Introducing the first fully digital end-to-end FICA system

As a chief provider of customer verification and risk management services, pbVerify understands time is too valuable to spend on onerous KYC processes.

The pursuit of compliance today, particularly in the financial services industry with its stringent regulation milieu, has many businesses troubled. It is something that consumes an enormous amount of their time – not to mention energy and resources.

Perhaps one of the biggest headaches, is the Financial Intelligence Centre Act, (FICA) which came into effect in 2003 after being introduced two years prior, with the aim of combatting financial crimes such as money laundering, tax evasion, and terrorist financing activities.

More recently, in May 2017, even tighter regulation was introduced with the FIC Amendment Act. Essentially, FICA makes sure that institutions know exactly who they are doing business with – i.e. Know Your Customer, or KYC.

Because the pbVerify team understands how valuable time is in today’s business world, we have introduced a revolutionary new FICA product that offers businesses a fast and easy means of ticking all the compliance boxes when building customer-facing onboarding systems: KYCFactory.

Fully digital FICA compliance

Launched this year and developed by our pbVerify software team, KYCFactory is the first fully digital end-to-end electronic FICA/AML
(Anti-Money Laundering) solution on the market that requires no supporting documents, irrespective of whether a business is onboarding a consumer or a business.

KYCFactory’s consumer verification comprises configurable, automated processes, including a slick new online 3D liveness test that biometrically matches the person to their national identity document photo, identity data, and alive-deceased data while retrieving their address from over 100 trustworthy SACRRA sources.

Thanks to SigniFlow’s advanced digital signature and workflow automation software, KYCFactory offers businesses the ability to workflow the KYC process, including all requisite information, to multiple people who may need to sign a declaration in observance of the applicable laws.

In accordance with the FIC Amendment Act of 2017 (which accountable institutions had to comply with by April 2019), KYCFactory takes care of compliance for all juristic persons via a brand-new approach to FICA verification – an electronic declaration that caters for Directors, Signatories and UBOs (Ultimate Beneficiary Owners).

Sanctions screening

KYCFactory incorporates pbVerify’s new Sanctions, PEP and PIP (Politically Exposed and Influential Persons) reporting tool, which enables businesses to manually screen prospective clients and perform enhanced due diligence on anyone, from any country.

This service instantly reports on over 2.5 million detailed PEP profiles and detects individuals, organisations and vessels linked to more than 50 risk categories, including Sanctions, Foreign Officials, and State-Owned Enterprises.

The second part of our Sanctions screening service relates specifically to sanctions and embargoes – i.e. political trade restrictions put in place against target countries to maintain or restore international peace and security. KYCFactory automates reporting on business with individuals who pose a threat and are listed on OFAC (The Office of Foreign Assets Control) Mission. Read more here.

Total technology             

In addition to the aforementioned technology that makes KYCFactory the world-class, comprehensive FICA solution it is, other platforms used to authenticate customer identity beyond a shadow of a doubt include:

• Government sourced data ID Photo Biometric Verification
• Google Geolocation & Street View
• CIPC Company & Director Verification
• SACRRA Address Source Validation
• Social Media for Business (Instagram, Facebook
  & LinkedIn)
• Website Verification (SSL Authentication)

KYCFactory is available via API & integrates seamlessly with business systems, according to individual KYC and compliance management methods and policies.

Say goodbye to time-consuming manual & paper-based FICA processes, and find out how headache-free compliance can be: Give us a call on +27 (0)10 300 4898 or email [email protected].

pbVerify is a registered Credit Bureau in terms of section 43 of the National Credit Act 34 of 2005. Its data-systems, data-security and data-processing protocols are audited annually in accordance with the NCA. pbVerify follows strict ISO9001:2015 quality management processes that are audited and internationally certified by TUV Rheinland Germany. pbVerify engineers are certified in ISO27001 IT Security Management.

REFERENCES

1. Fic.gov.za – Financial Intelligence Centre Act (Act No. 38 of 2001) [PDF]
2. SigniFlow – KYC
3. The Banking Association of South Africa – Financial Intelligence Centre Act
4. SABRIC – FICA (KYC)
5. Law Society of South Africa – FICAmendment Act published
6. Financial Intelligence Centre – Who are we?
7. Brief – FICA amendments deadline fast approaching
8. International Compliance Association – What is compliance?
9. Financial Action Task Force – Who we are

Source: pbVerify News