Digital Payments, Virtual Assets and Financial Crime Risk

Digital payments and virtual assets have changed the way value is stored, transferred and accessed. They offer speed, convenience and global reach, but these same features can also be exploited for fraud, money laundering, terrorist financing, sanctions evasion and other forms of financial crime.

This course introduces learners to the financial crime risks connected to digital wallets, instant payments, virtual assets, stablecoins, external wallets, merchants and digital platforms. It explains how these products can be misused, how risk can be identified, and how institutions can apply proportionate controls across onboarding, customer due diligence, monitoring, screening, investigations, escalation and governance.

The course is designed to build practical judgement. Learners will explore realistic scenarios involving mule activity, scam victimisation, wallet exposure, merchant misuse, beneficial ownership concerns, technology failures and emerging typologies. The focus is not only on recognising red flags, but on understanding context, testing explanations, documenting decisions and escalating concerns appropriately.

Target Market:
This course is suitable for employees and professionals working in digital payment providers, fintech companies, virtual asset service providers, banks, payment processors, compliance teams, fraud teams, risk management functions, onboarding teams, transaction monitoring teams, investigations units, sanctions teams and customer-facing roles exposed to digital payment or virtual asset activity. It is also relevant for managers, product teams, governance teams and training departments responsible for designing, overseeing or supporting financial crime controls in digital financial environments.

By the end of the course, learners should understand how digital payment and virtual asset risks arise, how they evolve, and how a risk-based control framework can help institutions protect customers, meet regulatory expectations and reduce financial crime exposure.