A fully automated Know Your Customer (KYC) solution for Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Counter Terrorism Finance (CTF) compliance has been launched by Encompass Corporation [1].
The software platform enables legal professionals to meet the increasingly demanding regulatory requirements of the European Union’s Fourth Anti-Money Laundering Directive, which must be implemented by 26 June 2017.
The 4th AML Directive includes fundamental changes to the existing procedures, which will impact legal professionals. Changes to Customer Due Diligence (CDD), the requirement for a central register for beneficial owners, a focus on risk assessments, and the new rules for politically exposed persons (PEPs) within the UK, all present a challenge for legal professionals who struggle to tailor legacy systems or keep up with manual process.
Encompass Verify, the new KYC platform for AML/CTF compliance is fully automated and can be tailored to regulatory and risk criteria specific to the legal profession. Fully tried and tested, this new system for KYC instantly aggregates and cross-refers information from 12 data providers in real time including Thomson Reuters World-Check, GBG ID3global, Trulioo, Companies House, Experian, Equifax, Dun & Bradstreet, 192.com [2], Bureau Van Dijk, Creditsafe, Red Flag Alert, C6 Group and Kyckr.
Trials of the platform have shown that on average using Encompass Verify is more than 10 times faster than current systems, reducing un-billable hours by cutting manual costs by as much as 80%. Being automated, it also provides a full audit trail including an instant view of beneficial ownership and control, both key parts of anti-money laundering regulations.
Wayne Johnson, CEO from Encompass said: “The European Union Fourth Anti-Money Laundering Directive adds both an extra layer of complexity, and requirement for greater clarity of process and auditing including maintaining accurate and current information on beneficial ownership. It’s something a lot of businesses are struggling to prepare for. By automating the process, it can reduce the risks of failure to comply whilst also demonstrating value to clients by vastly improving efficiency, both at the point of need and, crucially, as and when the information needs to be updated or interrogated in the future.”