When Money Moves Faster Than Compliance

Fintech promised to simplify banking. In many ways, it did. But it also moved the friction somewhere else, and in doing so, made the role of the lawyer more important, not less.

A transfer that once took three days to clear can now settle in real time. An account that once required a visit to a branch and a stack of forms can, at least in theory, be opened from a phone in a matter of minutes. Payment systems have become faster almost every year, and from the outside, banking looks considerably simpler than it did even a decade ago.

Yet anyone who has recently tried to open a corporate account, onboard a new client, or move a significant amount of money across a border will probably have experienced something quite different. The payment itself may take seconds, while getting the necessary approvals and providing all the required information can take weeks.