Perpetual KYC is the future of compliance, according to Moody’s

By Puja Sharma

Research finds that most organizations see pKYC as key to better understanding their risk during uncertain times

Compliance teams see perpetual KYC (pKYC) as the future of KYC according to a report by Moody’s Analytics, “Perpetual KYC: Transforming Risk and Compliance,”. The report sought to uncover the key challenges faced by implementers of KYC today and understand how organizations are transforming their approach to risk and compliance.

Know Your Customer has traditionally been a manual and time-consuming process for companies, as well as a technically challenging activity. There is evidence this is changing, and forward-thinking compliance teams are changing their approach to KYC.

Perpetual KYC reimagines KYC, taking it from an activity that occurs irregularly every few years after onboarding to an automated trigger-based activity that works in real-time. This shift to continuous KYC is an enabler for compliance teams, helping them transition from a purely regulatory business function to becoming a driver of revenue.

The research found that 76% of organizations assess the digital sophistication of their KYC approach as either poor (29%) or mediocre (47%).  lowest-scoring firms tended to be traditional banks and professional services firms. These are firms that are weighed down with legacy infrastructure and, in some cases, paper processes during customer onboarding

The report found that those firms with a positive view of compliance enjoyed benefits such as improved customer experience, better quality data, and increased opportunity to upsell and cross-sell to customers.

Keith Berry, General Manager, Know Your Customer Solutions at Moody’s Analytics, said “Compliance methods are adjusting to the new global reality, but there is still some way to go before they catch up with this new pace. Rather than just adhering to regulatory requirements, the future of compliance is one where organizations can tailor their KYC to their risk appetite.

“Our research found a strong desire to automate KYC, and although all firms are at different levels of digital sophistication, for half of the firms it is an opportunity to bring them closer to their customers. Perpetual KYC is key to transforming risk and compliance, helping compliance teams change their role from purely regulatory to enabling businesses to understand risks and make decisions with confidence.”

Key findings:

• There is evidence this is changing, and forward-thinking compliance teams are changing their approach to KYC.
• However, half of the firms – 50% – take an “enlightened” view of KYC and believe it brings the opportunity to improve ROI within their organization through better customer experience
• Six out of ten respondents are familiar with the concept of pKYC and understand that if executed correctly it has the power to be transformational
• Those firms with a positive view of compliance enjoyed benefits such as improved customer experience
• Perpetual KYC reimagines KYC, taking it from an activity that occurs irregularly every few years after onboarding to an automated trigger-based activity that works in real time.
• the future of compliance is one where organizations can tailor their KYC to their risk appetite.