Resources & Insights

Under anti-money laundering law, all regulated businesses in the UK - which includes financial institutions and those working in other at-risk sectors including legal, property and investment – and all financial institutions in the US, must complete due diligence on all new customers before they embark on a business relationship. 

This is a hugely important part of the customer onboarding process; firstly, it is a legal requirement and businesses that do not complete the proper checks can get fined, suspended or even face legal action, and secondly, money laundering is not only a crime in itself, but an enabler for more serious crime, including terrorism, drug and people trafficking and modern slavery. 

In our increasingly online world, the risk of fraud and money laundering has never been higher meaning it has never been more important for financial institutions to ensure their customer identification programs get the job done. But this is easier said than done, as despite the increasing need for highly comprehensive identification and verification checks on new customers at onboarding stage, potential new clients still expect a smooth, streamlined, and quick onboarding experience  

After the September 11 terrorist attacks, numerous initiatives were introduced to increase national security and combat terrorist activities, the most significant being the introduction of the USA PATRIOT Act (commonly known as the Patriot Act), which was signed into law on October 26, 2001.

On January 1 2021, the United States Congress passed the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (the NDAA) which includes the most significant reforms to US Anti-Money Laundering (AML) laws in almost 20 years.