KYC-AML: Meaning and difference
In the regulatory compliance space, the terms KYC and AML are often used interchangeably and are seen as the same thing. However, this is far from the truth, as both KYC and AML differ greatly in their meaning, especially in a regulatory context. The full forms of AML and KYC are Anti Money Laundering and Know Your Customer, respectively.
In order to address the growing problem of money laundering, both national and international bodies around the world provide guidelines for the finance industry. These impose certain screening and monitoring processes on all financial institutions so that the financial system is safeguarded from abuse by criminals. These AML checks in general are called AML-KYC compliance programs. However, KYC is a standalone process and there are separate KYC rules to be followed by financial institutions.
In order to successfully comply with anti-money laundering regulations, financial institutions must understand their AML and KYC obligations and develop effective AML-KYC compliance programs.
Understanding AML
Anti-money Laundering (AML) refers to the overall, broader measures and processes that financial institutions and governments use in order to prevent and combat financial crimes, specifically money laundering and terrorist financing. AML regulations are dictated by international bodies such as the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and Financial Action Task Force (FATF), regional bodies like the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) and The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) in the US, as well as local governments and bodies.
The AML policy forms part of the broader, complete AML compliance program of a financial institution.
KYC and money laundering
Know Your Customer or KYC is a fundamental process in any financial institution’s anti-money laundering program. It is defined as the process through which these institutions gather information on their clients and verify their identities. This greatly helps them to adequately assess the risk associated with each client. For example, all customers of a bank must be verified before they can use services such as checking accounts and credit cards. Fintech companies are mandated to gather ample, verifiable information on their client and their identity in order to determine their legitimacy before beginning any business activities.
What is the difference between AML and KYC?
The difference between AML and KYC primarily lies in the notion that AML is an umbrella term for the full range of regulatory processes that firms must implement in order to carry out businesses legitimately. On the other hand, KYC (Know Your Customer) is a smaller component of AML that consists of firms verifying their customers’ identities. It is one of the steps in the larger AML compliance process.
A lot of financial institutions often get confused between KYC and AML, blur the lines between the two processes, and are subject to disciplinary action by regulatory bodies as a result. They can be fined or even sentenced to prison time based on the severity of the offence.
The key differences between KYC and AML are given in the following table.
How KYC and AML are connected
KYC and AML are deeply interconnected processes. KYC is the first step in the implementation of an AML programme or policy. It is the process through which the client’s identity is verified. The objective of KYC checks is to understand the clients, their demographics and financial dealings on a deeper level, in order to effectively manage AML risks. In general KYC involves the following processes:
- Customer Due Diligence or CDD: It is the basic process of verifying customer identity either physically or through electronic means. It is applicable to all customers of a business.
- Enhanced Due Diligence or EDD: It is a more advanced KYC procedure that is used primarily for high-risk customers. These customers are generally more prone to being involved in financial crimes, including money laundering and terrorist financing, hence the need for more thorough verification and sometimes more verification after onboarding.
Other elements in AML compliance
In addition to KYC, the AML compliance process involves the following elements:
- Risk-based AML policies
- Ongoing risk assessment and ongoing monitoring
- AML compliance training programs for staff
- Internal controls and internal audits
Importance of KYC and AML in banking
Both KYC and AML both play an integral role in a bank’s regulatory compliance. And to top it off, they are both risk-based approaches as well. They also share some common features such as client identification and risk management. But it is important to always bear in mind that these processes are not the same and serve varied functions. This will help banks to find the right professionals and team to take up each task — AML or KYC — and do it justice.
The prevention and implementation of anti-money laundering require an in-depth knowledge of a lot of factors. From the inner workings of the finance industry to an understanding of local, regional, national and international anti-money laundering regulations and rules, a successful AML professional must have a skill-set beyond that of KYC.
Regtech for KYC – AML compliance
Apart from having skilled professionals, financial institutions should also invest in effective software solutions to run their AML compliance programmes successfully. Many of the current AML-KYC solutions are not robust to capture the complexities of modern-day customer risk management. Customer AML risk ratings are either carried out manually or are based on models that use a limited set of pre-defined risk parameters. This leads to inadequate coverage of risk factors which vary in number and weightage from customer to customer.
