Equals has selected Aiimi to strengthen its data governance and streamline handling of data subject access requests.
The partnership is aimed at helping Equals manage data subject access requests (DSARs) within the regulatory deadlines set by UK GDPR, particularly given the compliance requirements applicable to the financial services sector. Aiimi will work alongside Equals' Data Protection Officer and IT team to support faster and more consistent responses to DSARs.
Financial services firms have seen a rise in the number and complexity of DSARs in recent years, a process that must typically be completed within one calendar month. Non-compliance can result in fines of up to GBP 17.5 million or four percent of a firm's global turnover, whichever figure is higher. The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), which oversees DSAR compliance in the UK, has recorded a fifteen percent increase in DSAR-related complaints against financial firms, according to data cited by the companies.
Equals said the decision to adopt Aiimi's tool reflects its approach to data stewardship as regulatory demands around subject access requests continue to grow. The company stated that automating parts of the DSAR process is intended to allow its data protection team to redirect time towards other work that requires human judgement.
Platform capabilities and deployment
Equals will use Aiimi's SaaS deployment model, with the tool hosted in a secure cloud environment. According to Aiimi, the platform's capabilities include automated redaction of third-party data at scale, detection and removal of duplicate content, and the threading of information contained in email chains. At the same time, the tool also supports two-way communication with data subjects and generates a full audit log intended to support compliance documentation.
Lee Rowles, Data Protection Officer at Equals, said the operational burden associated with DSAR compliance has increased in recent years, requiring additional resources from the data protection team and senior leadership. Rowles added that Equals evaluated several providers before selecting Aiimi, citing the rigour of its solution.
Steve Salvin, CEO and founder of Aiimi, said the volume of disclosure requests has increased, particularly within regulated sectors such as financial services, where the data involved is often sensitive. Salvin said manual completion of DSARs is a repetitive process prone to error, and that Aiimi's platform is designed to automate time-consuming elements of that process.
Wider context
The partnership reflects a broader trend among financial services firms to adopt automation tools for regulatory compliance functions, as data protection obligations under UK GDPR continue to generate operational demands on internal teams. For payment and money movement platforms handling client data at scale, the ability to respond to DSARs within statutory deadlines remains a compliance requirement with direct financial consequences for non-compliance.
