Anti-Money Laundering regulations affect many sectors in a number of ways

One requirement is that the identity of customers is verified in order to prevent the proceeds of crime being legitimised. Nominated personnel, such as Money Laundering Reporting Officers, must determine the form that such checks take in order to meet the requirements of the regulations that affect them.

Organisations are now looking to electronic methods of verifying identity to help them to meet their AML and Client Due Diligence requirements. Three key reasons they are taking the electronic approach are:

1) They want to offer customers more flexibility and a better service

In days gone by a request to go into a branch or office to present our identity documents was pretty much expected. Today’s customer has evolved. Not only do we expect services to be available to us 24/7 we also need to be able to access them by a number of channels. A business that can offer customers online identity checking is going to have a competitive advantage as customers look for the quickest and easiest route to accessing services. Electronic identity checking also means that businesses can offer their customers more choice in how they interact with them, offering services online, over the phone or in person.

2) They want better auditing and a paper-free process

Relying on checking identity by examining paper based proofs can be cumbersome. Copies of paperwork must be taken, filed and stored securely. Things do not improve when it comes to an audit trail and accessing records of previously taken identity information. Electronic identity checking solutions will securely hold this information for you, it can be managed and is easily accessed when you need it – and you don’t need to find the room to store lots of paper!

3) They want to cut cost and the administrative burden

Traditional methods of establishing a customer’s identity can be expensive. There are the obvious costs such as postage for the documents concerned and the secure storage of large amounts of paperwork. There are also more hidden costs such as needing staff to administer the documentation and also needing to give staff specialist training in checking documents to verify identity. You may also need to factor in the cost of employing people to chase customers for documents and the possibility that you may lose business to competitors who are able to offer their services without making customers provide paper identity proofs.

There are different digital solutions that can be used in AML checks to verify a customer’s identity. Some rely on checking known information about a client, whereas others allow for the electronic submission of traditional documentary evidence. Click here for more information about how Experian helps businesses and customers value each other with identity checking solutions.

Experian is proud to be The Law Society’s preferred Supplier for AML e-verifications, identity and Know Your Customer checking please click here for more information.