Growing levels of financial crime and regulatory scrutiny are forcing organisations to step up spending on compliance, but they are less sold on AI as the standalone solution, according to a global survey of risk and compliance officers by LSEG Risk Intelligence.
The survey finds that 87% of respondents expect their organisation’s annual budgets for Know Your Customer Enhanced Due Diligence (KYC EDD) to increase over the next 12 months, with an average expected increase of 5.2%.
The average annual EDD spend is currently US$632,026 - rising to over US$900,000 for organisations that turn over more than US$1 billion. The demand for compliance checks has taken its toll, too - with 90% of respondents reporting an increase in requests over the last three years.
However, as compliance teams look to technology to streamline due diligence, the survey finds that opinions are split over the value of AI. The majority, at 58%, believe KYC EDD should be mostly or fully human-driven, compared to 42% who think KYC EDD should be either fully or mostly AI-automated.
Daniel Hartnett, head of enhanced due diligence at LSEG Risk Intelligence, comments: “Our research shows that higher spend and rising volumes of Enhanced Due Diligence (EDD) requests are anticipated - and as many organisations struggle with doing more with less, there is a now an urgent need to control costs, while remaining compliant and not compromising the quality of EDD.
“While at first glance, AI appears to be a silver bullet, a more nuanced approach is needed - one that is human-centric in nature. AI undoubtedly offers a range of core benefits in the EDD space, but it must be implemented safely and responsibly, with trusted human oversight throughout. To do otherwise will lead to more risk, not less.”