Banks could accelerate business growth and win market share by transforming processes with Corporate Digital Identity (CDI)
London, New York, May 9 2024 – 87 per cent of corporate treasurers have abandoned banking applications for their business due to lengthy and inefficient onboarding processes, according to new research from Encompass Corporation, the global leader in Corporate Digital Identity (CDI).
It is not just banks losing customers, as 86 per cent of treasurers also highlighted that their businesses had lost revenue as a direct consequence of a bank’s slow and disjointed approach to acquiring customer information.
The findings were revealed in a survey commissioned by Encompass via independent polling agency Censuswide, which questioned 250 corporate treasurers across the UK and US on their attitudes to banking processes and experiences of accessing financial products and services. Questions crossed areas including Know Your Customer (KYC) onboarding practices, customer outreach and experience.
Overall, three-quarters (73 per cent) admit to being dissatisfied with their bank’s KYC process – a figure rising to 80 per cent in the UK, in comparison to 66 per cent in the US.
Alex Ford, President, North America, Encompass Corporation, said:
“Banks are the backbone of thriving modern economies, but these results show that archaic approaches to core business activities are having a detrimental impact on many companies.
“Fundamental activities, such as client onboarding, are overly reliant on manual processes and physical documents, with disjointed and cumbersome client experiences damaging trust and reputation. We know that customers are no longer prepared to accept a level of service that falls below their expectations, so banks simply cannot afford to become complacent or take this trust for granted.
“Moving forward, it is crucial that they leverage CDI, taking advantage of this technology-led approach that combines corporate information with public and private data sources to verify and validate identity with speed and ease. The potential benefits, as customer experience is at the forefront, are huge.
“Not only will adopting CDI reduce the number of abandonments that we see but, crucially, banks’ future growth will be supported and boosted. In reducing repetitive and lengthy onboarding and outreach, as well as improving the quality of the data gathered, customers will experience the journey and service they are looking for, while banks find a level of efficiency that, ultimately, will help them to increase revenue.”
The survey reveals that 93 per cent of respondents have been asked by a bank for the same information multiple times, with 56 per cent having to deal with requests for the same details on several occasions. This shines a light on the inefficiency of existing processes, and is in addition to it being found that, on average, it takes businesses 41 days to open a new banking account - a statistic almost identical across UK and US markets.
Wayne Johnson, co-founder and CEO, Encompass Corporation, commented:
“Friction during outreach is an issue that has been plaguing banks for decades, slowing down the process and preventing them from onboarding a higher volume of customers. Using CDI to create digital identities quickly and accurately for every customer enables easier verification and faster, better data sharing, greatly surpassing previous human-led approaches. CDI is the future of our industry, and it is time for banks to embrace it.“
About Encompass Corporation
Encompass enables fast, accurate identity validation and verification of corporate customers and a gold-standard approach to KYC. Our award-winning corporate digital identity (CDI) platform incorporates real-time data and documents from authoritative global public data sources and private customer information to create and maintain digital risk profiles.
With Encompass, the world’s leading banks improve customer experience and increase business opportunities through consistent regulatory compliance and risk mitigation.
Contact: Cheri Burns | PR & Corporate Communications Directort +44 (0) 333-772-0002 e cheriburns@encompasscorporation.comw encompasscorporation.com
7 May 2024, Sydney, Australia – LAB Group, a leading international RegTech and Australia’s best-connected onboarding provider, is pleased to announce that it has delivered a new integration partnership with CreditorWatch to provide upgraded complex due diligence capabilities to all members of the LAB Network.
LAB is leveraging CreditorWatch’s unique and comprehensive registry and credit risk data to deliver key automation and risk mitigation features into its digital onboarding and client lifecycle platform.
The partnership has already resulted in the incorporation of UBO discovery into LAB’s digital onboarding experience for an enterprise customer, resulting in uplifted straight-through processing and countless hours saved in back-office checks. This solution also significantly reduces manual keying by the applicant, speeding up onboarding and improving accuracy.
LAB has also recently commenced the rollout of a solution to continuously monitor for key risk indicators in its customer’s investor bases through their engagement lifecycle. This is enabled by CreditorWatch’s access to more than 50 public and private data sources, including ASIC lodgements, ATO debt records, ABR data and trade payment defaults.
CreditorWatch’s platform is now integrated with LAB Verify, which orchestrates verification directly within the digital onboarding journey and throughout the client lifecycle. Having direct integration with the CreditorWatch platform empowers LAB Group customers to make better informed risk decisions and drive further efficiencies across client lifecycle management requirements.
Nick Boudrie, CEO and co-founder of LAB Group, said:
“It’s been a pleasure to work with CreditorWatch who have helped LAB tailor solutions to address our customer’s unique problem statements. This integration upgrades our capabilities to meet the needs of organisations with complex due diligence requirements, leveraging CreditorWatch’s specialist expertise in business data and the robustness of its infrastructure.
