Preparing for the Agentic AI Era: A Compliance Action Plan

A Report by CYS Global Remit Legal & Compliance Office

Part 5: Outlook and Action Plan

As regulators around the world strengthen their focus on AI governance, compliance professionals face a new challenge: translating policy expectations into operational reality.

Recent initiatives such as Singapore's AI Risk Management Toolkit and AI-powered scam-detection pilot demonstrate that AI governance is rapidly moving from theory to practice. For compliance teams, the question is no longer whether AI will transform the industry, but how quickly organisations can adapt.

Those who act early will be best positioned to lead the next phase of innovation in cross-border payments.

Future Trends

The compliance landscape is evolving in three significant ways:

• RegTech Integration

AI-powered compliance platforms are increasingly becoming the industry standard, automating processes that previously required extensive manual effort.

• Global Harmonisation

Regulators worldwide are moving toward greater alignment on AI governance principles, creating the foundations for a more coordinated international framework.

•  Human-AI Collaboration

The role of compliance professionals is evolving from manual reviewers to strategic supervisors. Future compliance leaders will focus on setting governance parameters, interpreting AI-generated insights, and applying human judgement where technology alone is insufficient.

Action Plan for Compliance Teams

1. Strengthen AI Literacy

Understanding AI capabilities—and their limitations—is the foundation for effective governance.

Compliance teams should develop practical knowledge of AI systems and remain informed about evolving regulatory expectations surrounding AI deployment and oversight.

2. Pilot Agentic AI Initiatives

Real-world experience remains the most effective teacher.

Organisations should begin with lower-risk compliance functions such as sanctions screening, transaction monitoring, or case management workflows. Controlled pilots help build internal expertise while allowing governance processes to mature before wider deployment.

3. Engage Regulators Early

 Proactive engagement creates strategic advantages.

Compliance teams should participate in industry consultations, regulatory discussions, and RegTech initiatives to better understand emerging expectations while contributing practical industry perspectives.

4. Build Ethical AI Frameworks

Technology without governance creates risk.

Fairness, transparency, accountability, and explainability should be embedded into AI initiatives from the outset rather than added as corrective measures later.

Conclusion

Agentic AI is set to redefine compliance functions across the financial industry, making them more strategic, data-driven, and technology-enabled.

The organisations that invest today in AI literacy, governance, and responsible experimentation will be better positioned to capture the benefits of AI while managing its risks.

The future of compliance will not be about humans versus AI. It will be about humans and AI working together under strong governance frameworks.

The window to prepare is already open. Now is the time to act.