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The Fortitude Pledge

The payments industry needs a higher bar for financial crime prevention. We've set ours. Join us.

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Through our work with the UN Global Compact and SDG 16, we made a commitment: financial crime prevention shouldn't be an afterthought

The Fortitude Pledge is that commitment made public. We know eliminating 100% of financial crime risk is a moving horizon. We pursue it anyway. 

Built on the belief that the payments industry’s ambition has to be absolute, even when the reality is hard, every transaction is screened. Every risk escalated. Every person trained. That’s what commitment looks like when it’s built in, not bolted on. We hold ourselves to this standard and invite others to join us.

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The principles behind the Pledge.

Compliance should be a baseline, not a ceiling

Regulation tells you the minimum. We think the minimum isn’t enough. The Fortitude Pledge is built on the belief that rigorous prevention goes further than any rulebook requires.

Vigilance is a practice, not a policy

Fraud evolves. So does our approach to it. Effective prevention isn’t a periodic review, it’s embedded in every transaction, every escalation, every day.

Payment systems should protect the most vulnerable

Migrants, refugees, and the elderly deserve the same standard of protection as anyone else. We build our programmes with that responsibility in mind.

The industry is stronger when it acts together

Shared standards benefit everyone. When more organisations hold themselves to this level of rigour, the whole ecosystem becomes harder to exploit.

The impact of the Pledge.

Practical tools, not just principles

Signatories receive the Pledge branding and educational materials to support their commitment to the standard.

Every cardholder, better protected

Rigorous screening and consistent escalation means fewer fraudulent transactions reaching cardholders. The standard you hold yourself to has a direct impact on the people behind every payment.

A credible signal to the industry and consumers

Pledge membership communicates something meaningful to clients, regulators, and partners. Not just a badge. A demonstrated commitment to operating at a higher standard.

Rigour that compounds across the industry

When more organisations hold themselves to this standard, financial crime has fewer places to hide. Collective rigour makes the whole ecosystem more resilient.

Join the Pledge

Commit to working towards the Pledge’s operational standards and report on your progress on an annual basis. To make reporting straightforward, we ask the following of signatories each year:

  1. A signed internal confirmation that all relevant staff have completed AML and CTF training.
  2. A confirmation of one proactive step taken to improve your organisation’s financial crime culture.
  3. One key learning from the year, to be shared across the Pledge network so the whole ecosystem benefits.

Meaningful, manageable, and a genuine indicator of an organisation that takes this seriously.

Additionally, signatories receive Fortitude Pledge branding and supporting materials developed by Enfuce.

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Become a signatory

The bar is higher here. If that is where your organisation wants to operate, we would like to hear from you. Register your interest below and we will be in touch.