targeting. Their buyers are often experts in regulation. If they can’t deliver something that fully meets those requirements, they will struggle to sell their product.
What does “compliance beyond the minimum” mean in practice, and how should firms align additional controls with their specific risk profile and business model?
Regulators need to create rules that apply across a wide spectrum of business models and risk appetites. Their rules need to apply equally to a small, local financial institution with 500 customers and a large global financial institution with millions of customers. The rules outline the minimum expectation, and perhaps for the lower risk firm, that is good enough. But as firms heighten their risk and expand their footprint, they need to use the rule as a baseline and then develop a program that matches their risk tolerance and business model. Perhaps there is a rule that allows 30 days to complete a task. But for a firm with a lot of high-risk customers, a lot can happen in 30 days. They may be compelled tighten the deadline to 10 days to ensure nothing falls through the cracks.
What scalability challenges do fast-growing fintechs face in compliance, and how can they design frameworks early on that scale with the business?
Fintechs often create something that fits a specific need in a particular industry. When they try to scale and add new verticals or jurisdictions, that original product may not meet those new needs, and they don’t understand that until it’s too late. Having a good growth strategy at the beginning and planning new verticals and products early on is key to scaling everything, including resources, over time.
For example, I remember a time when a broker-dealer was expanding into a completely new online account opening and onboarding process. The tool that was created was not suited for the securities industry. The owners were very proud of how streamlined and low-friction their offering was since a new customer would only need to complete 10 fields versus the previous number of more than 40. But what they didn’t realize was that those additional fields were all linked to regulatory requirements unique to the securities industry. Their business model was built on streamlining and minimizing, so additional fields took development time and cost they hadn’t anticipated.
What does effective regulator engagement look like, and how can fintechs build transparent, constructive relationships with supervisors from the outset?
Every regulator has a different structure. To create effective relationships, it is wise to seek how best to interact with each of them. I recommend that fintechs attend regulator events such as roundtables, conferences, or virtual updates. Learn how to engage them when you have questions. Understand that they are likely not going to tell you exactly how to conduct your business, but they will give you some guidance or best practices. Showing that you want to partner with them to ensure a compliant business goes a long way when they do find a gap or mistake.
What key compliance trends are emerging in payments and blockchain fintechs, and which risk areas are evolving faster than firms expected?
A major compliance trend in payments and blockchain fintechs is the shift from periodic monitoring to real-time financial crime controls. With instant payment networks, digital wallets, and blockchain-based settlement systems, transactions move in seconds. This is forcing compliance teams to perform sanctions screening, AML checks, and risk scoring almost instantly. Unsurprisingly, traditional processes alone are no longer sufficient in the real-time world. Also, firms will need to have deeper visibility into ultimate beneficial ownership, counterparties, and transaction context across global networks.
Risk areas are also evolving faster than many firms expected. Real-time payments, AI-enabled fraud, and social-engineering scams are creating new opportunities for financial criminals while regulators are imposing stricter expectations for rapid detection and prevention. At the same time, enforcement actions are becoming more severe, particularly in the US and Europe. As a result, firms are recalibrating compliance models toward data-driven risk monitoring, faster screening technologies, and infrastructure designed for 24/7 payment ecosystems.
What AML and financial crime risks do stablecoins and emerging digital payment tools introduce, and how can firms effectively monitor activity across complex technology environments?
Stablecoins and emerging digital payment tools introduce new AML risks because they enable fast, borderless transfers across multiple platforms and intermediaries, often outside traditional banking channels. Criminals can exploit third-party wallets, private payment rails, or fragmented ecosystems to move funds quickly and obscure transaction trails. The speed of settlement, combined with the growing use of AI-driven scams and social-engineering attacks, creates an environment where illicit funds can circulate before traditional monitoring processes detect suspicious activity.
To manage these risks, firms need technology capable of screening transactions, counterparties, and wallet activity in real time across multiple data sources. Effective programs combine sanctions screening, transaction monitoring, entity resolution, and data quality controls to identify suspicious activity before transactions settle. Just as important is the ability to integrate these controls across complex payment infrastructures. This will help compliance teams maintain visibility across blockchain networks, payment platforms, and traditional financial systems simultaneously.
As real-time payments compress detection windows, how should compliance teams adapt transaction monitoring and investigations to keep pace with faster settlement speeds?
This is where developing a risk-based system is key. The higher-risk and more complex situations should rise to the top. Those items need immediate attention, and the low-risk items can wait or be closed by using an AI-enabled process. Now is the time to look at your policies and procedures to see if they still match your reality. Compliance teams should consider recalibrating their technology to address their current risk profile and the controls they have in place. It’s also a good time to upgrade their systems or consider upskilling their staff.
What advice would you give fintech compliance leaders on building a proactive, scalable compliance culture amid rapid innovation and regulatory change?
Sometimes compliance takes a backseat to other priorities within fintechs. If you are in a leadership role, you need to be assertive. Keep compliance needs at the forefront of conversations. You will likely need to repeat yourself to get the message through. Insist on a seat at the table as decisions are being made. Even if you aren’t the decision maker on a certain matter, you need to know what’s coming to properly prepare. Sometimes you need to educate the business on the impact a decision will make from a regulatory perspective. Continue to deepen your own personal knowledge. Build your network, stay current on regulatory updates, and attend industry events to keep up to date on best practices.
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