Chad Shafferman
Our latest risk intelligence report for North America takes a detailed look at the on-the-ground challenges that financial institutions face in the region. The report shows that delays and inefficiencies in screening processes are widespread – and reveals a strong, region-wide sentiment that access to real-time sanctions and risk data is vital.
- Financial institutions in North America are grappling with mounting screening delays and rising regulatory pressure – making real-time risk data more essential than ever.
- Our latest report uncovers the region’s top pain points and highlights why real-time insights are becoming a non-negotiable for effective compliance.
Unpacking the top challenges
Conducted against a backdrop of surging global fraud, evolving regulatory obligations, and the relentless speed of today’s digital marketplaces, our global research survey sought to understand the most common pain points facing financial institutions today – and how these challenges can best be solved.
Our regional report for North America reveals that a substantial 80% of respondents in Canada and 81% in the USA experience screening-related delays “at least occasionally” – an important insight, since delays and inefficiencies are costly and can negatively impact the customer experience.
Looking specifically at challenges when screening for sanctions, PEPs and adverse media screening, the top three reported by North American institutions include annual review and remediation workload (80%), high false positives (75%) and integration issues with existing systems (75%).
These findings are largely in line with global averages, but high levels of false positives are somewhat more of a concern in the USA (reported by 78%) than in Canada (reported by 71%).
When asked how confident they are in the accuracy and completeness of their current sanctions and risk screening data, 55% in the USA and 50% in Canada report that they are “very confident”. This compares to slightly lower average percentages in EMEA (45%) and APAC (44%).
Real-time data is highly valued, but barriers remain
A full 100% of North American respondents consider real-time data important to their compliance workflows.
Across all markets surveyed, real-time data access also emerges as the most important factor when considering a customer screening tool – and this sentiment is reflected in North American responses.
Respondents offer a range of reasons for this. When asked about the benefits of data being available in real time, over half (51%) of North American institutions say that real-time data helps them support real-time compliance decisions – although percentages vary across the USA (54%) and Canada (47%).
Despite the clear value of real-time data access, persistent barriers to adoption remain, with the top hurdle emerging as budget or resource constraints: 43% say such constraints make real-time tools unfeasible.
Can AI move the dial?
In addition to the pivotal role of real-time data, financial institutions in North America view automation and AI integration as key with 26% saying that automation and AI integration could improve the effectiveness of their risk screening processes. Alongside this, a further insight is evident to a greater or lesser degree across all regions – the belief that AI should enhance, not replace human judgement.
Looking ahead, the pivotal role of real-time data is clear, and institutions should remember that real-time risk demands a real-time response – and that trusted data, automation and human insights can deliver undeniable value in the ongoing fight against financial crime.
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