Further, the information for most of these risk parameters is static and collected when an account is opened. Often, information about customers is not updated in the required format and frequency. The current models do not consider all the touchpoints of a customer’s activity map and inaccurately score customers, failing to detect some high-risk customers and often misclassifying thousands of low-risk customers as high risk.
Misclassification of customer risk leads to unnecessary case reviews, resulting in high costs and customer dissatisfaction. Adding to this, the static nature of the risk parameters fails to capture the changing behaviour of customers and dynamically adjust the risk ratings, exposing financial institutions to emerging threats.
Using artificial intelligence and machine learning
Today, modern technologies like AI and machine learning are getting widespread attention for their ability to improve business processes and regulators are encouraging banks to adopt innovative approaches to combat money laundering. In the area of AML compliance, the need of the hour is a sophisticated technology that can capture changing customer behaviour through proper identification of risk indicators and continuously update customer profiles as underlying activities change. There are various Regtech solutions that can ensure proper AML- KYC compliance in a sustainable manner.
Tookitaki’s solutions for AML – KYC compliance
Tookitaki developed an end-to-end AML-KYC compliance platform called the Anti-Money Laundering Suite (AMLS). It offers multiple solutions catering to the core AML activities such as transaction monitoring, name screening, transaction screening and customer risk scoring. Powered by advanced machine learning, AMLS addresses the market needs and provides an effective and scalable AML compliance solution.
To know more about our AML solution and its unique features, please contact us.
Leave a Comment
Crypto Exchanges Facing Enforcement Action and How to Stay Compliant
Kraken, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, is under federal investigation, suspected of violating US sanctions by allowing users in Iran and elsewhere to buy and sell digital tokens. Kraken has reportedly been subject to a Treasur...
E-Wallets and Anti-Money Laundering in the Philippines
The Philippines is one of the largest and fastest-growing economies in Southeast Asia. Its relatively young population and broad mobile network penetration have boosted the country’s internet-based businesses. About 20 million Filipinos also use e-...
Top Payment Methods in the Philippines and the Need for Anti-Money Laundering Compliance
One of the fastest growing economies in Southeast Asia, the Philippines, known to be a traditionally cash-heavy nation, has made significant strides in the digital transformation of its payment landscape. Currently, the country is undergoing a signif...
Crypto Exchanges Facing Enforcement Action and How to Stay Compliant
Some of the biggest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world are under federal investigation for allegedly breaking American sanctions by enabling users to buy and sell digital tokens in Iran and other countries. Kraken, a San Francisco-based cry...
New to the Philippines Market? What Should Fintechs Do to Ensure AML Compliance?
The Philippines is one of the largest and fast-growing economies in Southeast Asia. Its relatively young population and broad mobile network penetration have boosted the country’s internet-based businesses, especially the fintech sector. It is ...
Anti-Money Laundering (AML) in Indonesia: What you need to know
One of the largest economies in South East Asia, Indonesia has a GDP of over one billion USD. Indonesia implements an open financial system and is extremely focused on maintaining the integrity of its financial sector. In an effort to maintain stabil...
EU Legislators Argue that Money-laundering Laws Should Apply to NFT Platforms
Members of the European Parliament argued in proposed changes to the law released this month, that non-fungible token (NFT) trading platforms should be subject to EU anti-money laundering (AML) laws. Lawmakers from the Green Party and Socialist repre...
US Regulators Advise Banks to be Smarter About Managing AML Risk
The US financial regulators called on banks and credit unions in the country to follow a risk-based approach to assessing customer relationships and to avoid blind de-risking. De-risking is a practice followed by financial institutions wherein they d...
AML Best Practices are Unveiled by Leading MSB Associations
Working with other interested parties, including the American Bankers Association, a group of money services businesses (MSBs) published a best-practices guide for MSBs on anti-money laundering and Bank Secrecy Act compliance on 11th May. MSBs inclu...
Crypto Laundering: What Are the Red Flags to Look Out For?
