The Financial Conduct Authority fined UK-regulated firms more than £124 million in 2025, with the largest penalties centred on anti-money laundering failures. Nationwide Building Society received a £44 million fine for transaction monitoring weaknesses. Barclays was fined £39 million for failures in monitoring high-risk clients. Monzo was penalised £21 million after its compliance infrastructure failed to keep pace with customer growth.
The enforcement actions share a common theme: compliance systems that were not scaled in line with business expansion. For fintech and payment firms, the signal is clear — the FCA is willing to act on inadequate controls even where no specific money laundering has been demonstrated.
Compliance hiring responds to the pressure
According to Morgan McKinley, risk and compliance vacancies in UK fintech rose for a third consecutive year in 2025, with financial crime specialists in particular high demand. London accounted for nearly three-quarters of all fintech positions heading into 2026.
Much of the hiring is concentrated in roles directly linked to regulatory accountability. The Money Laundering Reporting Officer — the FCA-approved individual responsible for a firm's anti-money laundering controls — has become one of the most strategically significant appointments a regulated payment firm can make. Under the Senior Managers and Certification Regime, the MLRO carries personal accountability for the adequacy of the firm's AML framework.
As the payments sector matures, some firms are recruiting MLRO candidates from outside traditional financial services. Energy trading has emerged as one source of compliance talent, producing professionals with experience in trade surveillance, sanctions screening, counterparty due diligence, and cross-border regulatory coordination.
Breinrock's UK compliance appointment follows this pattern. The Cyprus-headquartered payments company recently appointed Dagmara Dymczyk as Head of Compliance and MLRO. Dymczyk previously held compliance roles at major energy trading companies as well as brokerage and financial service institutions.
What comes next for UK payment firm compliance
The regulatory pipeline suggests that compliance demands will continue to increase. New FCA safeguarding rules for payment and e-money firms take effect from mid-2026, while the EU AI Act's full compliance obligations for high-risk financial AI systems apply from August of the same year. The FCA is also expected to become the single AML supervisor for UK professional services firms, with legislation anticipated in late 2026.
For payment firms managing cross-border operations, multi-currency accounts, and corporate client onboarding, these developments make compliance leadership a capability tied directly to market access and operational continuity — not simply a regulatory checkbox.
