Media
Looking at Effective KYC
January 2020
When the first real KYC and AML regulations began to be formed in the middle of the 20th century, the world was a very different place. More than fifty years on, regulations, and the methods used to comply with them, have had to change drastically to keep up with an ever-changing market, new technologies, and the actions of criminals.
Whilst the purpose of KYC and AML regulations are sound, and it works to combat a significant amount of criminal activity, many solutions used traditionally and currently, are inefficient and costly in more ways than one. Indeed, as reported in realwire last year, services such as banks stand to lose out not only through the direct financial cost of implementing KYC, but also the indirect cost from loss of customers when they choose not to onboard due to clunky and cumbersome KYC services. This doesn't even take into account fines for those who don't meet compliance measures to the required standard.
Repetitive, centralised, inefficient and expensive, methods of KYC usually involve documents being handed over to financial institutions, and then sent to third parties for checks and approval. Due to a lack of interoperability, checks have to be carried out each time a person wants to use a new financial institution’s services, even though the person may have been through KYC for another services only minutes before. With the rise of online services and cryptocurrency- and blockchain-related businesses, the number of instances of people requiring multiple KYC checks, filling out the same forms and waiting up to days or even weeks for their KYC checks to be completed, has risen sharply.
The cost of conducting so many KYC checks is expensive for companies that outsource it, and legally dangerous for those that conduct it in-house. It is not just in the crypto and blockchain ecosystem that these checks are problematic; anyone looking to invest or transfer money in a variety of ways or through any manner of company suffers this inconvenience.
For the companies and businesses themselves, KYC and AML regulations present another issue in the form of cybercrime. Being required to store user data, financial institutions become an irresistible honeypot of personal data for hackers to target, which ultimately impacts their wealth when fines are levied, but their reputation as a business.
All of this leads to an experience which is long, expensive and unpleasant for all those involved, even if it is necessary for safety and security.
At Blockpass, these challenges have driven us from the beginning. We’re determined to provide an alternate method of conducting KYC, relieving some of the greatest difficulties associated with conducting KYC. Implementing the latest technology, the Blockpass mobile app changes the way in which KYC is conducted whilst adhering to the strictest regulatory standards. By putting the customer in control of who their data is shared with, Blockpass enables a vastly quicker and more efficient method of KYC compliance which users will appreciate. To ensure the customers are not put off when onboarding, Blockpass ensures that the user experience is as clean and as simple as possible, with regular updates to our KYC Connect® app with both improvements we develop and requests from the community. Due to this efficiency, merchants and businesses looking for KYC solutions can enjoy faster and cheaper KYC with Blockpass and can gain ready access to an ever-increasing pool of pre-verified users who are ready to onboard, ensuring they don't lose valuable business opportunities.
This past year has seen the Blockpass Admin Console and Dashboard, facilitating the verification and onboarding of customers in mere minutes, combined with simple and effective management of the process. We aim to make partnering and integrating with Blockpass flexible and as simple as possible, and welcome any requests.
As we move into a new decade, we hope you'll check out Blockpass' various opportunities for KYC and AML compliance, including new developments that will be announced later this year. Through our efforts, we will make the vital process of KYC and AML compliance as effective and simple as possible.
Repetitive, centralised, inefficient and expensive, methods of KYC usually involve documents being handed over to financial institutions, and then sent to third parties for checks and approval. Due to a lack of interoperability, checks have to be carried out each time a person wants to use a new financial institution’s services, even though the person may have been through KYC for another services only minutes before. With the rise of online services and cryptocurrency- and blockchain-related businesses, the number of instances of people requiring multiple KYC checks, filling out the same forms and waiting up to days or even weeks for their KYC checks to be completed, has risen sharply.
The cost of conducting so many KYC checks is expensive for companies that outsource it, and legally dangerous for those that conduct it in-house. It is not just in the crypto and blockchain ecosystem that these checks are problematic; anyone looking to invest or transfer money in a variety of ways or through any manner of company suffers this inconvenience.
For the companies and businesses themselves, KYC and AML regulations present another issue in the form of cybercrime. Being required to store user data, financial institutions become an irresistible honeypot of personal data for hackers to target, which ultimately impacts their wealth when fines are levied, but their reputation as a business.
All of this leads to an experience which is long, expensive and unpleasant for all those involved, even if it is necessary for safety and security.
At Blockpass, these challenges have driven us from the beginning. We’re determined to provide an alternate method of conducting KYC, relieving some of the greatest difficulties associated with conducting KYC. Implementing the latest technology, the Blockpass mobile app changes the way in which KYC is conducted whilst adhering to the strictest regulatory standards. By putting the customer in control of who their data is shared with, Blockpass enables a vastly quicker and more efficient method of KYC compliance which users will appreciate. To ensure the customers are not put off when onboarding, Blockpass ensures that the user experience is as clean and as simple as possible, with regular updates to our KYC Connect® app with both improvements we develop and requests from the community. Due to this efficiency, merchants and businesses looking for KYC solutions can enjoy faster and cheaper KYC with Blockpass and can gain ready access to an ever-increasing pool of pre-verified users who are ready to onboard, ensuring they don't lose valuable business opportunities.
This past year has seen the Blockpass Admin Console and Dashboard, facilitating the verification and onboarding of customers in mere minutes, combined with simple and effective management of the process. We aim to make partnering and integrating with Blockpass flexible and as simple as possible, and welcome any requests.
As we move into a new decade, we hope you'll check out Blockpass' various opportunities for KYC and AML compliance, including new developments that will be announced later this year. Through our efforts, we will make the vital process of KYC and AML compliance as effective and simple as possible.