Money Laundering via Crypto While there may not be a competitor to the currency in terms of laundering volume at present, the ever-increasing use of cryptocurrency and their unregulated or less-regulated nature in many jurisdictions mean that the fin...
En-route to a Stronger AML Framework, What Should FIs in The UAE Do?
Ever since its grey-listing by global money laundering watchdog Financial Action Task Force (FATF) in March 2022, the UAE has been very active in strengthening its anti-financial crime framework. Recently, the UAE Executive Office for Anti-Money Laun...
The Economic Crime Bill: How It will Affect Money Laundering in the UK
With sanctions taking centre stage in the international response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, property ownership transparency has become a top issue for the UK government. The government has pushed through the Economic Crime Bill with the a...
Where Do Countries Stand in the FATF AML Effectiveness Report?
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) said in a report that more than a third of its member countries are now technically compliant with its recommendations. Among the member countries, 76% have satisfactorily implemented its 40 recommendations, the...
MONEYVAL: Facing Traditional and Modern Money Laundering Methods
The world faces a combination of traditional and newer money laundering methods, according to the Committee of Experts on the Evaluation of Anti-money Laundering (AML) Measures and the Financing of Terrorism or MONEYVAL. In its latest annual report, ...
Thunes Takes Majority Stake in the AML and Compliance Platform Tookitaki
Singapore, 19 April, 2022 – Thunes, a Singapore-based global payments company, today announced that it has taken a majority stake in the anti-money laundering (AML) and compliance technology firm, Tookitaki Holding Pte Ltd (‘Tookitaki’). Th...
AML Fines 2021: What Do The Latest Figures Tell Us?
The latest financial crime fine figures from governance and risk consultancy firm Kroll revealed that global financial watchdogs are turning their attention from large banks to smaller financial institutions such as cryptocurrency firms and other Fin...
Thunes and Tookitaki Form Powerful Global Alliance for Safe & Secure Payments
By Abhishek Chatterjee Following the exciting news that Thunes has taken a majority stake in Tookitaki, I’d like to share briefly how the alliance will strengthen both companies. Demand for Anti-Money Laundering (AML) solutions is unpreceden...
AML Challenges in the UAE: How Can New Regulations and Technology Help?
Earlier in March, global money laundering watchdog Financial Action Task Force (FATF) placed the UAE in its list of ‘jurisdictions under increased monitoring’ or the so-called grey list. There are views that the country has inherent vulnerabiliti...
FinCEN Provides Guidance to Banks on How to Look for Transactions by Sanctioned Russian Elites
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) of the United States Treasury issued a warning to financial institutions about how Russian elites who are subject to sanctions might try to get around them, pointing out red flags that could help iden...
International Women’s Day 2022: Talking to Female Leaders in Tech
To celebrate International Women’s Day, we’re exploring how RegTech businesses can #BreakTheBias in an internal event hosted for all of our staff. We’re putting the spotlight on women in leadership, and who better to ask than the incredible...
Dubai Approves Law To Regulate Cryptocurrencies and NFTs
In Dubai, Mohammed bin Rashid approves the Virtual Asset Regulation Law, which establishes a complex regulatory structure to protect virtual asset investors. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the Unite...
AML and RegTech: Key learnings from 2021 and what we can expect from 2022
Featuring insights from risk and compliance leaders at Tookitaki, ACAMS, FATF and others. From NFTs and the Metaverse to new legislation, the finance and compliance space is rapidly changing, requiring financial institutions to be even more prepared....
Tookitaki named as Rising Star in Chartis RiskTech100 report
Tookitaki is delighted to announce that it has been named as one of the Rising Stars in the latest RiskTech100® report released by Chartis Research, a leading provider of research and analysis on the global market for risk technology (RiskTech). The...
Banking Platform Oxygen Selects Tookitaki as its Primary AML Solution
Tookitaki equips Oxygen to stay ahead of the regulatory environment, combat crime and be effective in meeting its AML compliance obligations Singapore, November 19, 2021 — Tookitaki, the regtech company that harnesses Artificial Intellig...
A Deep Dive Into NatWest’s AML Failure: What Went Wrong?
