TransUnion’s four steps to understanding and automating KYC

What if a customer is deemed a higher risk?

In this case, enhanced due diligence (EDD) may be required which are more in-depth checks. If the risk is acceptable and a business relationship begins, it’s prudent to monitor that account for suspicious activity — see our blog on customer due diligence (CDD).

Why comply with KYC?

It’s a regulatory requirement which, if ignored, could result in reputational damage and the financial impact of FCA fines. But there’s more to it than simply regulation.  Being proactive with KYC can help you monitor, manage, and mitigate the risk of bad actors transacting with you, which can reduces your vulnerability to fraud losses.

Are there benefits to automating KYC?

In short yes and here is how:

• Better conversion rates with faster onboarding: Reducing processing time from hours to near real-time for low-risk customers to help you meet their expectations and engage them before your competitors.

• Improved operational efficiency: Automating KYC checks reduces the manual review queue volume, false positives and back-office expenses whilst quickly highlighting more risky transactions.

• Provides consistency in processing: Manual reviews rely on the reviewer(s) to assess each person which can lead to human errors or inconsistencies.

How we can help

We can help you establish trust, develop a robust, risk-based approach to KYC and support your KYC compliance through TruValidate in two steps.

• Step 1: Verify. Quickly and confidently confirm or question the authenticity of identity information provided against local and global credit data and alternative data assets to minimise fraud and money laundering risk and strengthen KYC compliance. Simplify and automate this process using:
  • Identity Verification and Watchlist Screening to quickly confirm the authenticity of customer-provided information and check against globally monitored PEPs, Sanctions and other watchlists.
  • Email Verification to verify email addresses are genuine and not associated with risky behaviour or other identities
  • Phone Verification to effortlessly and effectively verify phone number is associated to the customer
  • Device Risk to identify devices with evasive behaviours and risky attributes
• Step 2: Validate. Validate photo identity documents like a passport or driving licence and capture utility bills, bank statements and other official documents using optical character recognition to identify potential tampering:
  • Document Verification and Facial Recognition to intuitively and confidently verify customers

In summary

By leveraging actionable insights to quickly adjust KYC approaches, you better protect your business from the negative impacts of fraud — including money laundering — while optimising operational performance and enhancing the onboarding experience of genuine new customers.

Contact your TransUnion representative directly, and complete the form below to learn more about the TruValidate suite of solutions. Book a consultation to support your regulatory requirements, enhance customer experience, improve operational efficiencies and reduce fraud losses.

^{KYC Resources}

^{Follow the links for further reading and insights.}

^{How to prove and verify someone's identity. Good Practice Guide (GPG) 45 helps you decide how to check someone's identity. GOV.UK, Jan. 2014}

^{'Know your customer' guidance, accessible version. For all applications – know your customer (KYC) requirements – anti-money laundering (AML) specific. GOV.UK, Oct. 2016}

^{The Financial Conduct Authority’s Review into Challenger Banks’ Financial Crime Controls: The Key Takeaways. TransUnion, July 2022}

^{Quick guide to the Money Laundering Regulations 2017. The Law Society, Jan.2020}

^{Brexit and KYC Compliance: What it Means for UK Financial Services Firms Operating in Europe FinTech Times, March 2021}