Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Monitoring Portal - Case Study

Client Overview

Our client is one of the leading banking organizations and has a strong presence both in the Middle East and in the UK. The organization delivers all kinds of financial and banking services, such as retail banking, banking for corporations, treasury, investments, wealth management services, and private banking.

The organization needed a structured way in order to monitor money laundering activities. Therefore, they partnered with Enaviya to create an Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Monitoring Portal. The portal assists the AML team in reviewing customer accounts, checking the history of transactions, identifying suspicious transactions, sending notifications, manage follow ups and collecting documents.

Client Requirements

The client was seeking a systematic method to manage and monitor AML cases. In this way, the portal needed to allow users to search through customer accounts and see how transactions have been performed. Furthermore, users needed to detect suspicious transactions in the customer’s account and initiate relevant investigations. The system was also supposed to send notifications to the customers, gather documents, manage follow-up, and resolve escalations within defined timelines.

Develop an AML Monitoring Portal for the team.
Allow the team to search based on Customer ID, Civil ID, or Account Number.
Display customer information and the accounts which they are connected.
Allow users to select the relevant customer and account.
Give users the option of picking up a time frame for the transaction history.
Show transaction information with the help of APIs.
Allow users the option of identifying suspicious transactions.
Send SMS notifications to the customers.
Allow customers to upload the documents needed.
Track the Document submission period of 10 days.
Send automatic follow up emails for the pending documents.
Send escalation email according to SLAs.
Generate reports by business unit.
Sync request details with the bank database.

Project Summary

Our client was looking for a better way to manage the accounts and transactions of its customers in connection with AML operations. The process required the AML team to search customers’ details, examine transactions on their accounts, and detect any suspicious transactions. In addition, they also wanted a simple way to manage customer communication, document collection, and follow-ups.

In response to this requirement, Enaviya developed Anti Money Laundering (AML) Monitoring Portal. It was built on SharePoint On-premise. The portal provides the users the ability to search for the customers and their respective accounts. They can select dates and see the transaction history through the API. The AML users can select any suspicious transaction for investigation.

The portal manages email, SMS, and document gathering. Emails will be delivered to concerned recipients. It also sends SMS messages to specified customers. Also, customers can upload the needed documents via the portal. In addition, the system sends follow-up emails for pending responses. It also sends escalation emails when necessary. Furthermore, the system generates reports for every department.

Challenges

The AML team went through multiple stages during the review process. They had to confirm the information of the customer and account details before reviewing transactions. They also had to deal with the customers’ messages, suspicious transactions, follow-ups, document collection, and escalations. This process was quite complicated. Thus, our client needed a clear and structured way to manage all these activities.

Customer Information Search

The team had to search for customer details using different identifiers. Finding the appropriate customer could be difficult when multiple records exist.

Handling Multiple Accounts

Since a customer could have several linked accounts, the team required to identify and choose the appropriate account before reviewing the transactions. This was an extra step to the review process.

Customer Communication

This process involved sending emails and SMS to the customers. The process was more complicated since the communication had to happen with different recipients.

Documents Collection

The team was responsible for keeping track of the documents that customers presented. The team also had to ensure that they received the required documents within the specified time. This made it difficult to monitor pending document submission.

Management Reporting

The AML team needed to create EOD and EOM reports by business unit. The required report had to be available for Management Review. This made it very challenging to provide reports in a timely and consistent manner.

Follow-Up and Escalation

Pending responses needed to be followed up consistently to avoid delays. Whereas, delayed replies also needed to be escalated within specified timeline. This made it very difficult to carry out the follow-up and escalation processes.

Solution Implemented

To address the challenges, Enaviya developed Anti-Money Laundering Monitoring Portal. The portal integrates key AML tasks in one workflow. It allows users to search for customers, verify accounts, review transactions, and raise inquiries if they find anything suspicious. Also, it supports email and SMS alerts, notifications, document uploads, checks for updates, and escalation. This process makes easier to manage in one centralized location.

Customer Search

Users have the ability to search for a customer via the Customer ID, Civil ID or Account Number. Once user has completed the search process, the system will display the customer details and the associated accounts.

