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AML AI Software: 5 Big Benefits for Your Financial Services Processes

Leslie Loges, Content Marketing Manager
September 20, 2024

In the world of banking, challenges abound. Fragmented processes and add-on technologies that don’t integrate well with legacy equipment pose issues for financial institutions already struggling with ever-increasing regulatory compliance requirements and customer expectations.

Banks have invested heavily in anti-money laundering (AML) solutions to keep up with heightened risks and remain competitive. But it’s important to make sure your AML AI software plays well with the rest of your technology. 

According to Gartner, more than 80% of banks will adopt generative AI by 2026. With intricate processes, like intelligent KYC and AML, investing wisely will make all the difference in a solution that reaps massive rewards.

In this blog post, you’ll learn about five benefits to prioritize in your AML AI solution and how the right software can help financial institutions reduce risks, decrease operational costs, save time, and improve customer experiences.

5 benefits to look for in your AML AI software

Disparate systems make AML processes far more difficult for financial institutions. But it’s not only about cost savings or risk mitigation—though those are certainly at the top of your list of must-haves.

When choosing the right software, consider the whole picture: How it functions with your current technology stack, what benefits your employees will gain and, equally important, how it impacts your customers. Clients don’t usually know about the backend processes like transaction monitoring that prevent money laundering activity, but they never fail to notice long wait times and poor experiences. With huge volumes of financial transactions to monitor, business operations can grow sluggish without advanced technologies to reduce the burden on employees.

A good AML artificial intelligence solution gives you several benefits, including:

  1. Reduced false positives for better customer service
  2. Flexibility to handle intricate and changing compliance needs
  3. Intelligent KYC tools to keep up with fraud prevention
  4. Heightened efficiency and reduced manual labor
  5. Streamlined processes across your departments

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1. Reduce false positives and boost customer satisfaction

False positives in transaction monitoring hinder the process for customers and create more manual work for your internal team. As fraudulent and illegal activities increase, and criminals get more creative, the adage “can’t be too careful” comes to mind.

Many banks struggle with false positive alerts, but that’s not the only issue. Lag times also sink customer satisfaction in an age where we expect intuitive, near-instant services.

With an AML AI solution that increases transparency and provides deep insights that connects the dots across siloed legacy systems, you can dramatically reduce false positives for greater efficiency and customer care.

2. Look for flexibility to handle intricate compliance needs

Process failures in the financial lifecycle lead to big fines—in 2022, AML process failures cost financial service firms more than $8 billion. It’s integral that your AML solution meets the current regulatory requirements and is agile enough to keep up with the changing landscape.

You need a solution that adapts as your needs evolve to your streamline compliance efforts and decrease risk.

3. Keep up with fraud prevention with intelligent KYC and AML

Artificial intelligence presents an excellent solution for complex processes, like KYC and AML. With increasingly sophisticated machine learning applications, banks can identify patterns and data anomalies to spot suspicious activities more easily.

The AI notes behaviors and learns to detect new suspicious patterns over time. This is part of the process that helps to decrease false positives, but it can also help your organization identify real fraud quickly to decrease risks.

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4. Reap heightened efficiency by reducing manual labor

What can greater efficiency mean for your organization? 

Mike Holland, Senior VP of Risk Management for FirstBank, knew they needed to improve the way they evaluated accounts and monitored activity. Their legacy system required too many manual processes.

When FirstBank moved to an intelligent case management approach to give them full visibility of all potential AML cases, they reaped some impressive benefits:

  • Saved more than 1,000 work hours annually

  • Deployed the solution in 12 weeks

  • Created 500,000 new processes in 1 year

5. Streamline processes across departments with the right AI AML solution

Whatever solution you invest in, it should improve communications and efficiency. With more intuitive processes, organizations in the financial services industry can reap benefits like improved employee satisfaction, lower costs, and fewer errors.

When Bendigo Bank implemented their applications, AI and technology weren’t their focus––they prioritized the customer in every aspect of operations. With this “customer obsession” mindset, Bendigo considered enterprise applications, such as fraud management, all Tier 1 critical customer-impacting processes.

Move to AML AI software that checks all the boxes

With multiple data sources, high customer expectations, evolving financial crime risks, and changing regulatory requirements, implementing a robust solution is essential. By leveraging AI, your institution can more easily manage complex workflows and improve operational efficiency.

Looking for an AML AI solution that delivers all the key capabilities to meet your needs today and scales for tomorrow? Contact us today to see how Appian AML can deliver for you.

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