Selecting your partner in financial crime prevention: Where do you start?

Because markets are now more competitive and fast-moving than ever, entrenched firms are finding they are needing to dedicate increasing amounts of time and resources to the development of service innovations.

In an increasingly digital world, in which customers can open a bank account from their phones and data is more widely available than ever (yet also more dispersed), truly ‘knowing your customer’ (KYC) has become a heavy burden for many firms.

What is not widely realised is that the most routine, labour-intensive aspects of KYC and anti-money laundering (AML) processes can, in fact, be outsourced to a specialist provider. It is more than possible to combine efforts with a ‘partner in financial crime prevention’ for the purpose of KYC checking, investigation of alerts, sanctions checking and more.

A number of specialist providers already operate in this sphere, but it is vital to select one that not only offers quality assured and cost-effective processing, but also understands your firm’s regulatory obligations and provides continuous support from experienced subject matter experts.

For firms within regulated sectors, it must be noted that accountability for ensuring compliance cannot be outsourced, but delivery certainly can. Skilled and experienced suppliers will have the industry-wide experience needed to ensure that processes meet, totally, the range of standards demanded of regulated businesses.

Huntswood has recently published a paper of considerations for firms seeking to outsource their AML and KYC operations. Can it be outsourced? will help firms find the very best partner for their specific circumstances.

The paper covers:

• The benefits of outsourcing certain KYC and AML operations
• The regulator’s guidance around outsourcing within financial crime controls
• The five key aspects you should be looking for in a third party supplier

Financial crime prevention in this new age of technological revolution will surely present firms of all sizes with a significant challenge and ongoing cost. Outdated or otherwise heavy-handed approaches to KYC and AML screening, no matter how necessary, will also continue to risk causing disruption to the customer experience.

Perhaps the best option for firms going forward will be to partner with specialist providers who will be able to bear some of that burden. While a trusted third party manages the increasing flow of customer data, your firm can focus on developing and delivering the best customer experience possible.

Download Can it be outsourced? – Considerations for selecting a ‘know your customer’ and anti-money laundering partner from the Huntswood website.