| CONTENT TABLE |
| What is Know Your Customer (KYC)? |
| Importance of KYC |
| Components of KYC |
| Who is Impacted by KYC Compliance? |
| Effective KYC Process |
| The Advantages of a KYC Process |
| AML and KYC |
With an increasingly globalized economy, financial institutions are becoming more vulnerable to illegal criminal activities. The KYC check is designed to eliminate risks related to money laundering, terrorist financing, corruption, fraud, bribery, and other illegal financial activities. Organizations must ensure that their customers are who they are allegation to be. Firms must understand how to effectively implement KYC as part of their anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorism financing (CFT) compliances.
What is Know Your Customer (KYC)?
Know Your Customer (KYC) Meaning
Know Your Customer (KYC) is a control procedure that financial institutions apply to verify the identities of their existing and new customers, to know customer investment information and financial profiles, and to identify and prevent customer risks.
Developing technology and widespread internet usage necessitate implementing standards to help fight online fraud. Financial institutions can more accurately detect suspicious activity by verifying a customer's identity and intent before and when the account is opened and, after that, monitoring their transactions. In addition to the financial and banking fields, related sectors such as insurance, real estate, and crypto must also comply with KYC procedures.
Customers must meet KYC requirements by providing proof of identity and address, such as ID card verification, facial verification, biometric verification, and document (passport, driver's license, or utility bill) verification.
To streamline and enhance the efficiency of these processes, many organizations rely on specialized KYC compliance software that automates these identity verification procedures while ensuring regulatory compliance. AML/KYC solutions are a critical component of modern compliance efforts, helping organizations navigate the complex landscape of regulatory requirements and ensure the integrity of their operations.
The central legal basis of the KYC principle and the KYC controls and verifications in Europe, the US, and the UK are basically as follows:
- 3rd EU Money Laundering Directive (Article 8)
- 4th EU Money Laundering Directive
- 5th EU Money Laundering Directive
- 6th EU Money Laundering Directive
- UK Bribery Act
- United Kingdom Modern Slavery Act
- Know Your Customer Program (CIP) as part of the US Patriot Act
Importance of KYC
The process of KYC includes all necessary actions to ensure that its customers are real assessed and monitored risks. With this arrangement, you protect your business against illegal activities such as corruption, money laundering, terrorist financing, and bribery. KYC regulations, in conjunction with AML/KYC compliance, gained international importance due to the increase in illegal financial transactions.
With AML/KYC solutions and regulations, the company can easily understand whether the transaction is standard or illegal by following the customers' financial transactions. Regulations include customer authentication, face verification, documents such as invoices, proof of address, and biometric verification. It requires identification and periodic updating of information. Requires monitoring on international lists, as needed. When these are followed, it is easier to notice when the client does something unusual.
Companies usually start to recognize their customers with their general credentials, and the use of KYC compliance software enhances this process. The customer is then evaluated for reliability. Customer Due Diligence (CDD) supported by AML/KYC solutions, helps us in this situation. It protects you against criminals, terrorists, and Politically Exposed Persons (PEP), which can pose a risk. At the same time, Financial Institutions help us with Enhanced Due Diligence (EDD) for high-risk customers. AML/KYC solutions play a pivotal role in automating and enhancing these vital processes.
Components of KYC
1. Customer Identification Program (CIP)
As part of KYC, organizations need to run Customer Identification Programs (CIP) to ensure the accuracy of what customers say about themselves and their business. CIP sets minimum requirements when onboarding new customers, but these requirements may vary depending on the organization. Even if there are differences, an effectively implemented CIP helps to confirm the customer's true identity. Section 326 of the US Patriot Act is recommends identifying and verifying the identity of people who open an account, keeping records, and comparing them with state lists.
2. Customer Due Diligence (CDD)
Customer due diligence (CDD) is the collection of identifying information to verify the customer's identity and accurately assess the risk level. CDD is important to assess risks and protect against criminals, terrorists, and politically exposed persons (PEP) who may pose a risk. As stated in Recommendation 10 of Recommendation 40 of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), member states should implement the CDD requirements.