When the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) announced criminal proceedings against NatWest in March 2021 for anti-money laundering (AML) compliance lapses, the 55% state-owned bank became the first in the country to face such a fate. Recently, NatW...
Is your AML compliance software making your bank lose money?
Headlines of increasing fines from regulators and money laundering scandals only increase the demand for technology solutions that overcome compliance challenges. The need for an AML compliance software solution that automates processes and decreases...
The Pandora Papers: Here are the key regulatory compliance lessons
After the much-debated Panama Papers scandal and FinCEN files for their regulatory compliance implications, the Pandora Papers now reveal the unholy partnership between money, power and influence. Compiled by the the International Consortium of Inves...
What a Real-Life Money Mule Teaches Us of Money Laundering Typologies
We speak to the victims on the other end of financial crime, to lift the lid on the red flags behind trafficking. We unpack how these signs go undetected and how financial institutions and banks can do more to uncover money laundering patterns. ...
5 Recent Compliance Developments in Cryptocurrency Money Laundering
Discussions about the money laundering risks that cryptocurrency poses are on the rise. While these currencies are yet to match the traditional financial crime methods in terms of volume and size, the growing number of cases of money laundering thr...
AI Uptake for AML Compliance on the Rise despite COVID-19
Research suggests that financial institutions are increasingly adopting technologies such as AI and machine learning (ML) for anti-money laundering (AML) compliance in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. A new study by KPMG, SAS and the Association of...
Regulatory compliance in Asia: Reasons behind the rise of Regtech
It’s been more than a year and a half since the COVID-19 pandemic wreaked havoc across the world and changed the day-to-day operations of businesses. Financial institutions and their regulatory compliance teams have not been free from the effects o...
AML Fines 2021: Regulators Continue to Be Strict with Enforcement amid COVID-19
Research revealed that global regulators have remained strict with financial crime and sanctions compliance failings despite the COVID-19 pandemic. Governance and risk consultancy firm, Kroll says anti-money laundering (AML) fines in 2021 are likely ...
How sharing information between institutions helps detect money laundering
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) says institutions should be sharing information between them to detect money laundering more easily and comply with the Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Countering the Financial of Terrorism (CFT) requirements. M...
EU Proposes New Regulations To Take Anti-Money Laundering To The Next Level
Earlier in July, the European Commission came up with four legislative proposals. One of these was its 6th Anti Money Laundering Directive (AMLD 6) to support Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and countering the Financing of Terrorism (CFT) framework in Eu...
The Rise in Cryptocurrency Money Laundering Cases in 2021
Cryptocurrencies have been around for a while now. We’ve all heard of Bitcoin, Ethereum and Litecoin. As technology develops quickly, financial criminals keep up the pace to find new ways to exploit it via money laundering. Cryptocurrencies are sti...
How Technology Can Ensure Effective AML Information Sharing
We are in a digital-first economy where goods and services delivery has moved significantly online. The availability of financial services related to investment, payments, money transfers and lending online has aided financial inclusion in a commenda...
Why Neo Banks Might Need a Different Customer Risk Assessment Approach
As financial institutions go increasingly digital in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis, physical verification of customers’ identity and paper forms might become practices of the past. In many countries, neo banks and other regulated financial servic...
Transaction Monitoring in Fintech: Challenges and Solutions
While the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the global economy with long-lasting implications for companies and consumers, the Fintech sector has largely been resilient with notable growth across most geographies. A joint study of the sector by the Worl...
Getting Ready for Future: An AML Compliance Guide for Fintechs
The internet revolution and the smartphone revolution have changed the course of operations in many industries. The digital era brought about significant enhancements to economic utilities — in form, time, space and possession — and helpe...
Covid-19 and compliance challenges for payment companies
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought in fundamental changes to many industries, and the payments sector is no exception. Consumers across the globe now have a different approach as they consider commerce and payment options. They tend to flock to those ...
Assessing AML Compliance at Neobanks: Issues and Solutions
Considered the digital era’s answer to financial inclusion, neo-banking is rising to prominence, shattering the historical monopoly and hegemony of traditional banking. As populations across the globe are increasingly being connected to the interne...
