Sweden is at the forefront of the move towards a cashless society, with Riksbank reporting that only 10% of in-store purchases were made in cash last year.
While this transition offers convenience and speed, it has also created new challenges in tackling financial crime.
Napier AI, which offers a scalable and easily configurable suite of AML tools, has outlined three ways to detect financial crimes in Sweden.
Cases of money laundering and related offences have more than doubled since 2019, coinciding with the expansion of digital payments, it said. Criminals are turning to currency exchanges and informal transfer networks to move funds more discreetly, highlighting how quickly illicit methods adapt to new payment environments.
Digital transactions provide regulators with advantages over cash, including traceable data trails that can be monitored in real time. This makes suspicious activity easier to detect. However, the Swedish Police caution that eliminating cash entirely could push criminal flows into harder-to-monitor digital assets such as digital assets and privacy-focused platforms.
Maintaining access to cash remains vital for inclusion. Examples from India’s UPI and Brazil’s Pix show how digital systems can expand access, but barriers like digital literacy and internet connectivity mean cash still plays an essential role for many groups. Policymakers must ensure digital innovation does not leave vulnerable communities behind.
Experts suggest three key measures to strengthen anti-money laundering (AML) efforts in a cashless future. These include enhancing transaction monitoring to spot unusual patterns, using compliance-focused AI to identify anomalies, and adopting NextGen client screening to prevent criminals from exploiting weak onboarding processes.
For more information about detecting financial crime, read the full story here.
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