Jumio Corporation

09/09/2021 | News release | Archived content

KYC And AML: Key Differences & How They Work Together

When it comes to compliance, there are many different regulations for companies to navigate. Adding to the confusion is the various compliance terminology, which can mean different things.

AML or anti-money laundering refers to the steps that financial institutions and other firms must take to prevent criminals from depositing or transfering funds that came from illicit activity. In particular, AML regulations are designed to stop terrorist financing and proceeds from crimes like human trafficking.

KYC or Know Your Customer refers to the checks that a company performs to ensure their customers are who they say they are and do not pose a risk to the business. KYC falls under the larger umbrella term of AML, even though AML and KYC are often used interchangeably.

​KYC And AML - What's The Difference?

Broadly speaking, AML refers to all efforts involved in preventing money laundering, such as stopping criminals from becoming customers and monitoring transactions for suspicious activity. KYC refers to customer identification and screening, and ensuring you understand their risk to your business. In this way, KYC compliance helps prevent money laundering as well as fraud.

KYC And Customer Due Diligence (CDD)

Customer due diligence (CDD) is just one aspect of KYC procedures, but people often use these terms interchangeably. The first phase of KYC is the new customer information program. In this phase, you collect information about the customer during the onboarding process.

The second phase is CDD, where you perform identity verification to ensure the person is not pretending to be someone else. Biometric identification is an important part of this step to make sure the person is physically present. You also perform watchlist screening and ensure they are not a politically exposed person (PEP) or on a sanctions list.

CDD also includes risk assessment to determine how likely they are to become involved in money laundering. For example, if they live in a certain country and are opening a specific type of account, they might be considered a high-risk customer.

KYC also includes enhanced due diligence (EDD) for high-risk customers. In this phase, companies determine how to work with these customers, usually applying stricter rules when monitoring their financial activity. The primary goal of KYC is to decide whether - and how - to do business with your customers. In this way, KYC helps prevent money laundering. The right KYC solution should provide these answers in real time to streamline the experience for your customers.

How Does A Typical KYC Process Work?

Regardless of which terminology you use, a typical KYC process includes:

  • Verifying the customer's identity to prevent fraud
  • Screening the customer against prohibited lists
  • Assessing the customer's risk profile to determine if they're higher risk
  • Ongoing monitoring, including transaction monitoring, to make sure their risk profile hasn't changed

The KYC process overlaps heavily with the AML compliance program, as described in the next section.

AML Compliance Programs

Criminals often face a major challenge: how to spend their ill-gotten gains. For example, AML policies require that businesses report when a customer deposits large quantities of cash. As a result, criminals are constantly looking for new ways to get their dirty money into the financial system so they can legitimize or "clean" it.

AML laws have evolved over time to keep up with criminals. For example, the USA Patriot Act made dramatic changes to the scope of AML laws. Likewise, compliance teams have had to regularly review and revise their AML compliance programs and their approach to risk management.

What Does A Typical AML Program Look Like?

There are several key qualities of a successful AML compliance program. A typical AML program will include:

  • KYC during onboarding and throughout the entire customer lifecycle
  • Monitoring of financial transactions
  • Reporting of suspicious activity to regulators
  • Methodical recordkeeping that stands up to an audit
  • Policies and training to keep employees up to date

Where Are KYC And AML Required?

KYC and AML are required in countries all around the globe. But terrorism financing doesn't necessarily stop at one country's borders.

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) serves as an international watchdog agency. It works with more than 200 countries and jurisdictions to set standards and prevent money laundering and other illegal activities worldwide. The FATF also provides outreach and training so government agencies and financial service providers can understand best practices.

​KYC And AML In Financial Institutions & Other Industries

KYC and AML compliance are critical for preventing fraud, money laundering and other financial crime. Regardless of your industry, if you enable customers to move money, you could be a target for money laundering. Whether you're a bank, fintech or marketplace, an effective compliance program helps assure that you and your customers can do business with confidence.

Let a Jumio expert show you how easy it can be to integrate our automated identity verification and AML solutions into your onboarding and ongoing monitoring processes. Request more information here and we'll be in touch shortly.