How Criminals Launder COVID Funds via Online Investment Platforms
Fraud targeting governments’ pandemic-related welfare programs have seen criminals exploiting these schemes ever since countries started helping their citizens and businesses. If reports are correct, fraudsters benefit immensely from the US governm...
Crowdfunding: Yet Another Unconventional Means to Launder Money
Having transformed many ideas into profitable businesses, crowdfunding, a new-gen investment trend enabled by the internet, has become the first resort for many entrepreneurs and small businesses. There are various crowdfunding platforms in play, inv...
The Crackdown on Shell Companies and the Role of Technology
The Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA) 2020, enacted as part of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) 2021 of the US in January this year, had many key provisions to take the Anti-Money Laundering/Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT)...
Tookitaki Powers AI-Driven Anti-Money Laundering Solution Using HPE GreenLake
Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) announced a key collaboration with Tookitaki to provide a new offering designed for banks and financial institutions across Asia-Pacific. The new offering delivers Tookitaki’s artificial intelligence (AI) powered ...
AMLA 2020: 8 Key Provisions that Financial Institutions Required to Know
The US Congress passed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) 2021 on January 1, 2021, addressing a variety of pressing concerns related to the nation’s security. The act included a number of reforms related to the country’s response to an...
The Rising Case for RegTech to Address AML Risks Amid COVID-19
Emerged as a subset of FinTech, the Regulatory Technology (RegTech) industry has now gone more mainstream, thanks to regulators and industry practitioners. Recently, there have been many pro-RegTech communique and reports, highlighting that the COVID...
Hakrinbank Selects Tookitaki to Ensure Sustainable Financial Compliance Monitoring
Tookitaki announced a partnership with Hakrinbank, a leading South American bank based in Suriname, to fortify its Anti-Money Laundering (AML) detection and alerts management capabilities. To improve its legacy system and augment its ability to bett...
Breaking Barriers: 5 Key Insights on RegTech Adoption
HKMA in a report shared comprehensive hands-on experience and insights from respondents to better understand the factors and dependencies affecting AML/CFT Regtech adoption. The regulator collaborated with 10 mature RegTech adopters to build out a co...
How to Address Present-day Sanctions Screening Pain Points with AI
Sanctions risk of financial institutions is evolving in line with the global social, economic and political changes. As seen in recent news, governments across the globe are increasingly relying on sanctions as an important measure for political fore...
Tookitaki Got Selected for FinTech Program: Asia meets Tokyo
Tookitaki has been listed among 8 Fintech startups in Asia for FinTech Program: Asia meets Tokyo, an accelerator launched by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government (TMG). We have been selected for our anti-money laundering (AML) solution having a unique m...
AML Alert Management: How AI can Augment Your Compliance Efficiency
The financial sector is facing one monster of a problem at the moment. As today’s financial institutions deal with millions of daily transactions, several thousands of routine financial transactions are being flagged every month, leading to many un...
Tookitaki Recognised for Innovative Use of AI & Machine Learning
Tookitaki has won the Regtech Award for AI & Machine Learning and was highly commended in the solutions category for AML/CTF Compliance, in the 3rd Regulation Asia Awards for Excellence 2020 in an online ceremony on 15 December 2020. Tookita...
Money Laundering via Cryptocurrencies: All You Need to Know
Money laundering via cryptocurrency has been going on for a while now. We’ve all heard of Bitcoin, Ethereum and Dogecoin. Crypto is used by financial criminals globally but how are they getting away with it? It’s time we lifted the lid on this cr...
CNA 938 radio interviews Tookitaki Co-founder Jeeta Badopadhyay
Tookitaki Co-founder and COO Jeeta Bandopadhyay was named among the Singapore 100 Women in Tech (SG100WIT) List in September 2020. A collaboration between the Singapore Computer Society (SCS), IMDA, SG Women in Tech and Mediacorp, the inaugural SG100...
Why Do We Need New Customer AML Risk Rating Models?
Estimated at between US$800 billion to US$2 trillion every year, money laundering is a serious problem for the global economy. While regulators and financial institutions are working hard to prevent and reduce the crime, launderers are becoming incre...
