The manual collection of corporate KYC data is time consuming, expensive and prone to errors. Here are some of the benefits that current technology can offer to help streamline the process.
Secure storage of data in one place
Corporate KYC is hampered when repositories store multiple copies of data sets in an inconsistent manner. For instance, UBO data may not be appropriately mapped to the KYC and AML systems which means that there is no “golden” record source of integrated data. An online corporate KYC platform can marry all sources of information in one place and potentially integrate with corporate internal systems so that you can be confident that the data is up-to-date.
Prompt the user for missing information automatically
Data collection efforts can be delayed when missing or incomplete information is submitted. Further delays can be caused when information is discovered to be missing only during the compliance review process. Online corporate KYC platforms with customized data collection programs can automatically prompt the user for any missing information that they have forgotten to submit.
Check against global sanctions lists and ownership data in real-time
The contents of global sanctions lists and ownership data are constantly changing so a manual review has the potential to be out of date very quickly. Data collected via an online corporate KYC platform can be run against global sanctions lists and corporate ownership data in real-time. Alerts can also be set up to notify compliance officers for any companies who are newly sanctioned and those who have changed their ownership or directorship data.
Direct messaging between applicant and compliance officer
Some application processes don’t offer a streamlined communication channel between the applicant and the compliance officers reviewing the application. These can be useful if additional information or clarification is needed with regards to company data. Phone calls are hard to track and messages might not be accessible by the entire compliance team in one place for record-keeping. Therefore, online corporate KYC systems have the potential to offer secure direct messaging functionality between the applicant and compliance officers which can be easily archived for record-keeping purposes.
Graphical representation of corporate structures to identify UBOs, directors and shareholders
Collecting information on persons with significant control over a company including ultimate beneficial owners (UBOs), directors and shareholders can be cumbersome if the corporate structure is complex. An online corporate KYC system can help graphically depict the data in a structure that is easy to visualize.
In summary, technology can try to minimize the repetitive and cumbersome parts of the corporate KYC process, freeing up time and resources from the compliance team to process more applications in a shorter period of time. However, many of these current implementations of technology may be changed significantly or even rendered obsolete with the application of artificial intelligence. At Gatenox, we are constantly on the lookout on how future iterations of our product can be enhanced with artificial intelligence to make the corporate KYC process more efficient and robust.
