Banks and other businesses in the financial sector have been obliged to comply with KYC (Know Your Customer) and AML (Anti-Money Laundering) regulations for years. These processes have become synonymous with friction and frustration as institutions had to increase onboarding security for compliance. Customers having to supply an excess of paper documentation and personal information to open new accounts resulted in unpleasant experiences. Digital solutions, that improve the speed and accuracy at which onboarding procedures can be performed, have become the norm in South Africa, and so, shifted the goal post for businesses in the finance industry.
Past Challenges
According to Forrester Market Researchers more than 64% of banks reported lost revenue in 2019 due to obstacles in their current onboarding processes – problems mainly consisting of fraudulent activity, slow, ineffective data processing and low productivity.
Paperwork-heavy procedures proved to be a massive waste of time. To retrieve said paper documents included applying, sourcing, printing, signing, scanning, copying, emailing, faxing… Not only time-consuming, manual onboarding methods have also failed to provide proper protection against fraudsters and money-launderers, as such criminals would easily lie and forge their way into financial ecosystems.
Current Solutions
The new benchmark is to onboard new banking customers safely, quickly and efficiently through digital methods. New tech-driven secure onboarding solutions include automated real-time processes for identity and data verification. These processes are simplifying KYC and turning onboarding into a quick and seamless experience for banking customers.
eKYC, the latest buzz word in the banking sector, refers to Electronic Know Your Customer checks for KYC, FICA and RICA compliance. These checks include digital identity verification, digital document verification and more. Through easy-to-use software applications, a client’s identity is confirmed through Home Affairs in real-time, by simply providing an ID number and conducting a biometric facial verification scan. New customers are thereby opening new accounts painlessly and within seconds, and financial service providers can rest assured that their customers can be trusted.