Eastnets Secures Top 50 Spot in RiskTech100 and Wins Third Consecutive Trade-Based AML Award

Eastnets has secured the Chartis Trade-Based AML Category Award for the third consecutive year and climbed to 41st in the RiskTech100 2027 rankings. For fintech professionals, this highlights the growing necessity for sophisticated AI-driven tools to monitor the $35 trillion global trade landscape where money laundering now accounts for up to 5% of global GDP.

What was announced

The recognition centers on Eastnets’ performance in the Trade-Based Anti-Money Laundering (AML) category, an area where the company has maintained leadership for three consecutive years, following previous wins in 2025 and 2026. In the broader RiskTech100 2027 report—an annual independent study widely recognized as a comprehensive assessment of the world's major risk technology providers—Eastnets rose two places from its 2026 position of #43 to reach #41 globally. The ranking evaluates providers based on performance, innovation, and customer impact.

The announcement comes as the scale of global trade reaches unprecedented levels. Data from UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) indicates global trade surpassed $35 trillion in 2025 for the first time. This volume creates an enormous and increasingly complex environment where financial crime can be effectively concealed. Concurrently, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime estimates that money laundering represents between 2% and 5% of global GDP, translating to a range of $800 billion to $2 trillion annually.

To address these challenges, Eastnets utilizes its financial crime compliance portfolio, specifically Eastnets SafeTrade. This solution employs artificial intelligence, data, advanced analytics, and strategic partnerships to bridge the gap between trade documents, payment messages, and counterparty data. By connecting these disparate data points, the platform enables financial institutions to identify anomalies and investigate potential risks with higher precision. The award specifically acknowledges the company’s ability to help banks and financial institutions detect suspicious trade activity, reduce investigation complexity, and respond more effectively to evolving financial crime threats.

"Eastnets has continued to build on the strength of its technology stack, deepening its trade-based AML capabilities and data analytics. Its sustained investment and advancements in these areas has driven its continued rise in the RiskTech100® rankings."

Sid Dash, Chief Researcher at Chartis.

The companies involved

Eastnets is a global provider of financial crime compliance and payment solutions that has operated in the financial services sector for more than 40 years. Led by Founder and CEO Hazem Mulhim, the company serves more than 800 institutions worldwide, helping them manage risk and enable secure participation in the global financial economy. Its service suite is broad, combining deep domain expertise with innovative technology across anti-money laundering, watchlist screening, fraud prevention, and payments. The company also provides critical infrastructure support through Swift connectivity and specialized trade-based financial crime compliance tools.

Chartis Research is an independent research and advisory firm focused on the global market for risk technology. The firm provides market intelligence, benchmarking, and analysis on governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) sectors. Its reports and vendor assessments deliver actionable insight to help institutions evaluate solutions and make strategic technology choices. The annual RiskTech100 report, produced by Chartis, serves as a major benchmark in the industry, assessing vendors on their ability to deliver customer impact through innovation. Chartis operates as a key advisor for institutions navigating the intersection of risk, compliance, and financial technology.

What this means

The continued dominance of specialized providers in the trade-based AML space suggests that generic compliance tools are no longer sufficient for the complexities of modern trade finance. As trade volumes hit record highs, the pressure is mounting on traditional banks to move beyond manual document checking. This announcement signals a market shift where AI-native integration of payment and trade data is becoming the baseline requirement rather than a premium feature. For the broader sector, the rise of specialized risk tech firms in global rankings indicates that the "all-in-one" legacy banking platforms are facing significant competitive pressure from agile, data-centric compliance specialists. The industry now faces a critical question of whether mid-tier institutions can keep pace with these technological advancements or if the cost of sophisticated AML compliance will drive further consolidation in trade finance.