During the last five years, financial providers worldwide have been subjected to an unprecedented amount of regulatory change: Compliance has never been more complex and challenging.

New rules require banks to know more than ever about their clients — and even their clients' customers. Every jurisdiction has unique requirements, and therefore the level of information required differs.

While most banks work hard to obtain required information from clients in the least disruptive way, new regulatory requirements around know your customer (KYC) have introduced additional complexity into processes that were once straightforward — causing frustration for banks and clients. Some of the information required can seem intrusive and excessive: Some countries require banks to gather beneficial owners' personal information, for example. Occasionally, new regulations can result in delays; it now takes much longer to on-board new customers. At a more routine level, global payments often pass through multiple banks, and must go through each banks' sanctions screening process.