ComplyAdvantage: Why Financial Crime Is a Moral Imperative

In this conversation, Andrew Davies, Global Head of Financial Crime Compliance Strategy at ComplyAdvantage, brings a deeply human perspective to a topic that is often framed purely in regulatory or technical terms. For Davies, financial crime compliance is not just a professional discipline — it is a moral responsibility, shaped by more than three decades working at the intersection of payments, risk, and regulation.

Davies leads a specialist strategy group that helps financial institutions understand how to use technology and data to manage financial crime risk more effectively. His career has spanned the evolution of global payments infrastructure, from SWIFT to real-time payment systems, giving him a front-row seat to both innovation and exploitation. As financial services have become faster, more digital, and more inclusive, criminals have adapted just as quickly — often faster.

When asked to describe Catalyst in three words, Davies chose a phrase instead: “make a difference.” That sentiment ran through the entire conversation. For him, the fight against financial crime is grounded in human impact — the real people whose lives are disrupted, exploited, or destroyed by fraud, money laundering, and organised crime. This theme was reinforced by the event’s opening keynote, which emphasised that financial crime is not abstract. It is personal.

The biggest challenge Davies hears from financial institutions today is the accelerating technology arms race. Criminals are already using machine learning and AI to scale scams, target victims more precisely, and adapt tactics in near real time. Financial institutions, by contrast, must operate within regulatory constraints while protecting customers and markets. The risk, he warns, is falling behind. To win, institutions must be at least pari passu with criminals in their use of technology — leveraging AI not as a buzzword, but as a defensive necessity.

Yet technology alone is not enough. Davies is particularly excited by the growing momentum behind shared data and public–private partnerships. AI, he notes, is only as effective as the data that fuels it. While institutions have more data than ever before, that data is often siloed. Carefully structured collaboration — sharing insights rather than raw competitive or sensitive information — offers one of the most powerful ways to raise industry-wide defences.

Securing these partnerships requires trust, governance, and precision. The goal is not to erode privacy or competitive boundaries, but to share what is necessary and sufficient to protect the system as a whole. For Davies, this balance represents the future of effective financial crime prevention: smarter technology, better data, and collaboration grounded in a shared moral purpose.