EU Reaches Deal on New Payment Services Regulation to Bolster Fraud Prevention

The regulatory landscape is evolving faster and becoming more complex, with new requirements covering more domains. On average, the financial industry spends $181B on compliance each year. Learn how to transform regulatory compliance from a check-the-box exercise to an innovation enabler in this ebook from RegTech Analyst and AuditBoard.

The financial landscape of 2025 is evolving faster than ever. New technologies are reshaping how financial institutions operate — at a pace that would have seemed impossible just a few years ago. To manage such a rapid acceleration, regulatory compliance has become not just a necessity, but a fundamental aspect of operational integrity and risk management.

Financial institutions, regardless of size, face a growing web of regulations they must comply with today — and the list is only getting longer. In 2024, global regulatory fines soared to their highest level yet, passing over $19bn. Banks alone accounted for a whopping 80% of that total. Non-compliance is a huge challenge for financial organizations and must be met head-on.

However, compliance is more than a legal requirement. It’s your first line of defense against misconduct, fraud, and regulatory penalties. Done correctly, it protects your customers, your reputation, and the financial markets as a whole. Some firms see compliance as a burdensome, innovation-stifling obligation rather than a beneficial safeguard, a mindset that can lead to significant risks and penalties if not treated as an ongoing, organization-wide responsibility rather than a one-time task or the sole duty of specialized teams. Isolated compliance teams, a lack of an enterprise-wide compliance culture, and reliance on legacy systems are all putting firms at risk.