South Africa’s greylist delisting: A milestone for lasting reform

After much concerted effort and collaboration, South Africa’s exit from the FATF greylist is a milestone worth celebrating. It represents the tangible results of systemic reform across the financial sector, including regulation and prosecution, demonstrating that decisive action, innovation, and accountability can deliver measurable progress.

This achievement is more than a regulatory checkbox; it signals that South Africa is building a stronger, more resilient financial ecosystem, capable of supporting investment, fostering competition, and encouraging fintech innovation.

While there is still work to be done to ensure these gains are sustainable, the delisting demonstrates that a coordinated effort and strategic focus can transform compliance challenges into opportunities for growth and global credibility.

The next test lies in turning compliance gains into a permanent culture of accountability and resilience.

Without the culture of accountability, institutions risk slipping back into old habits once the spotlight fades. 

Reform in action

Over the past two years, South Africa’s financial ecosystem - from banks and regulators to the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) - has undergone one of the most intensive AML reform journeys in its democratic history.

Key milestones include:

• The General Laws Amendment Act recognises beneficial ownership and tightens accountability.
• A 22-item FATF Action Plan, addressing deficiencies in enforcement, data utilisation, and inter-agency cooperation.
• Expanded resources for the FIC and regulators, strengthening monitoring and investigation capacity.
• Creation of a digital intelligence unit to support law enforcement and prosecutions.

By June 2025, the FATF confirmed that all action points had been met, acknowledging increased legal assistance, improved asset confiscation, and stronger intelligence sharing.

These achievements show that when South Africa acts in unison, meaningful reform follows. Yet lessons from the Zondo Commission still resonate: legislation alone is not enough.

Adding regulation is easy. Embedding compliance into culture is hard.

True resilience comes from a proactive mindset - anticipating risks rather than reacting when they occur.

From compliance wins to economic advantage

South Africa’s delisting is more than a reputational victory - it’s an opportunity to strengthen economic growth and competitiveness.

• Innovation and competition: Robust safeguards enable fintechs and new market entrants to offer inclusive, customer-focused services.
• Investor confidence: Mature compliance builds international trust and attracts capital.
• Reduced friction: Streamlined AML frameworks enable faster and safer cross-border transactions.

These gains must be built upon.

This is the moment to double down on collaboration, not retreat into silos. Reform isn’t a one-off project - it’s a new way of working.

What’s needed next

To ensure lasting AML maturity and success in the next FATF Mutual Evaluation (February 2026), South Africa must treat compliance as a living system.

Key priorities include:

• Transparency: Real-time data sharing and open communication across regulators and financial institutions.
• Accountability: Leadership that acts before a crisis, embedding compliance into everyday decisions.
• Consistency: Elimination of silos, ensuring all accountable institutions - from major banks to small fintechs - adhere to the same AML standards.
• Technology adoption: Automation, analytics, and proactive monitoring to operationalise compliance in real time.

Tech-enabled monitoring is no longer optional. Automation reduces manual errors, minimises false positives, and transforms AML from a tick-box exercise into a living, intelligent system.

Eyes on the future

Elliott emphasises that executive leadership must view compliance as a strategic investment and not as a cost. It safeguards reputation, boosts efficiency, and builds investor trust.

The Zondo Commission reminded us that accountability is not theoretical - it must be lived and system-wide. This time, South Africa has the chance to embed lessons learned and ensure culture, not just legislation, drives AML success. The next 24 months will be decisive.

Delisting isn’t a graduation; it’s a progress report. The systems that delivered compliance success now need to evolve into mechanisms of continuous vigilance.

The goal is clear: a compliance culture built on vigilance, powered by technology, and led by accountable leadership.

Technology doesn’t replace governance - it enables it.

If South Africa gets this right, it won’t just stay off the greylist. It will set a new benchmark for financial integrity across emerging markets.

Bradley Elliott, CEO of Anti-Money Laundering (AML) platform RelyComply.

BUSINESS REPORT