Account Selection

In some cases, if customer has more than one account, users have an option to choose the required account based on the details. This will help them to check the correct account and all possible transactions connected to it.

Transaction Records

Users can choose the desired range of date. The portal then retrieves the information of the transactions through an API. The transactions are displayed to the user for verification.

Selection of Suspicious Transactions

The users can choose suspect transactions for review. The portal then gets the list of recipients based on the customer account type. This helps with the next step of the investigation.

Inquiry Processing

Users of the AML system can select the transaction they need to review. They can also select the inquiries they want to conduct. After that, the chosen information will be used to begin the inquiry process.

Email Communication

The portal send emails to the predefined recipients in each area of the business. This makes sure that the inquiry reaches the right department.

Notification to customer

The system sends an SMS to the customer along with a link. The customer can utilize the link to upload the required documents.

Upload Documents

Clients may proceed with the uploading of required documents from the portal itself. The documents need to be submitted within the defined 10-day period.

Follow-Up and Escalation

The system sends the follow-up email for the pending responses. It will follow up to 10 days. Any responses that are received will be escalated to the GM after 5 days. The system will send the escalation emails based on the defined SLAs.

How the Solution Works

The AML portal follow simple procedure. A user searches for the customer, select the linked account and review the transactions. If required, the user will make an inquiry through the portal. Later, portal manages communication, document upload, escalations and follow ups.

Customer Search

A users’/AML team enters Customer ID, Civil ID, or the account number. The portal displays the customer details. Users can select their appropriate customer in case if there are multiple records.

Account and Transaction Review

The user identifies the account and enters the appropriate date range. The portal retrieves the transaction details through an API. The user has the option to select transactions that are relevant for further investigation.

Inquiry and Communication

The user identifies the transactions for the inquiry. Then, the portal sends an email to the concerned team. The customer also receives an SMS notification along with the link.

Document Collection and Follow-up

The customer can utilize link to upload the necessary documents within 10 days. The system also sends follow-ups emails in case of pending responses.

Escalating and Reporting

The system automatically sends escalations in case of a delayed response. Additionally, the status of the process is updated at the same time. In addition, the data from the request is used to generate reports for the business units.

Core Modules Implemented

Enaviya developed several different modules to support the main functions of the AML Monitoring Portal. Each of the modules handles different parts of the system. The modules enable users to access customer, transaction data, document handling, workflow, and reporting. All modules help the AML team in managing the entire inquiry process in a systematic way.

User Access

This module manages the user access for AML team members. It ensures that only the specified users are allowed access to the portal.

Customer Data

This module allows the portal to connect with customer details API. It allows the portal to get the customer information on the basis of data supplied by the user.

Transaction Data

This module facilitates connection with the transaction API. Thus, it retrieves transaction data of the specific customer account and date range.

Email Communication

This assists in sending emails to predefined recipients. Thus, it facilitates communication with the appropriate business teams.

SMS Communication

This module handles SMS which are sent to the customers. It also aids the link utilized for document submission.

Job Timer

This module supports scheduled system activities. It sends follow–ups and escalation emails whenever required based on the time period.

Report Generation and Database Sync

This handles sending request information to the banking database. Also, it is used for the generating reports at the end of the day and the end of the month by business unit.

Final Result

The implementation of the Anti-Money Laundering Monitoring Portal allowed the client to organize the process of suspicious transaction evaluation. The portal enables customer search, transaction review, inquiries, document, communication, and reporting into one process. This made it easier to manage and track the AML activities.

Centralized AML Monitoring

Using the portal, users can get access to customer information, linked accounts, and the transactions carried out. This makes it easier for the AML team to collect the required information.

Faster Transaction Review

Users are able to search by the Customer ID or the Account Number in the portal. The portal retrieves the details of all accounts and transactions via API.

Structured Inquiry Management

The users of the AML system have the ability to identify suspicious transactions for further investigation. The system subsequently sends the necessary requests to a predefined recipient.

Automated Customer Communication

The system automatically sends emails to relevant teams. Moreover, it establishes contact with customers through SMS containing links for document uploading.