New INFORM Survey Reveals AI is Now Essential for Financial Crime Fighting

INFORM, a developer of software systems for AI-supported decision-making in risk, fraud, and compliance, today announced key findings from its latest industry survey, “The Artificial Intelligence & Anti-FinCrime Market Research Survey”. The results underscore the critical and growing role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the fight against financial crime, with a significant focus on operational efficiency and a desire for next-generation security tools like behavioral biometrics.

The survey polled 88 financial crime professionals, drawn largely from major institutions; over 56% represent banks, credit unions, and fintechs, while 50% of all respondents work at organizations with more than 1,000 employees. Over half (53.85%) hold Executive or Middle Management positions. The findings overwhelmingly confirm that AI is no longer a fringe technology but a foundational element of a modern defense strategy.

Current AI Utilization

When asked about the specific areas where they are currently utilizing AI, respondents indicated a strong focus on core compliance and detection tasks:

• Transaction Monitoring: 82.50%
• Anti-Money Laundering (AML): 71.25%
• Anomaly Detection: 61.25%
• Identity Verification: 37.50%
• Customer Behavior Analysis: 33.75%

This demonstrates that AI has been heavily adopted for high-volume, continuous monitoring processes essential for both fraud and AML compliance.

Primary Drivers for AI Adoption

The motivations for adopting AI highlight a push for greater efficiency and effectiveness in financial crime departments:

• Faster Detection: 80.00%
• Reduced False Positives: 72.86%
• Improved Accuracy: 61.43%

While cost reduction (30.00%) and enhanced customer experience (20.00%) are factors, the overwhelming majority are driven by the need for superior, high-speed, and precise detection capabilities to manage mounting financial crime risks.

The Rise of Behavioral Biometrics

A standout finding from the survey is the industry’s shift toward multi-layered defense. When asked which supporting tool is most valuable alongside AI, a clear majority (56.25%) identified Behavioral Biometrics as the most critical asset in their anti-financial crime toolkit. This surge in interest stems from the technology's ability to detect sophisticated account-takeover attempts, "man‑in‑the‑browser" attacks, bot activity, remote-access fraud and social‑engineering‑driven transactions in real-time.

By identifying subtle deviations from a user’s established “digital DNA,” behavioral biometrics provides a proactive defense that flags suspicious activity before a single fraudulent transaction occurs. This is reflected in a strong interest in expanding biometrics over the next 3-5 years, which scored an average of 6 out of 10 for organizational interest.

INFORM’s RiskShield: Fighting Financial Crime with Hybrid AI

The survey findings support the direction INFORM is taking with its RiskShield software. Anti-fraud solutions that directly address the industry’s need for fast, accurate, and explainable AI in financial crime management are well positioned to succeed. Furthermore, the survey found that 56.79% of professionals believe AI is most effective at pattern recognition in large datasets – one of the core strengths of INFORM’s technology.

RiskShield delivers on this requirement through its unique Hybrid AI approach, which combines the precision of expert, knowledge-based rules with the adaptability and powerful pattern recognition capabilities of advanced machine learning (ML). By leveraging sophisticated behavioral analytics and behavioral biometrics, RiskShield can detect subtle anomalies in user behavior early in the digital customer journey, thereby strengthening real-time fraud detection.

“The survey results clearly show that financial institutions no longer view AI as an experiment, but as a strategic core component of their financial crime architecture,” said Roy Prayikulam, SVP Risk and Fraud at INFORM. “Speed, precision, and the reduction of false positives are business-critical requirements – alongside transparency and governance. Future-ready solutions like RiskShield combine powerful AI with human oversight and clear explainability to support better, more confident decisions in real time.”

The 3 Keys of RiskShield

1. Holistic Financial Crime Management: RiskShield breaks down silos by unifying fraud prevention, Anti-Money Laundering (AML) compliance, and risk management onto a single, multi-channel platform. This provides a truly holistic view of the customer and their transactions.
2. Real-Time, Adaptable Defense: The solution processes transactions and assesses risk in real-time, delivering the “Faster Detection” demanded by 80% of respondents. Its Hybrid AI engine continuously adapts to new criminal modus operandi.
3. Optimized Efficiency and Accuracy: By intelligently analyzing both expert-driven insights and discovered patterns, RiskShield maximizes “Improved Accuracy” and “Reduced False Positives,” ensuring analysts can focus their time on truly suspicious activities.

INFORM remains committed to empowering financial institutions globally with its advanced Hybrid AI technology to protect assets, ensure regulatory compliance, and safeguard customers from fraud without interrupting their digital journey.

About RiskShield

RiskShield has been a trusted fraud prevention solution for over 20 years, used by more than 250 banks and payment service providers worldwide, including industry leaders like Worldline, ING, and Rabobank. Its continuous development ensures that users stay ahead of new regulatory requirements and evolving criminal techniques. In 2024, Chartis Research recognized RiskShield as a Category Leader in its RiskTech Quadrants for Enterprise Fraud Solutions and Payment Fraud Solutions.