Knowing Your Customer: Solutions That Tackle Section 326 of the USA Patriot Act

In 2002, over US$850 billion in illicit funds were passed through financial institutions, and fraud and identity theft cost them over US$3 billion. Over the past decade, the triple threats of fraud, terrorism and money laundering have driven increased operational and regulatory pressure on firms to develop effective methods for managing customer risk. Moreover, financial institutions risk fines and damage to their reputations if they have harbored?even unwittingly?funds from terrorists, money-launderers, or politically proscribed entities. In a new report, Knowing Your Customer: Solutions That Tackle Section 326 of the USA Patriot Act, Celent Communications analyzes the existing compliance environment of US financial institutions and addresses their preparedness for complying with the more robust customer identification program (CIP) called for by Section 326 of the USA PATRIOT ACT. The report also provides a close examination of 16 vendor solutions that have emerged to assist financial institutions with meeting the new?as well as old?compliance requirements. Some are focused on one specific compliance function, while others run the gamut to supply a full and comprehensive solution.