3. Enhanced Due Diligence (EDD)
Under the risk-based approach, high-risk customers are subject to enhanced due diligence (EDD). High-risk customers and suspicious transactions pose a greater risk to the financial sector, and CDD procedures might not detect them. Therefore, companies use EDD procedures to create a higher identity assurance by taking the customer's identity and addressing and evaluating their risk categories. To gain a deeper understanding of customer activities and risks, EDD involves intensive scrutiny.
4. Ongoing Monitoring
Ongoing monitoring is the continuous study of customers and their activities. It gives a chance to regularly check high-risk customers on sanction lists and checklists due to the threat of crime. It monitors frequently renewed sanctions, PEP lists, and adverse media and assesses customer risk. The Ongoing Monitoring Process protects businesses from risks such as non-compliance and loss of reputation.
Who Is Impacted by KYC Compliance?
Examples of financial service provider sectors that must apply KYC regulations,
- Banks
- Payment companies
- Lending companies
- Investment companies
- Money transfer companies
- Crypto exchanges
- Insurance companies
Financial institutions detect the risks they may face in the future with the control procedures they apply before opening a new customer account. Know your client check; the first step of Anti-Money Laundering programs also prevents potential risks by verifying their identities.
With the development of technology, crime techniques and risks also change. Financial institutions must follow updates in related legislation to detect and prevent crime risks that organized crime groups have developed using technology. Obligated organizations that do not comply with AML and KYC regulations remain vulnerable to financial crimes and are punished by regulatory agencies. For this reason, accountable institutions must fulfill Know Your Customer requirements. Utilizing advanced AML/KYC solutions can significantly enhance their ability to meet these requirements efficiently.
Effective KYC Process
Controls to be applied in customer account opening processes according to regulatory requirements:
1. Collection of customer information and checking accuracy.
KYC procedures usually start with collecting primary data about their customers using electronic identity verification. KYC data and document requirements are:
- Name
- Address
- Date of birth
- Social security number
2. Once preliminary customer data has been collected, the second step is to determine if it is linked to criminal activity.
Control can be achieved with some lists:
- Sanction and Watchlists
- Politically Exposed Persons (PEP) lists
- Lists of high-risk jurisdictions
3. To ensure that they are legitimate by understanding the nature of customer activities.
4. Determination of customer risk level by applying Customer Due Diligence and, if necessary, Enhanced Due Diligence procedures.
5. Development of a control program suitable for the customer's risk level.
The Advantages of a KYC Process
- Thanks to advanced artificial intelligence technologies, onboarding processes have improved. Difficulties and delays in remote contracting, purchasing, or concluding contracts are eliminated, and the customer can access the product or service safely and quickly.
- Thanks to automatic remote solutions, KYC verification can be performed at any time and place.
- Organizations benefit from high conversion rates and optimized customer acquisition costs with AML/KYC solutions.
- KYC avoids reputational damage
- It builds trust between the customer and the organization.
- It brings stability and investment to the country as it makes the country's fiscal framework credible and less risky.
AML and KYC
Every year, millions of dollars of money laundering and terrorist financing crimes are committed via financial systems. Money laundering activities provide the growth of crime and terrorist organizations. Financial resources must be blocked to prevent the growth of crime and terrorist organizations. Regulatory bodies around the world are working to stop money laundering and terrorism financing. With the publication of AML and KYC requirements as a potent weapon against money laundering and terrorist financing, a risk-based approach has become mandatory for all institutions, particularly financial ones. Consequently, organizations must ensure AML/KYC compliance and actively participate in the battle against financial crimes, employing advanced AML/KYC solutions.
Numerous local and international authorities, including FinCEN, have made it obligatory for financial institutions to adhere to KYC standards and implement AML/KYC solutions to prevent illegal activities. Therefore, every financial entity must take proactive measures to meet KYC requirements and adopt AML/KYC solutions if it wishes to participate in the global economy and contribute to the prevention of money laundering and terrorism financing.
Why Should You Choose Sanction Scanner?
Sanction Scanner is an AML/KYC compliance software company offering comprehensive AML/KYC solutions. It provides enhanced PEP, Sanction, and Adverse Media Screening services. With Sanction Scanner, you can easily perform KYC checks. Also, our database consists of official local and global sanction and pep lists, including international organizations.
Sanction Scanner provides end-to-end needs of organizations in this field because of its many features, API and integration capability, and the ability to create local lists. As a result, it reduces your operational costs and development efforts.
