Putting identity document checks at the heart of your KYC checks

By Tony Machin | November 10, 2020 | KYC/AML, Online identity checks

A KYC check is a mandatory process for regulated business to identify their customers and gather knowledge of their background as part of Anti-Money Laundering compliance. Effective KYC checks rely on proving that customers are who they say they are. The most important first step in this process is the verification of a government issued identity document.

At TrustID, we are, of course, passionate about the significance of identity documents – we’re the Identity Document Verification experts – but in this blog, we’ll give you 3 reasons why robust identity document checks should form the backbone of your AML processes:

1) Identity documents are built for security

One of the main reasons that government issued identity documents are the gold standard for KYC checks is that they typically contain several security features, including, for example, printing techniques and algorithmically calculated data.  These features are designed to protect the holder’s information and make forgery as difficult as possible.

Basing your customer checks on these secure documents is a strong foundation to ensure that the people you are dealing with are who they say they are. You can then confidently carry out other checks, such as PEPs and Sanctions or Address Verification.

2) Sometimes an ‘online data search’ isn’t enough

Some organisations choose to make Anti-Money Laundering checks by comparing information held in various databases and matching it against the information on your account – this could be an electoral roll check, for example.

However, sometimes this information is not enough to be sure about a customer. What if your ‘digital footprint’ is insufficient, the information in your files has been captured wrongly or people with similar names live at the same address?  These challenges inevitably lead to the customer then having to provide an identity document…

3) You can make robust identity checks from anywhere

Online validation services mean you can capture an image of your customers’ identity document from anywhere or even ask your customers to capture an image themselves. Customers and businesses alike are happy to accept and embrace online validation services, particularly as the Covid-19 situation enforces a lack of face-to-face contact and we are all increasingly used to working online. As a result, identity verification services are playing an increasing role in KYC checks.

A verification service can process and verify critical data from the identity document and return an accurate analysis of an identity document’s authenticity within minutes. Affordable technology now means that you can easily add facial matching and other additional security checks depending on your fraud risk

Identity document checks play a valuable role in your risk-based approach to AML compliance, checking security features of identity documents and reducing the training burden by empowering and reassuring those staff members making KYC checks. What’s more, an electronic check can streamline your operational process and act as a deterrent to any fraudsters who may be tempted to try and do business with you.

To find out more about our how our identity checks and KYC check services could help your business, please get in touch.

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If you’d like to discuss how remote identity checks could support your AML compliance, please get in touch. We’d be happy to arrange an online demo.

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