https://www.mortgagefinancegazette.com/market-commentary/aml-technology-evolution-13-03-2019/

Anti-money laundering technology must constantly evolve to keep up with legislation and fraudsters. John Dobson, CEO of Smart Search, explains how this can be done.

As money launderers become increasingly more sophisticated in their methods, anti-money laundering law and technological solutions need to evolve to keep up.

Following a raft of money laundering cases in 2017 and 2018, the 5th Money Laundering Directive – published in the European Journal in June 2018 – made some important amendments to increase the transparency of financial transactions.

One of the most significant changes was the stipulation that electronic verification is used when undertaking Customer Due Diligence (CDD) and Know Your Customer (KYC) procedures.

And while regulated businesses have always been able to use electronic verification – either as an alternative to traditional documents or supplementary to – this latest amendment, calling for electronic checks to be used where possible has really thrust regtech into the spotlight.

The UK is actually way ahead of the game when it comes to regtech; 30 of the 60 European companies on this year’s RegTech100 were UK-based – and as a result, there has been a long-standing acceptance of these types of solutions in the UK.

Alternative to documents

The very first version of our own verification platform was launched back in 2004; back then, electronic identification was not recognized – even in the UK – as a viable alternative to documents such as passports, driving licenses and utility bills.

However, for many years now, regulating bodies in the UK have realized that, due to the ease at which fraudsters can create fake documents, relying on manual checks is too risky and electronic identification is the most reliable, secure and efficient source of information for identity solutions.

Our Smart Search platform – first launched in 2012 – integrates AML, anti-fraud and KYC datasets into a single platform, which means regulated firms no longer need documentary evidence in their AML processes.

Instead of using numerous different information systems and service providers, clients can perform an individual AML check in seconds, which means they can start work with new clients immediately.

Due diligence

The Smart Search system also carries out enhanced due diligence on sanction and PEP (politically exposed persons) matches and provides a daily monitoring service so that if a customer’s client is added to the PEP or sanctions list, they are made aware immediately.

This is the cutting edge of AML compliance, but it hasn’t always been like this. When the platform was first launched it simply delivered a standard AML verification service for individuals, and a simple sanction and PEP pass or fail check – no enhanced due diligence.

And while at the time, this was a huge step forward in the fight against fraud and money laundering, to stay ahead of the fraudsters – and really dominate this service sector of AML – the platform had to go above and beyond what was widely available, and offer something more.

This is why we are continually developing, improving and advancing the capabilities of our original verification platform.

One of the biggest drivers behind this development is, of course, responding to AML legislation – and money launderers themselves – to ensure the technology is doing its job.

Recent advancements include; bringing in Dow Jones’ as a data partner, which enables us to offer the most comprehensive sanction and PEP checking available and a “daily monitoring” service.

The other main driver is customer need. And one of the most important and successful technological innovations since the launch of the platform was the launch of Smart AML last year. Smart AML is a fully integrated app for registered Smart Search users to perform real-time AML checks on their iPhone, Android or tablet when they are out and about with clients.

CMS integration

Another area we have developed recently in response to customer need is the technology to integrate the Smart Search system with our customers’ existing content management systems (CMS).

So many of our clients now use online platforms for all their processes, but having multiple platforms can be confusing – and difficult to manage.

With this in mind, we have now developed technology which allows the Smart Search solution to be integrated with our customers’ own content management systems to allow them to do a ‘Smart Search’ within their existing processes.

Smart Search is still able to act autonomously, so any updates to the platform will happen automatically, whether the client uses Smart Search independently or integrated with their own CMS.

This latest development is proving very popular, and we see it as a huge growth area going forward, especially as more and more regulated businesses move to electronic checks following the 5th Money Laundering Directive.

And it is a never-ending process, because, every time there is a change in regulation, the Smart Search platform is upgraded to incorporate that change.

If a client has a good idea for an improvement, we will modify the platform and that change will benefit all clients, automatically, at our cost.

Regtech is already such a hugely important sector – and with Brexit around the corner, it is potentially going to be even more significant.

Because, if and when we leave the EU, the connections between the different regulatory bodies will become more complicated, so the need for expert regtech companies to provide the solutions will be more important than ever.