The atmosphere at a recent Toronto roundtable was a fitting mix of strategic discussion and genuine camaraderie — the sort that only emerges when industry peers share a meal together.
According to ComplyAdvantage, held at a local Italian restaurant, the evening wound down with post-dinner Limoncello and conversation about the upcoming baseball season, but not before a focused dialogue with a group of FinTech leaders and compliance professionals.
At the heart of the discussion were findings from the annual compliance survey, The State of Financial Crime, with a particular lens on the North American market.
It did not take long for the conversation to move beyond the data. The central theme that emerged was clear: in today’s fiercely competitive financial landscape, rigorous compliance is no longer merely a regulatory obligation — it is a genuine business advantage.
Building compliance in from the start
One of the evening’s most thought-provoking insights centred on the growing shift towards “compliance by design.” Drawing parallels to the technology sector’s move towards integrating security early in the development lifecycle, attendees discussed why regulatory requirements need to be embedded into a product’s architecture from day one — not bolted on as an afterthought.
Approaching compliance as a foundational element rather than a box-ticking exercise helps firms sidestep the costly technical debt that comes with retrofitting a finished product to satisfy a regulator. The payoff is significant: companies are better positioned to enter new markets swiftly and with considerably more confidence.
Differentiation in a crowded market
With many financial products appearing interchangeable to the average consumer, the roundtable explored how operational excellence can itself become a brand’s defining characteristic. In an environment where trust functions as the ultimate currency — particularly for firms serving high-risk regions or specific diaspora communities — a credible, compliance-first reputation is what unlocks relationships with sponsor banks and attracts investors.
The consensus was that delivering a safe, secure experience need not come at the cost of usability. When customers can be onboarded smoothly without unnecessary friction, compliance becomes not just a safeguard but a genuine driver of competitive growth.
Focus over fragmentation: Core mission vs. infrastructure
A lively debate emerged around whether firms should invest in building their own compliance tooling or rely on specialist third-party partners. The group leaned decisively towards the latter.
For most financial institutions, the argument ran, true value lies in the distinctive services offered to customers — not in constructing and maintaining back-end infrastructure. Outsourcing the heavy lifting of data management and monitoring to dedicated experts frees up internal engineering talent to concentrate on innovation, rather than spending cycles on the operational “chore” of sustaining support systems.
The power of shared expertise
Beyond the technical conversations, the evening served as a timely reminder of the human dimension underpinning this industry. With shifting global political dynamics and the rapid rise of automation reshaping the profession, the role of the compliance officer has perhaps never been more demanding — or more consequential.
Events like these give leaders space to pressure-test strategies and road-test ideas with trusted peers. Whether the topic was audit trail nuances or the implications of emerging technology, the prevailing sentiment was consistent: the industry performs better when silos are replaced with collaborative transparency.
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Copyright © 2018 RegTech Analyst