Is AML Compliance Heading for a New Normal in the Age of Digital Payments?
Increased digitization has influenced various businesses and brought in a paradigm shift in the way they create business models and approach growth opportunities. Moving away from conventional transaction modes such as cash and checks, banks and FIs ...
Excel to AI: How Reconciliation Tools Evolve for Better
In the world of finance, reconciliation is the process of comparing two related sets of records or two accounts at the end of a specific accounting period to find out if account balances are matching in both records. Periodic reconciliation of accoun...
Lessons Not Well Learned: 2020 AML Fines Cross 2019 Total
If research is to be believed, institutions across the globe have not done enough in the anti-money laundering (AML) compliance area. Data from consultancy Duff & Phelps revealed that AML fines in the first six months of 2020 reached US$706 milli...
Exploring AML Risks in COVID-Era and the Ways to Address Them
The world continues to battle the COVID-19 pandemic and the crisis it brought in is unprecedented in the history of humankind. While there are a number of pandemic-related factors contributing to the expected crisis with financial services, financial...
AML Amid COVID-19: Watch out for These FBI-listed Fraud Schemes
There has been a rise in the number of cybercrimes and fraud schemes across the globe ever since the proliferation of the COVID-19 pandemic. Criminals, in general, are taking advantage of people’s scare, helplessness, and the need for immediate fin...
OCC Spring Risk Perspective: 5 Takeaways on Compliance Risk
Despite its general strength, the US federal banking system is apparently susceptible to the ongoing economic weakness caused by the rampant spread of coronavirus. Earlier this month, The US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) published i...
How Criminals Used COVID-19 Sales Pitch to Defraud, Launder Money
As the world is working hard to contain the spread of the COVID-19, criminals continue to take advantage of the pandemic. They are devising sophisticated methods to defraud people and launder the criminal proceeds using the financial system. The late...
5 Top Myths and Facts about AI Implementation in AML Programs
We are more confirmed about the power of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to transform lives and businesses now. There are countless possible applications of AI and machine learning at present, and we see and hear exciting ways how these modern technolog...
Typology Repository Management: Solving AML Problems Via Collective Intelligence and Continuous Learning
Despite its general strength, the US federal banking system is apparently susceptible to the ongoing economic weakness caused by the rampant spread of coronavirus. Earlier this month, The US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) published i...
Whitepaper: Automated AML Pattern Detection Using Network Science
Despite its general strength, the US federal banking system is apparently susceptible to the ongoing economic weakness caused by the rampant spread of coronavirus. Earlier this month, The US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) published i...
Money Laundering Amid COVID-19: What Regulators Across Globe Say
As the world continues to fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, there are reports that criminals are taking advantage of the difficult situation. They are seizing the moment to proliferate their criminal activities, earn undue profits and transfer of ...
How will Art Cease to Be a Preferred Money Laundering Vehicle?
Money laundering via high-end art and antiquities is not new yet it is difficult to detect. Art-related money laundering amounts to about US$3 billion per year, according to this blog, quoting the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. Criminals o...
Beware! Money Mules in Demand amid COVID-19. Here’s an Effective Cure
If reports are to be believed, cybercrooks are taking advantage of the COVID-19 situation. They are targeting people who were laid off or working from home due to the pandemic to work for them as money mules. For those who are new to the term, money ...
Roundtable Rewind: Embracing Next-gen Tech & Collaboration Key to Sustainability
As a regtech player with a vision to enable sustainable compliance programs in financial institutions, Tookitaki organized a first-of-its-kind industry roundtable in Charlotte, NC, USA to discuss opportunities to innovate current AML programs and mee...
Tookitaki Appoints Industry Veteran Joe Friscia as Advisor
Tookitaki Holding Pte. Ltd. appointed industry veteran Joe Friscia, former President of NICE Actimize and BAE Systems as Advisor to the Company’s Advisory Board. Joe brings over 25 years’ extensive experience in the financial crime and enterpris...
