Politically exposed persons represent the highest-risk client category in AML compliance — and, for many private banks, among the most commercially attractive. Managing that tension is one of the defining operational challenges in compliance today. At the heart of it sits source of wealth verification.

If you work in compliance, KYC, or financial crime, you will encounter the terms Source of Wealth (SoW) and Source of Funds (SoF) repeatedly — often in the same breath. They sound similar. They are not the same. Conflating them is one of the most common documentation errors made during enhanced due diligence reviews, and it is the type of error that draws regulatory attention.

Source of wealth verification is one of the most scrutinised areas of AML compliance and one of the most commonly done wrong.

The role of Know Your Customer (KYC) analysts has undergone a profound transformation over the past decade, shaped largely by advances in technology, particularly artificial intelligence (AI) and more recently, Generative AI. Historically, the job of a KYC analyst revolved around manually processing large amounts of data, reviewing customer profiles, performing ID verifications, cross-referencing watchlists, conducting adverse media screening, and ensuring compliance with ever-changing regulatory standards.

smartKYC announces Mike Byrne as the company’s new Business Development Director.

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and Know Your Customer (KYC) screening are two important regulatory frameworks in the world of data protection and financial services. GDPR and KYC screening can conflict in several ways, particularly in relation to the collection and storage of personal data. However, it is mandatory for organizations to comply with both by carefully balancing the requirements of each and taking appropriate measures to protect personal data.

As we addressed in our latest adverse media post, there is an array of categories—and subcategories— of negative news screening that need to be properly screened for accurate and relevant results. But how do people look for and analyse adverse media in foreign languages? And why is this still so difficult?

On 1st December 2022, the Wolfsberg Group published its Principles for Using Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning in Financial Crime Compliance. It is a welcome piece of commentary and advice and is inline with our thinking at smartKYC.

We have won the award for ‘Best Proposition for AI, Machine Learning’ at the Data Management Insight Europe Awards!

We have won the award for ‘Best Financial Crime Solution’ at the RegTech Insight APAC Awards!

We have won the award for ‘Best Financial Crime Solution’ at the RegTech Insight USA Awards!