Fintech: managing rapid growth and compliance burden simultaneously
Fintech growth is fast, but compliance teams are not. TruvaLI removes rule changes from the engineering queue and makes the alert load measurable before going live.
Fintech institutions must meet the same obligations with much smaller teams and a much faster-growing customer base. The problem is not a lack of knowledge about what the rules are; the problem is that while the customer base grows tenfold, the compliance team can only double in size.
Which regulations apply to you?
Fintech is not a single legal category. Your obligations are determined by the license you hold, and this distinction is decisive in practice.
| Activity | Regulator in Turkey | Related page |
|---|---|---|
| E-money issuance | TCMB (with authority delegated from BDDK) | E-money institutions |
| Payment services | TCMB | Payment institutions |
| Lending and finance | BDDK | Lending |
| Crypto asset services | SPK | Crypto and VASPs |
| Capital markets brokerage | SPK | Capital markets |
Regarding money laundering and terrorist financing obligations, the authority is always MASAK. Details are on the MASAK obligations page.
How to keep up with a small team?
In fintech, compliance and fraud prevention are often handled by the same few people, and these individuals are not engineers. When a development ticket must be opened to change a rule, response times depend on the length of the queue rather than the team's expertise.
Being able to write controls in your own words is therefore not just a convenience, but a matter of capacity. A draft is generated, tested in simulation, and deployed to production upon approval. Details are on the writing rules with a prompt page.
Why does alert volume bottleneck growth?
As the customer base grows, the number of alerts increases, and at a certain point, the team can no longer realistically investigate them. This is a hidden issue that does not show up in daily logs but surfaces during audits: alerts are closed, but they are closed without justification.
Measuring what a rule will generate before going live is therefore an essential part of growth planning. The new threshold is run against historical traffic to see how many alerts it will produce. The rule simulation and backtesting page explains this. In case investigation, AI assistance generates a preliminary assessment, while the final decision remains with the human: AI-assisted case investigation.
How to build an onboarding flow without hurting conversion?
In fintech, the onboarding flow directly impacts growth: every additional step means a drop in conversion. Therefore, the level of control must adapt to risk. Simplified due diligence is applied to low-risk applications, while enhanced due diligence is applied to high-risk ones, with the difference defined as a rule.
There is little data available at the moment of onboarding, but that data speaks volumes: the provider and structure of the email address, whether the IP address is a proxy or VPN, and other applications connecting from the same device or address. Details are on the customer onboarding page.
The value of consolidating onto a single platform
In fintech, the gaps between separately purchased screening, identity verification, Transaction Monitoring, and case management products translate directly into integration costs. Having an onboarding file, transaction history, and case reside on the same record eliminates both the integration burden and the data collection overhead during audits.
The engineering side is covered on the engineering page, and the compliance side on the compliance teams page.
Common questions
- Which regulator am I subject to as a fintech?
- It depends on the license you hold: TCMB for e-money and payment services, BDDK for lending and finance, and SPK for crypto assets and capital markets brokerage. Regarding money laundering obligations, the authority is always MASAK.
- How do you keep up with a small compliance team?
- By ensuring that rule changes do not require development tickets. Controls are written in your own words, drafts are tested in simulation, and deployed to production upon approval.
- How does alert volume affect growth?
- As the customer base grows, the number of alerts increases, and at a certain point, the team can no longer realistically investigate them. Alerts are closed, but they are closed without justification, which surfaces during audits.
- Does the onboarding flow reduce conversion?
- Not if the level of control adapts to risk. Simplified due diligence is applied to low-risk applications, while enhanced due diligence is applied to high-risk ones, with the difference defined as a rule.
- What signals can be used at the moment of onboarding?
- The provider and structure of the email address, whether the IP address is a proxy or VPN, and whether there are other applications connecting from the same device or address.
- Does AI make the decision?
- No. It generates a preliminary assessment during case investigation, while the final decision remains with the human and is recorded with its justification.
- What are the benefits of a single platform over separate products?
- Having the onboarding file, transaction history, and case reside on the same record eliminates integration costs and the data collection burden during audits.
- Can the impact of a new rule be measured in advance?
- Yes. The new threshold is run against historical traffic to see how many alerts it will produce before going live.