AML Transaction Monitoring Essentials

Without the ability to detect when a client’s activity is unusual or suspicious, a business will be unable to meet regulatory expectations. That is why ongoing monitoring of client activity is the primary purpose of anti-money laundering laws.

Integration of KYC and transaction monitoring tools at time of client on-boarding level streamlines AML compliance This saves time and increases efficiency by enabling AML Compliance Officers to have all relevant data at their fingertips for making informed determinations and reducing the time to analyse.

Management of transaction alerts should be prioritised by risk status.  AMLCO can then focus on the most important alerts.

Case Management is the tool used to evidence what happens after an alert is detected. Client activity and alerts requiring escalation should be managed with a system that organises data without clutter. Viewing client activity in heat maps provides instant knowledge by utilising data visualisation.

Management have a responsibility to understand the status of anti-money laundering compliance. A system that can provide one-click reporting for informing management can significantly reduce human resourcing which in turn reduces compliance costs.

All products and services should be analysed for ML/FT risks and rated based on the individual risk characteristics. This allows compliance officers to set ongoing monitoring rules and automate management reporting.

A business should be able to readily develop a transaction rule without the need for IT involvement. Threshold of rules may need updating to reflect the current economic environment or information provided by AML Supervisors.

Transaction monitoring needs to be a frictionless journey. An AML transaction monitoring system requires ability to automate rule alerts and prioritise alerts.

A common problem with AML transaction monitoring is the silo of data in separate systems. This increases the analysis times, impacts on human resourcing and creates regulatory risk for ageing alerts. To prevent these issues occurring, transaction alerts should contain all relevant data connected to that activity.