Seven research themes.
Each domain addresses a distinct dimension of the same fundamental question: how do payment systems maintain regulatory alignment across the full complexity of modern financial infrastructure?
Payment Governance
The structural discipline of obligations management
Payment governance research examines the mechanisms by which compliance obligations are captured, mapped, monitored, and maintained across payment product lifecycles. The central question is not whether obligations exist, but whether the governance structures connecting those obligations to operational reality remain effective over time.
See PLG Framework →Key Topics
Cross-Border Payments
Multi-jurisdiction regulatory mapping
Cross-border payment research explores the compliance complexity created when a single payment product must simultaneously satisfy multiple regulatory regimes — SEPA, FPS, SWIFT, and domestic real-time payment schemes — each with distinct obligation structures, monitoring requirements, and enforcement approaches.
See Publication 001 →Key Topics
Operational Resilience
Compliance continuity under operational stress
This research strand examines how payment systems maintain regulatory compliance when operational resilience is tested. It extends beyond DORA minimum standards to examine the compliance implications of operational incidents, third-party dependencies, and recovery scenarios in payment operations.
Key Topics
Consumer Duty
Translating FCA principles into payment controls
Consumer Duty research examines how the FCA's outcomes-based regulatory approach translates into measurable, scheme-specific payment controls. The challenge is converting principle-based obligations into operational reality within payment systems designed for volume and speed.
Key Topics
AI in Compliance
Governance implications of automated monitoring
Emerging research on the use of AI and machine learning in compliance monitoring — specifically the governance questions raised when automated systems make or support regulatory decisions. This includes explainability obligations, bias risk in automated screening, and the regulatory treatment of AI-generated compliance outputs.
Key Topics
Financial Crime
AML obligations in scheme participation
Financial crime research within the payments context examines how anti-money laundering and sanctions obligations are embedded in payment scheme participation requirements — and how first-line compliance teams translate those obligations into operational controls without creating disproportionate friction for legitimate payment flows.
Key Topics
Payments Regulation
Navigating the evolving regulatory landscape
Regulatory research tracking the evolution of payment regulation across the UK and EU — PSR, PSR 2017, PSD2/PSD3, and emerging domestic frameworks. Focus on the compliance implications for first-line teams as regulatory requirements change faster than operational systems can absorb.
Key Topics