Keep Calm and Keep Planning: Pandemic Planning for FinCrime

No business sector has been left unaffected by the outbreak of the coronavirus. The financial sector, including FinTechs, is no exception. In times like this, working together as a community is more important than ever.

This document collates examples of how COVID-19 has impacted the FinCrime operations of FinTech FinCrime Exchange (FFE) members and how the teams have responded as they pivot to almost exclusively remote operations, as well as presenting some best practice guidance for a business continuity plan (BCP) and remote anti-financial crime (AFC) compliance.

It looks at how international bodies, financial regulators and law enforcement agencies across the globe have responded so far to the ongoing coronavirus situation, highlighting specific areas FinTechs should focus their attention on. 

The document also discusses differences between traditional business continuity planning and pandemic planning which may present unique challenges to Fintechs management teams. Finally, in its annex, the document collates information on COVID-19 related scams divided into four categories: imposter, product scams, investment scams, and insider trading. 

This guidance is based on research conducted by FINTRAIL across the FFE community. This includes a survey sent to all global members, review of 31 responses, 15 follow-up interviews, and additional research and analysis conducted by FINTRAIL. The survey and interviews were conducted during the week commencing 16 March 2020.

A black line drawing of the FinTech FinCrime logo and accompanying text title
 

With thanks to members of the FinTech FinCrime Exchange for sharing best practices.