3 reasons to review your compliance processes

By Tony Machin | October 15, 2020 | Compliance, HR & Recruitment

In our new working environment, updating your internal compliance processes around identity checks for customers, staff or tenants may not feel like a high priority.  But many experts are talking about a new world of fraud and dishonesty, fuelled by the crisis and the online environment, where restrictions on face-to-face interactions have brought changes to the way we do business. At the same time, the profile of your staff may have changed, with furlough, redundancies or illness having an impact.

So now may be a good time to ask how you can best protect your business in response to these unique pressures. Here are 3 reasons why:

1) Guidance is ever-changing

The evolving Covid situation means that guidance is constantly shifting. If you’re making Right to Work or Right to Rent checks, for example, following Home Office guidance to work from home where possible, legislation has been temporarily amended to permit checking identity documents remotely instead of in person. This means that you can now ask your customer or employee to send you a scanned copy of their identity documents by email or using a verification App.

2) The fraud risk has shifted

With virtual and remote working the new normal, so the fraud risk has changed. New fraud scenarios are appearing, with remote interactions creating opportunities for insider fraud and identity theft. In the recent ACFE Benchmarking report, 82% of respondents said they expect identity fraud to further increase in next 12 months.
Staff working remotely have greater flexibility and even the most diligent staff may let internal checks lapse unintentionally. So, are previous measures which you took to protect your business still possible and appropriate?

3) Your compliance team face new challenges

Many businesses have seen an enforced change to their operations over the last few months and you may well be under increased pressure to focus more on operational continuity than compliance and fighting fraud. Shifting available staff into operational roles may have left gaps in your compliance teams or further stretched those employees who cover on-boarding and counter fraud checks. This is, of course, further exacerbated if your staff are unwell and you are moving people around to cover absences or find short-term cover for their roles.

How online verification checks could help:

Lots of organisations we speak to have historically been reliant on face-to-face identity document checks as the first step in their compliance process. They handled physical ID documents. They made manual checks with the holder in front of them. If this is how you worked, you’re potentially facing a new challenge: a copy identity document and a remote check.

Remote check software can be a lifesaver for any business forced to operate remotely. Online identity verification services can help you to quickly introduce a robust check in line with changes in guidance and increase your protection from those presenting illegal documents.

What’s more, many of our customers talk about identity document software acting as a preventative anti-fraud step. Candidates and customers are far less likely to attempt to present illegal documents when they know you have a process in place for checking them. Even if that check is made remotely.

Using technology as part of your compliance checks also means that you introduce a centralised, transparent and consistent process. A process which your staff can easily follow, with minimal training and from wherever they are working. The checks are auditable, and records can be stored securely and centrally.

So, is the change in circumstances a good time to consider how online identity verification could help? Our online services are available on as a pay-per-check model with a low minimum order so may even be something to consider as a stopgap for the short-term, until you’re able to make face-to-face checks again…

Want to find out more?

Why not get in touch to find out how our online identity document validation services could help with your remote checks?

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