Money laundering scandals have rocked the reputations of major financial institutions (FIs) that are consequently launching new efforts to repair their images. The Estonian branch of Danske Bank was accused of failing to screen $230 billion in suspicious funds, while Swedbank was accused of mishandling more than $100 billion in suspicious funds. The two recently announced changes in leadership, and are partnering with four other Nordic banks on an initiative intended to improve security with a standard know your customer (KYC) practice.
In this month’s “AML/KYC Tracker™,” PYMNTS explores how FIs are turning to new partnerships and solutions to improve security and compliance efforts.
Bahrain’s Electronic Network for Financial Transactions (BENEFIT) is also seeking to improve KYC checks. The entity, which provides ancillary support to Bahrain’s financial sector, recently entered into a collaboration with a digital-client, life-cycle management solutions provider to offer a nationwide KYC utility platform. Once completed, it is expected to help participating banks streamline customer onboarding.
Globally operating companies are faced with having to manage each region’s KYC and anti-money laundering (AML) requirements. Identity verification provider Trulioo recently showcased a new tool intended to ease companies’ expansions into new markets by helping them rapidly verify customers in different markets.
Bank South Pacific, meanwhile, is relying on biometrics to support its KYC efforts. Under new procedures, customers will enroll fingerprint scans and provide ID documents at a branch location, after which they can use their enrolled fingerprints for identity verification.
Find these and all the rest of the latest headlines in the Tracker.
Millennials invest in the stock market at a lower level than older generations. However, companies seeking to encourage greater involvement are providing stock trading via mobile apps to reach millennials where they’re comfortable. Keeping these platforms secure, though, requires continual monitoring for bad actors, as well as strict adherence to KYC regulations.
In this month’s feature story, CEO Ian Rosen of investor- and trader-focused social network StockTwits explained what it takes to secure the company’s forthcoming trading app. Find the full story in the Tracker.
Biometric authentication is a contentious prospect. Several U.S. cities have banned facial recognition, while India has embraced eye and fingerprint scanning for its Aadhaar identification system — admittedly, not without some serious problems.
Some financial players see the technology as offering a way to streamline logins or provide an added layer of security, with biometrics presenting hard-to-fake credentials. Yet, just as biometric-based authentication procedures can smooth onboarding for some consumers, it has also been known to lock out others.
This month’s Deep Dive explores the controversy. Read the Deep Dive in the Tracker.
The “AML/KYC Tracker™,” a Trulioo collaboration, provides an in-depth examination of current efforts to stop money laundering, fight fraud and improve customer identity authentication in the financial services space.
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