FinTechs, particularly crypto companies, have a much higher risk for use in financial crime than most traditional financial services companies. The cross-border nature of FinTech services and the potential anonymity for users of crypto-assets makes FinTechs very attractive to financial criminals. Therefore, the FinTech compliance landscape is constantly changing. Risk and compliance courses specifically designed to account for this pace of change are crucial. FinTech compliance training not only helps you avoid costly legal consequences, it also helps to ensure that your company can continue to operate profitably without negatively affecting your customers, employees or the economy as a whole.
FinTechs are becoming obliged to follow more and more regulations as do traditional financial services companies. These regulations often specify that staff training must be tailored to a company’s unique business model.
This is especially true for Anti-money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) training. The training needs to teach staff working in financial institutions what money laundering and terrorist financing will look like to them. AML/CFT training that’s made for staff in banks and insurance companies won’t be fit-for-purpose for staff in e-money institutions and virtual asset service providers (VASPs).
FinTechs are higher risk not only for money laundering and terrorist financing, but also for use in other financial crimes, especially frauds and sanctions evasions. FinTechs may also carry higher risks for harm to consumers due to the volatility of their products or the speed at which their services can be accessed.
Just because FinTechs are relatively new to regulatory compliance doesn’t mean regulators have lower expectations for them. As the sector grows, authorities are tightening oversight. At the beginning of January 2023, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges agreed to pay $50 million for failing to meet its anti-money laundering (AML) and combating the financing of terrorism (CFT) obligations in the U.S. The company had failed to verify customer identities before opening accounts, a significant violation of AML/CFT protocols. Just three weeks later, the same exchange was fined €3.3 million in the Netherlands for providing virtual asset services without proper registration with the Dutch Central Bank.
Meanwhile, across Europe, regulators continue to ramp up their scrutiny. MiCA (Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation), has been in operation since 2024, will provide a unified regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies across the EU, with stricter AML/CFT requirements.Similarly, the Transfer of Funds Regulation (TFR), in place since 2020, imposes additional obligations on crypto transfers, requiring companies to track transactions and report suspicious activities more effectively. In June 2023, an e-money institution in Lithuania had its license revoked due to numerous AML/CFT deficiencies, further underscoring regulators’ heightened expectations.
As the regulatory landscape evolves, FinTechs must meet the same stringent compliance standards as traditional financial institutions. These enforcement actions, along with upcoming regulatory changes like MiCA, demonstrate that regulators are increasingly focused on ensuring FinTechs adhere to AML/CFT laws, protect consumers, and maintain market integrity.
FinTech companies often offer services similar to those of traditional financial institutions like banks and investment firms, but the way they offer them is very different. The desired outcomes of FinTech compliance training are the same as in banks, investment firms, and insurance companies – but the activities that create these same outcomes might look very different. Thus, training courses for FinTech staff must also be different.
CityLearning’s FinTech Compliance eLearning Suite is made for FinTech staff in the UK and Ireland, and the courses are tailored to the specific requirements of each jurisdiction.
CityLearning’s FinTech Compliance eLearning Suite for the UK includes:
CityLearning’s FinTech Compliance eLearning Suite for Ireland includes:
CityLearning provides risk and compliance courses for major FinTech companies in the UK and Ireland, including payment, account information and crypto-asset service providers. We develop our eLearning courses in partnership with our clients to ensure they are fit-for-purpose and accurately reflect the day-to-day experience of their staff.
At CityLearning we know that for AML/CFT training to be effective it must teach staff what money laundering and terrorist financing actually looks like in their specific roles. For this reason, we have developed different versions of our FinTech Anti-money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) eLearning course tailored to the different niches of the FinTech industry. This includes payment and e-money institutions as well as virtual asset service providers (VASPs) and other crypto-related companies. This means our FinTech AML/CFT course meets the regulatory requirement that AML/CFT training be tailored to a company’s business.
Alongside our FinTech-tailored AML/CFT course, CityLearning offers a suite of FinTech compliance courses. These courses contain real-life case studies involving FinTech companies. CityLearning eLearning courses are approved for Continuous Professional Development (CPD) in the UK and Ireland and learners receive a certificate upon course completion to verify they have met training requirements.
Our FinTech Compliance Suite of courses is made for:
Yes, our courses are approved for continuous professional development (CPD) by the following bodies:
In Ireland:
In the UK:
We can request CPD accreditation from other bodies if necessary.
The length of each course in CityLearning’s FinTech Compliance Suite varies, but all of them can be completed in under an hour.
Our Anti-money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) course is the most detailed course in the suite. It should take approximately one hour to complete, while the other courses should take less than 30 minutes.
Our FinTech Compliance Suite is made up of eLearning courses that should be taken online using a Learning Management System (LMS). This can be either our propriety LMS, CityREPORTs, or an LMS already in place in your company.
CityLearning courses are fully SCORM-compliant for easy upload to another LMS.
Yes, every course in our FinTech Compliance Suite can be customised to meet any compliance training needs specific to your company.
The cost per user of CityLearning’s FinTech Compliance Suite depends on the number of users taking the courses.
Get in touch with us today for a quote. Please be sure to let us know how many users will be taking the FinTech Compliance Suite of courses.
