The goal of innovation is to help businesses better tackle challenges that can feel daunting due to limited resources.
And with the news Monday (Nov. 11) that identity and compliance platform Palm has introduced an artificial intelligence (AI) filing tool, dubbed the Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI) Filing Assistant, to help speed the compliance process for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), using digital innovation to manage compliance is top of mind for Main Street.
After all, companies’ use of AI is one of the things that Nicole Argentieri, principal deputy assistant attorney general for the criminal division of the Department of Justice (DOJ), said in September that prosecutors will look at when assessing their compliance programs during investigations.
Compliance programs that adhere to the DOJ’s Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs (ECCP) guidelines are eligible for more lenient treatment when a compliance breakdown occurs.
For small businesses, AI transforms compliance from a burdensome requirement into a more manageable, strategic advantage, empowering them to meet regulatory standards without compromising on efficiency or cost in other areas.
Read more: Big Tech’s AI Tools Are Helping Democratize Growth for Small Businesses
One of the more daunting aspects of compliance is the dynamic nature of regulatory requirements. From data privacy rules like GDPR and CCPA to industry-specific regulations, the burden of keeping up can feel insurmountable for a small business owner.
Discussing banking-specific compliance, Sovos General Counsel Freda Pepper told PYMNTS that “the challenge is understanding and keeping up with the state requirements. It’s like a moving ball because the states are constantly changing their laws.”
While AI cannot eliminate all compliance challenges, it is leveling the playing field, providing small businesses with tools once reserved for larger corporations and enabling them to compete on new terms in a complex regulatory world.
By reducing costs associated with manual processing, error correction and external audits, AI-driven compliance systems allow smaller enterprises to maintain high standards without overspending. Freed from repetitive tasks, employees can focus on higher-value work, such as strengthening customer relationships or identifying new growth opportunities.
PYMNTS Intelligence’s recently-released “New Report: SMBs Race to Critical Mass on AI Usage found that 61% of SMBs surveyed report using AI to automate daily tasks.
“While we like to refer to AI as more evolutionary than revolutionary in the world of tax and compliance, there is no denying its impact and importance … using predictive analytics to anticipate changes has become an essential part of our business,” Sovos President of Revenue Alice Katwan writes in a new PYMNTS eBook, “Beyond the Horizon: How to Identify Unexpected Threats That Could Impact Your Business.”
At its core, artificial intelligence is helping small businesses by automating the heavy lifting of compliance — tasks that previously required intensive human resources or were outsourced at great expense.
Where a small business might otherwise rely on manual record-keeping or sporadic audits, AI-powered solutions provide a continuous layer of oversight. These tools analyze large datasets, spotting patterns that may indicate risks or breaches, flagging them automatically before they escalate.
AI systems can assess the risks associated with various business activities — such as client interactions, financial transactions and even vendor relationships. These assessments go beyond traditional checklists by evaluating contextual factors and historical data, helping businesses identify the areas of highest risk and respond accordingly.
PYMNTS Intelligence has found that companies relying on legacy and manual verification solutions lose above-average shares of annual sales to fraud, at 4.5%. However, firms using proactive and automated solutions, such as those powered by AI and machine learning, typically reduce their share of lost sales to 2.3%.
Compliance requirements often entail handling substantial documentation — think know your customer (KYC) and AML anti-money laundering (AML) protocols, which require sifting through client records, identification documents, and transaction histories. Here, AI’s natural language processing (NLP) capabilities come into play, allowing systems to quickly extract, classify and analyze data from mountains of documents. This process not only eliminates tedious manual work but also reduces errors and ensures information accuracy.
While compliance has long been seen as a necessary cost, AI is enabling small businesses to turn it into a strategic asset. Increasingly, in today’s shifting regulatory ecosystem, AI does the legwork, allowing companies to focus on adapting to changes, not just discovering them.
For all PYMNTS AI coverage, subscribe to the daily AI Newsletter.
We get a lot of press releases here at PYMNTS. We consider all of them, and some are more newsworthy than others. But this one really got our attention. This past week, Diebold Nixdorf made headlines with its announcement of successfully installing two new automated teller machines (ATMs) at the U.S. National Science Foundation’s McMurdo Station in Antarctica. This achievement marks a significant milestone in banking accessibility, to be sure. We would like to meet the crew that installed them. We’d also like to know why they needed two. Was there a line at the first one? More to come on that.
According to Diebold, McMurdo Station is Antarctica’s largest research and logistics hub, supporting a fluctuating population that ranges from fewer than 200 residents during the winter months to up to 1,100 individuals during the summer (October through February). The presence of these ATMs is crucial, it says, as the next closest banking facilities are thousands of miles away, making them the only ATMs on the entire continent. How’s that for a value proposition?
The DN Series ATMs are designed for always-on availability. And why do they need two? One ATM is actively in use, while the second serves as a backup for spare parts, ensuring uninterrupted service in this isolated area. These machines are connected to the DN AllConnect Data Engine, which leverages Internet of Things (IoT) connectivity, machine learning, and artificial intelligence (AI) to monitor their performance. A dedicated team continuously aggregates and analyzes technical data to identify potential issues, enabling remote diagnostics and repairs. The ATM can be maintained by trained staff at NSF McMurdo Station, or the Diebold Nixdorf service team can remotely guide them through the repair process.
Anyway, it got us thinking. Are there other surprising ATMs in extreme locations? Well, of course, there are. Here’s a sampling of what we found.
At an altitude of about 5,364 meters (17,600 feet), the Mount Everest Base Camp in Nepal is another unexpected place to find an ATM. Although it’s not a permanent fixture and is often set up seasonally, it caters to climbers and trekkers who need cash for local transactions. This temporary ATM service underscores the adaptability of banking services in extreme environments.
In some parts of the Amazon rainforest, particularly in Brazil and Peru, ATMs can be found in small villages and towns. These machines are vital for local communities, providing access to cash in areas where digital payment options might be limited. The presence of ATMs here demonstrates how banking services can reach even the most remote communities.
Located in the Tibet Autonomous Region, Nagqu is home to one of the highest ATMs in the world. This region is very remote, with limited infrastructure, making the presence of an ATM a notable example of banking accessibility in extreme environments.
In the Thousand Islands (Kepulauan Seribu) off the coast of Jakarta, Indonesia, there’s a floating ATM. This unique ATM serves the local community and tourists on the islands, demonstrating how banking services can adapt to isolated marine environments.
Longyearbyen, the administrative center of the Svalbard archipelago in Norway, boasts the most northerly ATM. This location is one of the most remote inhabited places on Earth, with limited access to mainland Norway, making the ATM a vital service for residents and visitors.
On a more serious note, the installation of ATMs in places like Antarctica and other remote locations highlights the evolving nature of banking technology. With advancements in IoT, AI and remote diagnostics, it’s becoming increasingly feasible to provide banking services in areas previously considered inaccessible. As we look to the future, it will be interesting to see where else ATMs might appear. Whether it’s on a remote island, at the top of a mountain or even in space, the ability to access cash is becoming more universal than ever. And who knows? Maybe one day, we’ll see an ATM on Mars, serving the first interplanetary travelers.
For now, the presence of ATMs in unexpected places reminds us that banking is not just about transactions; it’s about connecting people and communities across the globe, no matter how remote they might be.
