Category · essays

Regulatory

Financial regulation shapes every aspect of how money moves in the modern economy. This collection examines regulatory frameworks like PSD2, Open Banking, and consumer protection mandates, analyzing their impact on innovation, competition, and user experience. Beyond compliance, these articles explore how regulation can be a catalyst for positive change, innovation vs. consumer protection, and how financial institutions can navigate complex environments while delivering exceptional experiences.

  1. № 1 · 04 May
    Regulatory

    Meet Alexandre Lamfalussy

    PSD3 and the PSR have cleared trilogue. Coreper has the final texts. None of that tells you when the rules will apply to your business. A primer on the four-level framework that determines when EU payments regulation lands.

    5 min read
  2. № 2 · 22 Aug
    AI & Automation

    Second-Order Thinking: What the UK's Age-Check Law Taught Us About Regulation (and Why It Matters for AI)

    Politicians love declaring victory. A new law passes, the metrics move in the right direction, and success is proclaimed. But in complex systems, the first metric to move is rarely the one that matters most.

    4 min read
  3. № 3 · 18 Jul
    Regulatory

    The £42 Million Lesson: What Barclays' FCA Fine Teaches the Digital Payments Industry

    Barclays' £42m FCA fine for "one simple check" failure offers crucial lessons for digital payments. Analysis of how basic compliance gaps facilitated £46.8m in money laundering and what fintech, eCommerce and payment firms must do to avoid similar costly mistakes in an evolving regulatory landscape.

    4 min read
  4. № 4 · 09 Jul
    Regulatory

    When Systems Meet Reality: The Vocalink Fine and Lessons for Infrastructure Governance

    When critical reports warning of "serious un-remediated issues" sit buried in email chains while boards sign compliance confirmations, something has gone catastrophically wrong. The Vocalink case reveals how even well-intentioned governance systems can fail when information flows break down.

    5 min read
  5. № 5 · 08 Jul

    Monzo's £21 Million Fine: A Systems-Thinking Post-Mortem

    Monzo's £21 million FCA fine reveals a fundamental truth about scaling: product engines grow exponentially while compliance scales linearly. When growth and risk controls diverge, you're not building a business—you're building a time bomb.

    4 min read
  6. № 6 · 11 Mar
    Regulatory

    AI Governance in Fraud Detection

    As AI-powered fraud detection grows more capable, the regulatory landscape is shifting. Financial institutions must meet new explainability and governance standards that will transform how they select, deploy, and monitor fraud prevention systems.

    3 min read
  7. № 7 · 26 Feb
    Regulatory

    The Fragility of Transatlantic Data Transfers

    As digital commerce grows increasingly global, the legal frameworks governing data transfers across borders have never been more important. Yet these frameworks remain surprisingly fragile, especially between the EU and US.

    2 min read