“By expanding our LAB Verify capability, this integration allows us to help our financial services customers to meet their regulatory obligations and mitigate operational risk while also achieving a reduction in manual back-office overhead. We’re excited to help broaden the audience that CreditorWatch can reach, while bolstering the capabilities that LAB Group can offer to its existing and new customers.”
CreditorWatch CEO and co-founder, Patrick Coghlan, said:
“We are always excited to work with businesses that are as innovative and committed to improving the customer experience as LAB Group. The synergies between our businesses will most definitely result in some very exciting outcomes. We look forward to contributing to the next stage of LAB Group’s evolution through the provision of our unique data.”
For all media enquiries, please contact:
Tim Dohrmann, NWR Communications Phone: +61 468 420 846 Email: tim@nwrcommunications.com.au
About LAB Group Where welcome onboard begins.
LAB is a RegTech providing an innovative customer lifecycle management platform that revolutionises the customer journey from the very first steps, fulfilling AML/CTF regulatory obligations and multi party consent whilst saving time and resources by providing a high degree of automation for account creation, remediation and ongoing customer due diligence processes.
The LAB platform welcomes tens of thousands of people into hundreds of financial product offerings across over 15 industry verticals, matching applicants with a vast array of market offerings.
Connect to more people in more places. Connect into the LAB Network that leverages strategic partnerships and integrations to enhance product origination and distribution.
Hundreds of regulated entities around the globe connect through the LAB Network to accelerate customer registration, reduce onboarding time, increase security, and achieve higher completion rates.
The leaders in secure onboarding. LAB’s continually advancing platform empowers our businesses to stay ahead of rapidly changing compliance regulations and evolving customer experience expectations.
Our hosted solution provides a fully compliant, end-to-end, multi product digital onboarding process for both simple and complex entities. LAB seamlessly connects and orchestrates digital client acquisition, corporate and ID verification, workflow management, fraud protection and compliance services on a single platform.
Become part of the most connected digital onboarding platform. With LAB’s unmatched connectivity, we get you to market sooner through our sector-agnostic integrations and transformational data automation.
Discover more at https://labgroup.com.au/
About CreditorWatch
CreditorWatch, is a leading Australian data and tech company that provides businesses with access to unique data to help them manage credit risk exposure.
Over 60,000 Australian businesses rely on CreditorWatch – more than twice as many as any other bureau in Australia – to confidently manage their commercial relationships, improve productivity and reduce financial risk. Its platform captures all the traditional high-risk events that large enterprise and financial service providers need to know about – including court judgments, bankruptcies, insolvencies and other adverse risk indicators – from public data sources including ASIC, ABR, AFSA, ATO and the Australian courts.
At our #ACCELERATERegTechGlobal event on Tuesday, 30 April, we announced the winners of our 2024 RegTech Awards - APAC Region.
We had 12 finalists across our three awards and the judges remarked on the incredible work being done by RegTech companies across the APAC region.
The winners are:
RegTech of the Year: FrankieOne This award has been given annually since 2019. It rewards excellence in scale, growth, investment and contribution to the industry by a RegTech or SupTech solution provider.
RegTech Corporate Innovator of the Year: LexisNexis This award is for a corporate entity that has either for itself or clients achieved excellence and impact in RegTech deployment/engagement. Examples include a financial services firm or a professional services firm that either buys RegTech or influences purchasing decisions. This is not an award for a RegTech company.
RegTech Social Impact of the Year: Oho This award will recognise any member organisation who can measurably demonstrate the social impact of their deployment of RegTech or SupTech in their organisation or for their clients.
Chairman's Award: LeapXpert Annually, our esteemed judges exercise their discretion to bestow the prestigious Chair’s Award upon a company that exemplifies noteworthy innovation and merits recognition.
If you are a RegTech operating in or serving customers in the UK and Europe region, we will be opening our awards for this region soon. Stay tuned.
LONDON, 24 April, 2024 – Encompass Corporation, the leader in Corporate Digital Identity (CDI), has appointed seasoned finance executive Stuart Barnard as its first Chief Financial Officer (CFO).
Barnard, who has more than 15 years of experience in the finance industry, particularly within start-up and scale-up organisations, leads Encompass' global financial and business operations. This includes holding ultimate responsibility for the strategic operation of functions including finance, legal, people, revenue operations, IT and information security.
His appointment is the latest milestone in an impressive trajectory for Encompass, especially over the last 12 months, and underlines its commitment to building a robust leadership team. This has been bolstered by a number of senior hires this year, including Neil Acworth as Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) and former CEO of CoorpID Job den Hamer, who joined as Head of Business Development.
Joining Encompass in 2016 as part of its Sydney-founded team, Barnard was first appointed as Head of Finance, and has remained a key senior figure as the company has grown in size and stature. Playing a pivotal role in rapid international expansion, he has spearheaded growth across all areas, while most recently serving as VP of Finance and Business Operations out if its London office.
