Equipping a UK building society to fight financial crime
23 August 2022
How do you create a technology platform that can stay one step ahead of financial criminals?
When it comes to combating money laundering, financial institutions are on the front line. But the rules of engagement are constantly changing, as criminals find more sophisticated ways to fund illegal activities. Plus, there are the continual waves of economic sanctions that need to be applied. Our client, a leading UK building society, was fully engaged on both fronts, but they needed more flexibility from their anti-money laundering platform. They needed a system that could keep pace with criminals’ changing methods. And one that could analyse the impact of new sanctions before the building society applied them. After five years of working with other consultancies to upgrade their system, the building society turned to Baringa to deliver the technology change they needed.
Combining financial crime-fighting with IT expertise
Our first step was to define the wish list: what did they want the system to do? To get the answer, we needed every perspective: operations, compliance, technology and the vendor who built the platform in the first place. We brought in Baringa experts in each area to translate those needs into requirements for the system. Then, we created a concrete plan – a series of structured releases to roll out the new functionality. We didn’t want them to wait 18 months for a big technological reveal – incremental change was the order of the day. And with each release they got more rules and better controls.
A platform that works today and can anticipate tomorrow
Finally, we prepared them for the future, so they could adapt the platform over time. That meant building in the ability to test the system as things changed, such as analysing the impact of future sanctions or financial regulations on their business. And everything works with their existing technology platform.
They now have a tech platform that’s fit for the future – a platform they can support and upgrade themselves. They have the controls in place to prevent money laundering and other criminal activity. And, they have peace of mind, knowing that they’re able to comply with current and future regulations.
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