KPMG launches KYC due diligence platform

07 October 2021 Consultancy.uk

The UK wing of KPMG has launched a new customer due diligence technology platform to help companies contend with regulatory pressure and skyrocketing compliance costs.

The Know Your Customer (KYC) guidelines in financial services require that professionals make an effort to verify the identity, suitability, and risks involved with maintaining a business relationship. The number of contact points required to reach out to a customer make KYC an extremely onerous process, however. The lengthy process to comply with the guidelines mean that banks are sinking huge amounts of capital into their KYC efforts. Some major financial institutions spend up to $500 million annually on KYC and customer due diligence, according to Thomson Reuters, while 10% of the world's top financial institutions spend at least $100 million annually on it.

KPMG UK is hoping to help clients navigate the KYC process in a quicker and more efficient manner, though. The Big Four firm has launched an innovative cloud-based platform – KPMG Smart Customer Due Diligence (CDD) – that optimises CDD business to help reduce costs and improve accuracy.

KPMG launches KYC due diligence platform

Richard Parsons, Director, KPMG Smart CDD, said, “We have combined our expertise in customer due diligence, technology and operational service delivery to create a data-led approach to CDD, giving cost certainty through an ‘out of the box’ solution, compliant with regulatory requirements and pre-configured to industry standards.”

Unlike other CDD solutions that only target specific pain points in the compliance process, the new solution uses third-party integration as standard, provides granular management information and a robust audit trail, with clear hand offs and escalations. As a result, the toolkit can handle the entire CDD end-to-end journey, driving efficiencies and headcount reduction. Compared with other KYC technology companies, KPMG also brings financial crime subject matter experts and operational expertise to run the programme to drive high-quality outcomes.

Simon Mansell, KPMG UK Forensic Head of CDD, remarked, “With organisations’ recovery from the pandemic underpinned by growth and expansion, their risk exposure will undoubtedly intensify as they seek to percolate into new markets. With increasing uncertainty and regulatory oversight in global economic markets, they need to know that all relevant customer information is correct. This innovative ‘out of the box’ CDD tool, combined with our operational excellence, gives us the unique ability to build and deliver a high-quality service, giving clients peace of mind as they get back on their feet.”

According to a release from KPMG, the CCD system could help clients reduce the total cost of KYC compliance, generating potential cost reductions of up 40%. At the same time, quality checking and quality assurance are built into its smart workflow, leveraging a quality framework and deep financial crime expertise, to also improve KYC effectiveness.

KPMG Forensic’s over 3000-strong global network of experienced professionals use accounting, investigation, intelligence, technology, economics and deep industry skills alongside consistent global methodologies to help reduce reputational risk and commercial loss, and to improve the value obtained from existing contracts. Its teams are located in the major developed markets like the UK and US, as well as the key emerging economies in Central and Eastern Europe, Russia, South America, Africa, The Middle East and Asia.

More on: KPMG
United Kingdom
Company profile
KPMG is not a United Kingdom partner of Consultancy.org
Partnership information »
Partnership information

Consultancy.org works with three partnership levels: Local, Regional and Global.

KPMG is a Local partner of Consultancy.org in Middle East, Netherlands.

Upgrade or more information? Get in touch with our team for details.