Tookitaki Raises Another US$11.7 million in Series A; Closes Round at US$19.2 million
– by Abhishek Chatterjee, Founder & CEO The Tookitaki team and I are excited to announce that we have raised an additional US$11.7 million in Series A funding, taking the total investment in the round to US$19.2 million. The current round w...
30 Years of FATF: Notable Facts About Global AML Watchdog
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the intergovernmental body formed in 1989 to combating money laundering, is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. Since its inception, the global agency played a key role in identifying and preventing the...
Tookitaki Joins Aite Financial Crime Forum as Sponsor
Technological advances have fundamentally changed the operational landscape of financial institutions. However, there are also new risks emerging in forms of sophisticated financial frauds and complex money laundering patterns. These risks can signif...
Will Machine Learning Replace Compliance Professionals?
The impact of modern technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning on job security has been a widely discussed topic today. Of course, AI has advanced very quickly in the last few years and evolved to outperform humans in a n...
6 Most Prevalent Cyber-Laundering Methods in APAC
Among the slew of financial crimes facilitated by the Internet, money laundering draws importance due to its enormous size and the diverse methods used online to legitimise ill-gotten profits. The practice of money laundering carried out online has b...
ABA Regulatory Compliance Conference: 10 Sessions You Can’t Miss
The 2019 edition of the American Bankers Association (ABA) Regulatory Compliance Conference is a few more days away. Organized by the Washington, D.C.-based trade association, the conference is touted as the “one-stop shop to discuss today’s—an...
Tookitaki AMLS Wins SBR Technology Excellence Award 2019
Tookitaki’s Anti-Money Laundering Suite (AMLS), an end-to-end machine learning-powered transaction monitoring and names screening solution, has bagged the inaugural Singapore Business Review Technology Excellence Award 2019 in the category R...
Watchdogs Grow Optimistic about AI Prospects at Banks
Proper regulation of banking operations is important as any failure in the banking system would affect the wider economy. Therefore, banking is one of the most regulated industries across the globe. Financial regulators ensure that services to the cu...
Pitfall of Black Box AI at Banks: Explaining Your Models to Regulators
The use cases of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning in front-office, middle-office and back-office activities at banks are growing slowly but steadily. The major areas of AI play include customer service (virtual assistants, chatbots, ...
AI for Regulatory Compliance at Banks: 4 Assessments Before You Okay the Solution Proposal
Banking is one of the industries where artificial intelligence and machine learning find their applications at a rapid pace. Regulatory compliance within banking is an area which has become a costly and inefficient affair due to complex and never-sta...
We Believe in Innovation, the Key to Survival and Growth
“Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.” -Steve Jobs What comes on the top of your screen when you google the meaning of the word innovation is – the introduction of something new and relevant such as a new idea, method o...
Compliance Functions in Need of a Technological Overhaul. Can Machine Learning be the Game-Changer?
McKinsey in its latest compliance benchmarking survey found that compliance function at financial institutions has reached “an inflection point” and current compliance standards are in an “inchoate state”. The firm has suggested five critical...
Tookitaki Raises US$7.5 mn Series A from Global VCs to Transform Regulatory Compliance
Tookitaki, a regulatory technology company that aims to enable financial institutions to develop sustainable compliance programs, has raised US$7.5 million in Series A round. The round was co-led by London-based Illuminate Financial, an early-stage e...
The Biggest Money Laundering Cases: From Wachovia to Danske Bank
Money laundering – the criminal activity of processing criminal proceeds to disguise their origin – is one of the gravest problems faced by the global economy, and its size is growing rapidly. It is estimated that 2- 5% of the global GDP or US$80...
A Modern Approach to Address the Reconciliation Challenges of Financial Services
Reconciliation of transactions is deemed critical for the smooth running of every financial institution. The speed and accuracy of data reconciliation can distinguish a successful institution from its counterparts. The process is primarily used to id...
Busting a Myth: Compliance Officer’s Job is All About Risk
Regulatory compliance has become a dreadful task for banks after regulators across the globe set stricter norms in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis in an effort to prevent financial crimes such as money laundering. Rules have been changed t...
