Why you need an automated AML system

The world is embracing digital transformation, where software and automation mean fewer manual resources are needed to perform tasks in a business process.  

Anti-money laundering (AML) and fraud prevention are no exceptions.  

Automation and machine learning have become essential technologies to help organisations manage the risk of money laundering and fraud in a dynamic business environment.  

An automated AML system gives organisations the tools and insights to identify and act against threats faster and more accurately. It reduces manual efforts, strengthens controls, and heightens compliance, resulting in higher productivity and reduced costs.  

In this article, we'll explain what an automated AML system is and why it is a critical tool for organisations facing the challenge of uncovering financial crime threats while streamlining processes and reducing costs. 

What is an automated AML system? 

An automated AML system uses data analysis and machine learning to automate risk assessment for new customers and new transactions in real-time, detect criminal threats, reduce false positives, and identify risk earlier in the customer lifecycle.  

But an automated AML system alone is not sufficient for today’s organisations. Fraud and AML are intrinsically connected, and the overlap is being broadened by the combined effects of an increasing regulatory emphasis on coordinated fraud and AML investigation, the operational implications of digital financial services, and advances in artificial intelligence (AI) and analytic technology.  

Therefore, organisations should utilise a single platform for both fraud and AML processes to benefit from the sharing of data insights, reduced costs and streamlined processes.  

For example, one of the top functionalities you'd expect to see in an automated AML system is transaction monitoring, which is the process of monitoring a customer's transactions, such as transfers, deposits and withdrawals, for suspicious behaviour to mitigate the risk of money laundering.  

However, an automated fraud and AML system like GBG’s Compliance Platform takes this further by giving you a holistic view of the customer.  

GBG’s Compliance Platform can receive transactional event information from any user interaction throughout the customer lifecycle, from onboarding to product usage. At each event, the sophisticated platform leverages data insights to assess fraud and AML risk for each transaction.  

Using machine learning and contextual data, it automates the detection of fraudulent customer behavioural patterns and automatically detects anomalies in behaviour. So, when you receive an alert, you can move fast to remove questionable users while retaining trusted customers and improving the customer experience. And all while optimising your manual investigative and compliance resources.  

The need for an automated AML system 

1. Move fast to stay ahead of criminals and protect from threats 

Speed is critical when it comes to preventing financial crime, and manual processes cannot possibly keep up with the accelerating pace of criminals.  

Fraud monitoring operations can have a high operational cost which often delays fraud matters being referred to AML teams, requiring costly remediation.  

A single automated system for AML and fraud management removes manual processes and lowers costs, while also reducing the time to act on possible fraudulent transactions.  

For example, GBG’s Compliance Platform helps identify suspicious behaviour as it happens. By monitoring transactions in real-time, you can immediately detect fraudulent behaviour and act fast before it significantly impacts your customers and business. The platform can be configured to automatically approve or deny customer prospects, while operational workflows help your compliance team become more efficient. 

2. Meet tightening regulatory requirements without compromising the customer experience 

Regulators are adding another challenge for organisations with their heightened focus on consumer protection, AML, fraud prevention, KYC and privacy compliance.  

The flexibility to adapt is non-negotiable as regulations change, money laundering techniques become more sophisticated, and risks evolve.  

At the same time, customers demand a smooth experience and adding more steps and processes only turns them away. So how do organisations balance the need to meet compliance with delivering an exceptional customer experience? 

This is where an automated AML and fraud system can help.  

By automatically identifying and screening all potential customers at the point of onboarding, and checking their details against global PEPs, sanctions and other relevant flags, organisations can quickly remove questionable users while retaining trusted customers – ensuring compliance and improving the customer experience.  

An automated AML and fraud system can leverage machine learning to accurately identify behavioural risk patterns, comparing behaviours that generate alerts against similar users.  

GBG's Compliance Platform is also highly adaptable and able to meet changing regulatory standards without constantly re-engineering or manually updating your processes. The intelligent platform lets you easily configure and automate transaction rules, risk thresholds and alerts to match your risk appetite and exposure while ensuring you remain fully compliant. 

3. Get a more holistic view of the customers for smarter fraud alerts 

Automating fraud and AML in one system gives you a more holistic view of the customer.  

This is critical for fraud and AML management.  

By collecting and analysing large amounts of data, an automated compliance platform can effectively identify patterns in customer behaviours, which reduces false positives and makes alert generation smarter.  

This enables more real-time and intelligent decisions and workflows, and helps organisations maximise manual investigative resources for where they are needed most.  

4. Create efficiencies to save time and money while growing 

With automation, you can drive efficiencies and reduce compliance costs. Using an automated AML system reduces your organisation's reliance on inefficient manual checks and removes unnecessary risks and costs.  

For example, GBG's Compliance Platform comes with an intuitive queue management feature which lets you automatically or manually assign potential matches to specialists based on the perceived threat or list.  

An automated system also ensures a company can rapidly scale its AML and fraud management efforts efficiently, providing a higher return on investment while ensuring you continue to meet your company's compliance needs and risk appetite as the landscape evolves.