Financial crime doesn’t sit still. Criminal networks move quickly across borders, exploit gaps between institutions, and adapt faster than traditional systems can respond. Recognising this, the Central Bank of Ireland launched its inaugural Innovation Sandbox Programme on Combatting Financial Crime in December 2024, a six-month initiative designed not just to talk about innovation,but to test it, build it, and accelerate it into the real world.
The Sandbox brought together technology companies, banks, regulators and researchers in a structured environment where ideas could be developed safely, supported by regulatory insight. Rather than leaving innovators to guess how rules might apply, the Central Bank actively engaged, providing 62 dedicated support sessions, six workshops, access to more than 100 internal experts, and a collaborative research hackathon. The result was a model where regulation didn’t slow innovation, rather enabled it.
How the Sandbox Worked
The programme design centred on three pillars:
- Workshops that convened participants to share progress and learn from experts on themes such as AML supervision, consumer protection, and the EU AI Act.
- Dedicated regulatory support, pairing each participant with a programme manager to help navigate complex questions and connect with relevant stakeholders.
- Access to data and tools, supporting experimentation and evidence-based solution design.
Seven participants were selected from 38 applications across Ireland, the UK and Europe. Their projects focused on three core areas: information sharing, identity verification and fraud prevention, reflecting the full life cycle of financial crime, from onboarding to transaction to detection.
What Came Out of the Sandbox
The outcomes are where the story becomes exciting.
In information sharing, AMLYZE launched AMLTRIX, an open-source typology framework helping analysts and regulators connect patterns of behaviour with actionable responses. Roseman Labs demonstrated encrypted data collaboration technology, showing banks can match alerts and share intelligence without exposing personal data — a major breakthrough in resolving the tension between AML obligations and GDPR.
In identity verification, one of the standout success stories was the collaboration between Sedicii and PTSB. Together they developed and completed a live pilot for real-time name and address verification using zero knowledge proof technology. The solution validates customer details against authoritative national datasets — such as ESB Networks’ address database — without revealing or transferring the underlying personal data itself. This means banks can confidently verify identity while the customer’s sensitive information never leaves the original data holder.
The impact is significant. The pilot showed that digital, privacy-preserving address verification can remove the need for paper utility bills and other manual documentation, cutting onboarding friction, reducing fraud risk and improving regulatory compliance. It directly addresses one of the biggest eKYC pain points faced by banks and consumers alike. Importantly, taking part in the Sandbox helped accelerate regulatory clarity, enabling the Sedicii–PTSB solution to progress through internal bank controls and move toward rollout far faster than in a traditional development pathway.
Other participants also advanced identity innovation. TrustElevate demonstrated secure digital onboarding for minors with verified parental consent, and Vidos progressed digital identity verification aligned with Europe’s evolving eIDAS framework.
In fraud prevention, Expleo expanded its anti-smishing product to block fraudulent phone calls directly within banking apps, while Forward Emphasis/Pasabi developed AI analytics capable of detecting “ghost broking” in motor insurance before policies are issued.
Why The Sandbox Matters
Three major themes emerged from the programme.
First, collaboration beats isolation. Criminal networks operate collectively; defences must too. Second, privacy-enhancing technologies are game changers, proving that compliance, security and data protection can coexist. Third, regulation can evolve alongside innovation when regulators and innovators work together early, not after products are already in market.
Perhaps the biggest success is cultural: the Sandbox has shown that when innovators and regulators sit on the same side of the table, progress accelerates. With the next programme focused on Innovation in Payments, Ireland’s Innovation Sandbox is not just a pilot; it is becoming a blueprint.
Innovation, in this case, isn’t about shiny technology. It’s about restoring trust, protecting consumers, and building a financial system that is both innovative and safe. Exactly what the Sandbox was designed to do.