It’s no secret that customer experience is one of the factors considered while developing modern digital solutions. Businesses and financial institutions understand the need to balance user experience and security in digital customer onboarding. Companies also realise that customer experience is what ultimately proves beneficial in terms of revenue and growth. Research has shown that 88% of businesses believe customer experience to be their competitive edge.
Over 90% of tech-savvy individuals in the US are accustomed to having access to the internet and expect the swift delivery of products and services within the comfort of their homes. This trend was further escalated by the COVID-19 pandemic owing to work-from-home and social distancing SOPs. As of today, customers opt for a better experience even if the price of the product or service is higher.
The evolution of digital financial processes is being followed by the subsequent developments in Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) compliance solutions. In the global financial landscape, firms are obliged by regulatory bodies and data protection laws to secure their customers’ personal information. The majority of financial institutions have welcomed and adopted technological developments in the form of fintech services and compliance solutions. But a single robust IDV system that complies with multiple jurisdictions’ regulatory and business requirements, and languages is a challenge for global organisations to counter fraud attacks.
The use of artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms has contributed to significant improvements in the quality and security of digital services. The quest to streamline customer onboarding and secure financial operations by eliminating fraud has led businesses to adopt technologies like regtech, blockchain, and even robotic process automation. As KYC moves towards automation, future-oriented firms are deploying AI-driven solutions to authenticate customer identity with greater accuracy by matching face and identity documents. After the selfie-based face verification systems businesses are analysing customers’ transactions and performing background screening to mitigate the risks of financial crime. When automated financial services in the form of fintech and regtech services are in harmony with robust KYC verification solutions, firms can transform the way they operate.
Shufti Pro provides automated, configurable, and highly customisable solutions to banks and other financial institutions across the globe. Its AI-powered solution is providing global coverage on various reading capabilities in all major languages. By offering on-premise and cloud solutions, it enables customers to adhere to the most stringent regulatory and business requirements. The powerful automated AI models perform verification in seconds with an accuracy rate of 98.67%.
In March, Shufti Pro began a strategic partnership with Algeria’s first mobile bank, Banxy, to provide a frictionless and secure onboarding experience for new and existing clients.
Commenting on the partnership, Julien Jolivet, Head of Banxy, stated, ‘By partnering with Shufti Pro, we seriously upgraded our onboarding customer experience, confirming our commitment towards our clients to provide innovative and high-quality services. Shufti Pro’s AI-powered identity verification solutions enable us to verify and identify in a matter of seconds with the utmost levels of accuracy and security’.
Formerly, Banxy was facing multiple onboarding challenges such as a 75% onboarding failure rate due to their outdated systems. Organisations like Banxy that offer digital banking services to customers need fast, accurate, and globally compliant IDV solutions to achieve their business goals. Our automated solution will enable Banxy to onboard legitimate customers and mitigate identity scams that occur with fast-growing businesses. Businesses do not need to incorporate multiple systems to be compliant with different business and jurisdiction requirements with Shufti Pro’s solution.
Although there is still a long way to go before KYC portability becomes a reality in Europe, efforts are being made toward that aim. The eID/KYC system to be established by the European Commission is now focusing on an ‘attribute-based & assurance level rated’ framework.
Traditional KYC processes implemented by banks and financial institutions do require customers to provide proof of identity, but the lack of standardisation means that every bank proceeds with the customer due diligence in their unique way. In the near future, the world is expecting a centralised system of digital IDs that will open new doors for KYC portability.
There are numerous distinctive ways that financial institutions and businesses can go about Know Your Customer (KYC) remediation. Thus, one of the most significant and commonly practised KYC remediation strategies is to authenticate, screen, and identify customers’ identities. In addition to this, there are several compliance solutions that a business can integrate into their operations to accomplish goals seamlessly without requiring human intervention. However, the aim should be to identify the customers that pose the risk of financial crime, including money laundering, and those that do not require monitoring daily.
Furthermore, the main purpose of KYC remediation is to authenticate the true entities along with the ultimate beneficial owners of partnering businesses. If the firm fails to collect enough information about the customer, the client may be able to engage in criminal activities such as money laundering or initiate corrupt activities without coming under regulatory scrutiny. Eventually, leading the company to experience sanctions, legal issues, and hefty fines.
Shufti Pro’s solutions are continuously enhanced, keeping with the changing KYC regime. The robust business verification conducted by Shufti Pro includes verification of Ultimate Beneficial Owners (UBOs), third-party businesses, and other corporate entities that successfully deter the risks associated with fraudulent businesses. Not only this, as per compliance requirements and regulations regarding UBOs verification, KYB has become more than necessary to build a clean customer base as well as business relationships.
This editorial was first published in our Financial Crime and Fraud Report 2022, which showcases the innovation and development of the best practices and instruments used by financial institutions in their fraud prevention activities, to improve the digital onboarding process of their customers while fighting against financial crime.
About Shahid Hanif
Throughout his life, technology excited Shahid. In University his passion for technology focused on AI and ML. Hanif was intrigued to know how manmade systems can make human decisions and, in some cases, better than what we could have thought about. That’s when he decided to build something in AI. Here he is today, CTO of an AI-driven company that constantly innovates.
About Shufti Pro
Shufti Pro provides fully automated KYC and AML services to the financial sector. Its KYC solution authenticates customers in real-time during onboarding, which helps businesses avoid financial crime. The UK-based company has 5 regional offices and launched 17 different IDV products since its inception in 2017. With the ability to verify thousands of ID documents in 150+ languages, Shufti Pro is serving customers in 230+ countries and territories.
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