Enhancing KYC checks by combining electronic identity verification and ID document verification

Signing up new financial service customers online or via mobile requires a multi-layered approach that integrates best-in-class identity verification and authentication solutions. Protect your business and customers from fraud, identity theft and fines for non-compliance of Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Know Your Customer (KYC) rules by ensuring the highest security and compliance processes are in place.

Consumers want to sign up for your service on their mobile devices whenever and wherever they are. But what if they have to prove their identity by visiting a physical location to present identity documents in person? …

Regulatory technology (regtech) seeks to provide “nimble, configurable, easy to integrate, reliable, secure and cost-effective” regulatory solutions. In the EU, the European Banking Authority (EBA) has the authority to help drive innovative regtech services and regulatory alignment. They have created a report, EBA Analysis of Regtech in the EU Financial Sector, to provide insight into the current regtech landscape and its benefits and challenges.

Regtech is now mainstream

While use varies by jurisdiction and by use case, many financial institutions (FIs) have adopted at least some regtech solutions. Anti-Money Laundering (AML) has been the most popular use case, with 75% of FIs reporting experience…

The global pandemic prompted an unprecedented surge in online life. From shopping for groceries to job interviews and more, many of our daily activities moved from being predominantly in-person to predominantly online — and that included education.

With millions of students worldwide abruptly attending classes remotely, it begged the question: without the traditional in-person interaction, how could higher education institutions ensure that the correct people were being taught and that the correct people were being given the academic credits?

The requirement for student identity to be verified prior to awarding academic credentials isn’t new: The United States Higher Education Opportunity…

Following the dramatic rise in investment in cryptocurrencies and Bitcoin over the last few years, regulators are now setting their sights on this dynamic, rapidly evolving corner of the financial services industry. The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), an independent inter-governmental body that develops and promotes Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Know Your Customer (KYC), has published further guidance on how its 37 members should regulate cryptocurrency exchanges.

While many in the industry welcome regulatory oversight, as it provides clarity and certainty for both investors and operators, one piece of guidance — Recommendation 16 — has caused significant controversy. The so-called…

What is financial inclusion? Financial inclusion is about providing equal access and opportunities to financial services. Without essential financial services, 1.7 billion unbanked people face challenges in saving money, paying bills, overcoming cash flow problems and building up credit to fund more significant purchases.

Improving financial access for these people will have significant impacts on their, and their families, lives, and have the double benefit of uplifting their communities. There are also significant business opportunities. Angela Strange, a general partner at Andreessen Horowitz, calls it the greatest market opportunity in fintech. …

If you’re a merchant acquirer or payment service provider (PSP), onboarding merchants is essential for continued growth. Of course, you want more merchants, bringing in more transactions. However, onboarding questionable merchants that are likely to authorize fraudulent transactions only results in charges and losses that impact your bottom line.

The global payments space is growing rapidly and constantly evolving as fraudsters become more sophisticated and fraud attacks increase. So, how can you balance these trade-offs, ensuring that you can quickly and seamlessly onboard good merchants while preventing bad merchants from harming your business? …

AUSTRAC, the Australian Government agency responsible for fighting financial crimes, requires reporting entities to perform customer identification procedures for all customers.

With even more stringent rules coming into effect as of June 18, 2021, the need to Know Your Customer (KYC) and perform due diligence has ramped up for financial institutions and other entities that report to AUSTRAC. Understanding identity requirements and having compliant procedures while still delivering on customer onboarding and fraud prevention needs is fundamental for ongoing success.

KYC in Australia for a person

At a minimum, when verifying a person in Australia, you must collect and verify their full name and either their…

Geographic limits to commerce are vanishing as cross-border trade has become a breakout success story of the pandemic era. Next-generation eCommerce and app-commerce are enabling people all over the world to buy and ship goods with little global limitations.

This is wonderful news for consumers, sellers, manufacturers, shipping firms — and, sadly, cyberthieves. The cross-border trade boom is tantalizing to online criminals, who use advanced technology to create fake identities and fraudulent accounts. Using stolen credentials to pay for goods, cyberthieves are wreaking havoc on global money and merchandise movements.

The August 2021 AML/KYC Tracker, a PYMNTS and Trulioo collaboration…