Know Your Customer, the No. 1 provider of real-time registry connections in the industry, and Hawk AI, Germany’s leading software provider of anti-money laundering surveillance technology for banks, payment firms, and fintechs, today announced a new strategic partnership.

By combining Know Your Customer’s digital onboarding and business KYC solutions with Hawk AI’s transaction monitoring capabilities, clients will have access to a comprehensive and integrated offering to centralise and harmonise the multiple and often complex elements of their AML programme. The result is a much-improved end customer experience, a stronger defence against financial crime and remarkable gains in operational efficiency.

Established in 2015, Know Your Customer provides digital onboarding solutions to financial institutions and regulated companies globally. Their Modular Compliance technology makes it fast, easy and safe for businesses to design and implement the KYC and KYB process that best fits their unique needs.

Founded in 2018, Hawk AI helps banks, payment companies and fintechs fight financial crime with AML and fraud surveillance. Powered by explainable AI (patent-pending) and Cloud technology, their modular compliance technology dramatically reduces false positives while detecting yet-unknown instances of financial crime.

From the crucial phase of client onboarding and UBO identification to ongoing business KYC refreshes and transaction monitoring, the combination of Hawk AI’s and Know Your Customer’s solutions aim to power clients’ ability to scale internationally quickly and safely also in the currently fast-changing sanctions’ environment.

In fact, following its recent registry coverage expansion, Know Your Customer provides access to 500+ registries across 125 countries globally. As a result, users of Know Your Customer now have access to reliable, up-to-the-minute company information on more than 180 million registered companies worldwide and to 300 million official company documents. Such unmatched coverage is essential to identify shareholders and UBOs during the crucial phase of onboarding, and, depending on clients’ risk profiles, on an ongoing basis as required by regulators.

Hawk AI’s platform processes billions of transactions in 60+ countries annually and was recently recognised with the 2022 AIFintech100 award by Fintech Global. By reducing the “busywork” created by false positives, AML compliance officers can save up to 70% of their workday and focus on items that have a greater impact. Meanwhile, AI-powered anomaly detection considers a combination of minor, easily missed factors alongside market behaviour to detect yet-unknown instances of financial crime that would slip by traditional rule-based approaches.

Claus Christensen, CEO & Co-Founder of Know Your Customer, commented:

“In most organisations, compliance functions remain divided in silos. RegTech vendors are usually brought on board at different times and for different reasons, often resulting in sub-optimal integrations. Not only this disconnect is costly from an operational point of view, but also leaves vulnerabilities ready to be exploited by criminals. We are delighted to be partnering with Hawk AI to address this essential gap, helping compliance teams embrace a more holistic, integrated and efficient conception of financial crime. One powered by market-leading technology and a shared vision for the future of AML innovation.”

Wolfgang Berner, CTO and Co-Founder of Hawk AI, added:

“There is a wave of technological innovation taking place in RegTech. From cloud-native infrastructure enabling scalability, real-time native processing in a performant, safe and secure way, to fully explained AI and machine learning that augment traditional AML approaches and ensure efficient and effective financial crimefighting. But cutting-edge technology is not enough if information remains siloed. This is why we’re excited to partner with Know Your Customer, who share our vision of modular solutions that foster a more holistic approach to fighting financial crime.”