AMLA flags instant payments and crypto as growing money laundering vectors

The EU’s new anti-money laundering authority has identified instant payments among the channels where AML controls are failing to keep pace with risk.

The Anti-Money Laundering Authority published a risk assessment warning that AI-enabled fraud, crypto-asset flows and the expansion of instant payments are widening gaps in Europe’s AML defences. The report highlights that the speed and irrevocability of instant payments create particular challenges for transaction monitoring and intervention.

The EU’s Instant Payments Regulation, which mandates SEPA instant payment capability across the bloc, is driving rapid adoption. AMLA’s assessment is a signal that supervisors expect firms to invest in real-time fraud detection and sanctions screening capabilities that match the speed of the rails, not retrofit batch-era controls onto instant infrastructure.

Editorial note: With instant payment mandates now in effect, AMLA’s explicit identification of instant payments as a growing risk vector is a practical compliance signal for banks and PSPs across Europe.

Sources: AMLA warns of widening AML gaps as fraud, crypto and sanctions risks intensify — IEU Monitoring

Admiral Money uses open banking data for AI-driven credit pricing

The partnership between Admiral Money and D•One illustrates how open banking data is moving from identity verification into core credit decisioning.

Admiral Money, the lending arm of UK insurer Admiral Group, has partnered with D•One to deploy an AI-powered credit pricing model that draws on open banking transaction data. The model surfaces both positive and negative risk signals from customer banking records, enabling more granular risk segmentation than traditional credit bureau data alone.

This is part of a broader pattern in UK and European lending. Open banking started in credit primarily as a tool for income verification and affordability checks. Its use in dynamic pricing models, where real-time transaction data informs the rate a borrower is offered, represents a more commercially significant application. For lenders, the appeal is obvious: better risk discrimination means fewer defaults and more competitive pricing for lower-risk borrowers.

The deal also reflects the maturing supplier landscape. D•One’s model sits on top of open banking infrastructure provided by others, suggesting the value chain is stratifying into data access, enrichment and decisioning layers.

Editorial note: This story illustrates a concrete, commercially meaningful use of open banking data beyond payments, relevant to the open finance trajectory in Europe.

Sources: Admiral Money partners with D•One for smarter credit pricing — FinTech Global

UK government consults on commercial credit data sharing alongside open finance

A government response on SME access to finance policy signals that commercial credit data sharing will develop in tandem with the UK’s open finance agenda.

The UK government has published a response to its consultation on access to finance policy, covering commercial credit data sharing (CCDS) and bank referral schemes. Notably, the response indicates the government will take further evidence on what data categories to include and how to balance CCDS reporting with its broader open finance framework.

This matters because it confirms that UK policymakers see CCDS and open finance as complementary rather than competing channels. For SME lenders and credit reference agencies, the practical implication is that the data infrastructure for commercial lending is likely to be shaped by both mandated reporting obligations and consent-based open finance flows.

The consultation response stops short of setting a timetable, but its publication alongside the King’s Speech legislative agenda suggests the Financial Services Bill may provide a vehicle for implementation.

Editorial note: This is a policy signal with practical implications for the UK open finance framework’s scope beyond retail banking, directly relevant to the SME lending and credit data ecosystem.

Sources: Government response – Access to finance policy: commercial credit data sharing and bank referrals — Regulation Tomorrow