Compli-Serve SA partners with Altron Bytes Systems Integration to enhance digital safety controls

Compli-Serve SA has teamed up with technology specialist Altron Bytes Systems Integration (Altron BSI) to ease compliance risks for clients in response to requirements set by the Financial Intelligence Centre Amendment Act.

FIC-fit first

Introduced to fight financial crime, such as money laundering, tax evasion, and terrorist financing activities, the Act requires all accountable institutions to adopt a risk-based approach to knowing their customers. ‘All clients must be screened for sanctions, and prominent influential person risk, as well as adverse media checks must be performed where enhanced due diligence is required. On the back of this, Compli-Serve identified the need to deliver these services for its clients and selected Truity to partner with,’ says James George, Compliance Officer Manager at Compli-Serve SA.

Truity is the South African instance of international software as a service platform AI Investigator, from Steele Compliance Solutions. Artificial intelligence technology provides a real-time data source for identifying financial and corruption risk. The AI Investigator provides compliance professionals with a single source for identifying risk events by using machine learning and natural language processing to deliver a consolidated risk profile that verifies data. The partnership with Truity is effective from June.

Team effort

‘Working with a dedicated team to assist our clients in doing business is not only a value-added service, but also provides a proactive approach to staying protected and away from fraudulent people or financial activities,’ says George.

Artificial intelligence and fintech are taking hold of financial services, as technology makes way for increased instances of fraud to occur. Truity’s ability to monitor and process millions of adverse media articles and data in the moment makes it much easier to spot potential third-party risk straight away. ‘In fact, many of those people and entities posing reputational risk by association, who have been exposed during the various Commissions of Enquiry currently underway in South Africa, could potentially have been detected much earlier using this type of technology,’ says Mark Neethling, Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Know Your Customer (KYC) consultant at Altron BSI.’

Changing with the times

The fundamental change from the previous rules-based approach to being compliant, means that financial service providers are required to perform due diligence more thoroughly. Through Truity, Compli-Serve’s clients will be better equipped to face the future of compliance.

Historically, firms performed AML screening and enhanced due diligence by relying on curated databases and lists. However, the digital age has increased the volume of risk-relevant data that needs to be evaluated to the extent that it is no longer possible for this approach to be effective.

‘The use of AI tools like natural language processing and machine learning, as imbedded in Truity, make it possible, for the first time, for compliance professionals to evaluate billions of open-source, risk-relevant data elements online, in real-time with dramatically reduced incidents of false-positives,’ says George.

‘In today’s world, compliance professionals and their clients have the increased burden of complex regulation, coupled with more data imaginable to consider for identifying or mitigating risks. This means a one-size-fits-all approach no longer works.’

‘Ensuring compliance matches a client’s risk profile is better done through AI technology. It can perform tasks to ensure the Risk Based Approach (RBA) process is seamless and cost-effective too. We’re pleased to partner with Truity; tech-enabled protection in compliance is the most natural way forward.’