Programmable compliance – the future of integrating policy and regulation into tokenized assets and money

In a roundtable "Shaping the Future of Cross-border Transaction Compliance" held during the Singapore FinTech Festival in 2023, a major challenge identified was the increasing intricacy of sanctions screening and compliance with capital flow management measures. Additionally, participants highlighted the importance of developing interoperable and modular technological solutions that can adapt to various regulatory environments. The discussion introduced the concept of programmable compliance. This concept envisions smart contracts with embedded policy and regulatory implementations for digital assets, as a potential direction for the future. 

This roundtable will continue the dialogue on programable compliance with an emphasis on privacy-enhancing technologies such as zero-knowledge proofs and multi-party computation in the compliance context. The roundtable will also focus on the key efficiency gains emanating from Project Mandala, a BIS Innovation Hub initiative, which aims to facilitate peer-to-peer exchanges of compliance requirements and data between financial institutions, utilising cryptographic proofs for verifiable compliance.

Key Discussion Points:
1. Enhancing Cross-Border Transaction Integrity: The roundtable will explore how programmable compliance can address challenges in ensuring consistent regulatory compliance across various jurisdictions, particularly in cross-border digital transactions.
2. Embedding Compliance into Digital Assets: A significant focus will be on the opportunities and challenges of incorporating compliance checks directly into digital assets through smart contracts, aiming to streamline and automate regulatory compliance processes.
3. Balancing Compliance and Data Privacy: Another key aspect will be the need to balance regulatory compliance with data privacy concerns, ensuring that programmable compliance mechanisms do not compromise sensitive information.
4. Overcoming Technological Barriers: The roundtable will delve into the technological hurdles of implementing programmable compliance in existing digital payment systems and how to design adaptable smart contracts that meet evolving regulatory requirements.