Latest Payments News: Rapid AI Adoption In Finance Could Spark Financial Stability Risks, Warns FSB, and more

Catch up on six of the stories our payments compliance analysts have covered lately, and stay up-to-date on the latest news.

Rapid AI Adoption In Finance Could Spark Financial Stability Risks, Warns FSB

The Financial Stability Board (FSB) has released a report assessing the financial stability implications of artificial intelligence (AI) in the financial sector.

Although AI offers benefits such as improved efficiency, regulatory compliance and advanced analytics, the FSB has highlighted potential systemic risks such as dependency on third-party providers, increased market correlations, cyber vulnerabilities, and issues with data quality and model reliability.

The report notes that although existing financial policies address some AI risks, gaps remain, and the FSB has called on financial authorities to enhance monitoring, review regulatory frameworks and use AI tools to improve oversight.

Generative AI, in particular, could pose new risks such as heightened fraud and misinformation, the FSB has said.

The report emphasises that the pace of AI adoption could reshape market dynamics. It suggests coordinated global efforts to fill data gaps, assess policy adequacy and strengthen regulatory practices, and the FSB’s guidance seeks to ensure that AI’s growth in finance does not compromise financial stability.

Fake Parcel Delivery Texts Are UK's Fastest-Growing Scam, Says NatWest

A new report by NatWest identifies fake parcel delivery texts as the UK’s fastest-growing scam, followed by social media marketplace scams and AI voice cloning scams.

A survey of 1,480 consumers found that 40 percent of respondents had seen an increase in fake parcel delivery texts over the past 12 months.

Stuart Skinner, fraud expert at NatWest, urged consumers to be aware that these texts are often precursors to impersonation fraud.

“Be wary of urgent messages or those asking for payments or to download an app — this will often contain spyware,” he said. “Or it might be the first step for the criminals to contact you later to continue the con in a different way.”

According to UK Finance, £570m was reported stolen by scammers in the first half of 2024, with criminals targeting adults on average four and a half times a month.

Sweden's Financial Watchdog Fines Remittance Firm SEK100,000 Over AML Failures

Sweden’s Financial Supervisory Authority (FI) has imposed a SEK100,000 ($9,120) penalty on Amal Express Economic Association, a payments provider that facilitates money transfers to Somalia and East Africa via the traditional hawala system.

FI’s investigation found serious compliance gaps in Amal’s money laundering controls, especially in its general risk assessments, customer risk classification and customer awareness measures.

According to FI director general Daniel Barr, Amal's oversight weaknesses led to increased exposure to money laundering and terrorist financing risks.

The association’s use of cross-border cash transactions heightened these vulnerabilities, making stricter compliance with anti-money laundering (AML) regulations crucial, and the regulator concluded that Amal’s failures in customer due diligence and risk assessments contravened established AML standards, prompting the regulatory action.

Cyber Attacks Spark Fraud Increase In Czech Republic

Fraud in the Czech Republic has surged dramatically, with more than 65,000 cases reported by the end of September 2024, up nearly 30 percent compared with last year, according to the Czech Banking Association (ČBA).

This rise in cyber attacks cost customers more than CZK1bn ($42m) in stolen funds, while banks managed to protect approximately CZK4.5bn from potential scams.

According to the trade association, scammers are targeting vulnerable age groups, with younger adults (18–34) neglecting security measures such as checking account balances and avoiding email attachments, and older adults (65+) lacking robust password practices.

Phishing remains the most common method of attack, according to the ČBA, with scams often disguised as messages from delivery services, post offices or even inheritance claims.

Although awareness is high — 78 percent of Czechs acknowledge the risks — only 53 percent took proactive steps to increase their online security after being attacked.

According to the ČBA, many consumers continue to rely on basic measures such as unique passwords for critical accounts, although nearly half of users admit to reusing passwords across multiple accounts.

Mobile security also lags, with many using outdated phones that lack modern security patches, leaving them vulnerable to attack.

"The Czech Banking Association is working hard to educate and, in particular, raise awareness of the practices of e-scammers. In today's digital age, cyber-attacks affect everyone and it is therefore very important that people know what such fraud can look like and, above all, how to defend themselves," said Zdeňka Hildová, director of the ČBA's education wing.

Klarna Files To Go Public In The US

Buy now, pay later (BNPL) giant Klarna has filed an application for an initial public offering (IPO) with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

On Tuesday (November 12), Klarna announced that it had submitted a confidential draft registration statement related to a proposed IPO with the SEC.

The Sweden-based BNPL firm said the number of shares to be offered and the price range for the proposed offering have not yet been determined.

Klarna is likely to be valued at between $15bn and $20bn, which is less than half the peak valuation the firm reached in 2021 ($40bn), during an initial wave of BNPL adoption across major economies.

Singapore Police Use Robotics To Foil More Than 1,300 Scams In Two Months

The Singapore Police Force (SPF) has announced that its Anti-Scam Centre (ASC) foiled more than 1,300 ongoing scams during September and October.

Working with five major banks — DBS, HSBC, OCBC, UOB and Standard Chartered — the ASC used Robotic Process Automation (RPA) technology to identify victims of job, investment, fake friend call and e-commerce scams.

The identification of victims enabled the police and banks to reach out to them to halt further monetary transfers, preventing potential financial losses of more than S$53m ($40m).

“The adoption of RPA technology streamlined the sharing and processing of information, enabling the police to swiftly reach out to potential scam victims through SMSes,” said the SPF.

“The SMS alerts notified the potential scam victims to the suspicious transfers which the scammers had instructed them to perform, and advised them against effecting further transfers.”

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