Attending ACAMS Conference in Singapore? Tookitaki Awaits You with Its Disruptive AML Solution
“In today’s era of volatility, there is no other way but to re-invent. The only sustainable advantage you can have over others is agility, that’s it.”- Jeff Bezos Singapore is hosting ACAMS’ 11th Annual AML & Financial Crime Conference ...
MAS’ Stress on Transaction Monitoring for Effective AML/CFT Compliance and Machine Learning is the Answer
Singapore is known for its top-notch AML/CFT regime created through up-to-date legislation, stringent policy and uncompromising supervision to safeguard against the abuse of the city state’s financial system for criminal activities. The country’s...
Mifid II and the Pressing Need for a New Reconciliation Approach
The financial services industry in the EU has been confused with the introduction of a revamped version of the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (Mifid II). The ambitious regulatory reforms that took almost seven years to be materialized wer...
Is Automated Reconciliation Next to Impossible in Today’s Complex Financial World?
The 2008 global financial crisis and fairly new regulatory requirements like Basel III asked financial institutions (FIs) to cut operating costs and adopt a lean operations structure, pushing FIs to rethink on current reconciliation measures. Most of...
Modern Tech to Reshape US AML Compliance with Regulators’ Recent Handshake
George Bernard Shaw once said: “Those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.” The past week has seen a significant change of mind from financial regulators in the US in their ardent attempt to combat and prevent financial crimes, e...
Skills Development: We Have Talents and We Strive to Multiply Them
“Mastery lies on an infinite continuum, and as a result, we will never reach the end. We can, however, see to it that we are as far along that continuum as our circumstance allows.” ― Chris Matakas Having continuous learning as one of its core...
It’s Our Fourth Founding Day; Taking a Pause to Cherish Our Simple but Awesome Journey
Today, as we step into our 4th year of foundation, I feel proud and honored to be leading Tookitaki that has been successful in creating added value to all its stakeholders. I was never a CEO and Tookitaki is my first company. I had the passion and d...
Tookitaki Expands into the US with New Office in Charlotte
SINGAPORE, Sept. 24, 2018: Tookitaki Holding Pte Ltd, a leading regulatory technology company, is pleased to announce the official opening of its North American office in Charlotte, NC, in the United States. This new location will serve as the comp...
5 Modern Money Laundering Methods That Criminals Use
Modern money launderers are updating their methods to beat detection and avoid getting caught every single day. Where there is new technology, cryptocurrencies and processes, there is a money launderer out there looking for a way to beat the system o...
Risk Management Conference: Positive Vibes from All Corners
The Risk Management Association’s (RMA) premier annual event, the Risk Management Conference, came to an end on 6 November, and Tookitaki had the privilege to attend the event which we believe was a success in a number of ways. As a modern-era tec...
Singapore Fintech Festival: Tookitaki to showcase advanced machine learning solutions in financial services
Singapore is assured of the Fintech world’s unwavering attention next week, as the city state, is hosting this year’s Fintech Festival during 12-16 November. Touted as the world’s largest platform for the global FinTech community, the event att...
The RMA Clarion Call to Address Risks and the Tookitaki Way
Risk officers, doing your best today is good while preparing hard for tomorrow is extraordinary. Risk management at banks has become difficult due to operational and regulatory changes. The Risk Management Association’s (RMA) premier annual event, ...
Typology Repository Management: Solving AML Problems Via Collective Intelligence and Continuous Learning
Despite its general strength, the US federal banking system is apparently susceptible to the ongoing economic weakness caused by the rampant spread of coronavirus. Earlier this month, The US Office of...
MAS’ Stress on Transaction Monitoring for Effective AML/CFT Compliance and Machine Learning is the Answer
Singapore is known for its top-notch AML/CFT regime created through up-to-date legislation, stringent policy and uncompromising supervision to safeguard against the abuse of the city state’s financi...
Singapore Fintech Festival: Tookitaki to showcase advanced machine learning solutions in financial services
Singapore is assured of the Fintech world’s unwavering attention next week, as the city state, is hosting this year’s Fintech Festival during 12-16 November. Touted as the world’s largest platfo...
Comment by Regina Bailey on August 19, 2021
Great article.