“Our survey shows Singaporean firms lead the world in AI adoption [but many still] lost clients due to inefficient onboarding. This underlines the importance of embedding AI into every stage of the client lifecycle, from onboarding to surveillance, to achieve both speed and stronger risk management. By linking these processes end-to-end, institutions have proven to reduce abandonment while meeting the Monetary Authority of Singapore's heightened supervisory standards,” says Cengiz Kiamil, managing director for Asia Pacific at Fenergo.
Financial crime compliance remains a heavy burden. In Singapore, the average annual spend on anti-money laundering and know-your-customer (AML/KYC) operations now stands at US$68.2 million ($88.4 million) per firm, according to Fenergo’s 2025 Financial Crime Industry Trends Report. Despite the investment, the city-state’s financial institutions continue to grapple with onboarding inefficiencies that are costing them clients.
Singaporean firms reported the highest usage of artificial intelligence (AI) for KYC/AML globally at 92%, outpacing peers in the US (79%) and UK (77%). Yet, 76% of institutions said they lost clients in the past year due to onboarding delays. While that marks an improvement from 87% in 2024, it still underscores persistent operational friction.