Stuart Barnard, Chief Financial Officer, Encompass Corporation, said: “I am delighted to continue what has been a remarkable journey at Encompass by taking up the role of CFO. It has been a privilege to be part of establishing the organisation as a global leader, with the foundations in place to continue to go from strength to strength, supported by a first-class team and innovation. It is a truly exciting time, and we are well placed to continue to flourish as a top player in the market, fuelled by our focus on unlocking the benefits of CDI for our customers.”
Wayne Johnson, co-founder and CEO, Encompass Corporation, said: “Stuart has been instrumental to the success of Encompass, from the early days until now, as we have developed our offering, operations and culture – all of which have allowed us to scale internationally. His knowledge, expertise, and business acumen have been vital to ensuring Encompass remains ahead of the curve, and the diverse, high-performing talent that he has brought into his teams has been central to not only how we operate on a daily basis, but to instilling the values that we pride ourselves on as a forward-thinking employer that enables individuals to thrive.”
About Encompass CorporationEncompass enables fast, accurate identity validation and verification of corporate customers and a gold-standard approach to KYC. Our award-winning corporate digital identity (CDI) platform incorporates real-time data and documents from authoritative global public data sources and private customer information to create and maintain digital risk profiles.
Cheri Burns | PR & Corporate Communications Director t +44 (0) 333-772-0002e cheriburns@encompasscorporation.comw encompasscorporation.com
In Australia's financial sector, the Internal Dispute Resolution (IDR) framework and regulatory guide 271 (RG 271) are pivotal components in ensuring fair, transparent, and effective handling of consumer and small business complaints.
RG 271, established by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), sets stringent guidelines for financial services to resolve disputes internally. It outlines the obligations of these firms to have an IDR procedure that complies with ASIC's standards, alongside their membership with the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA).
The development of IDR in Australia reflects the changing needs of the Australian financial services sector. The IDR standards that have emerged from the findings of the Ramsay Review and have been further shaped by amendments to financial legislation, in particular RG 271, reflect the industry's commitment to protecting the rights and interests of consumers.
If customers of a financial services provider have a concern, what does this mean for them?
Read ASC Technologies full blog HERE.
On Thursday 11 April, we gathered people from 25 countries for our online #ACCELERATERegTechGlobal webinar. To download the webinar go here. #ACCELERATERegTechGlobal APAC Series Webinar 2024 (youtube.com)
New self-service offering allows customers to activate anti-fraud solution in minutes with a credit card
Singapore, April 11, 2024 — Transparently.AI, which makes artificial intelligence software that detects accounting fraud, has unveiled a web-friendly version of its product, in a bid to make the tool more accessible in the global battle against financial crime.
With the new self-service offering, customers can now activate their anti-fraud solutions in minutes by purchasing directly from Transparently.AI's website with a credit card. It comes on top of the Singapore-based firm’s high-touch enterprise solution, which has been available for over a year to asset managers, financial firms and auditors.
Self-service customers can choose from different pricing options based on their specific needs and budget. The software can be easily integrated into existing systems, making it a hassle-free solution for companies looking to protect themselves against accounting fraud.
By leveraging the power of AI, the software can quickly and accurately detect fraudulent activities, saving businesses from potential financial losses and reputational damage.
"We wanted to make our anti-fraud solution more accessible to a wider range of companies,” said Hamish Macalister, chief executive officer and co-founder of Transparently.AI. “With this new offering, customers can easily purchase and activate our software without having to go through a lengthy sales process.”
With this launch, Transparently.AI is further solidifying its position as a leader in AI-powered anti-fraud solutions for the financial industry. Asset managers, banks, auditors, exchanges and others can use the product as a tool to filter for suspicious accounting, fraudulent book-keeping and weak corporate governance.
Transparently.AI’s software is trained via machine learning to detect accounting red flags in corporate balance sheets. It produces an A+ to F risk rating, as well as a 0-100 risk score which measures the likelihood and extent to which a company is manipulating its accounts.
The firm already counts one of the world’s largest sovereign wealth funds, a global commercial bank and one of the Big 4 auditors among its customers. The three-year-old AI startup in February announced an investment from U.S. asset-management giant Franklin Templeton, as part of a US$3 million pre-series A funding round.
Early bird discounts for RegTech Association members Transparently.AI is offering The Regtech Association members and network 20% discount to try the tool out! Learn more here.
About Transparently.AIFounded in 2021, Transparently.AI has developed an AI-based system for the automated detection of accounting manipulation and fraud in companies. The firm was named in the RegTech100 list for 2023, which is an annual list of the world’s most innovative regtech companies. Find out more at transparently.ai.
Press contact:Transparently.AI Darren Boey darren@transparently.ai Follow Transparently on LinkedIn
London, 20 March 2024 - Encompass Corporation, the global provider of real-time digital Know Your Customer (KYC) profiles, has appointed Neil Acworth as its new Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) as part of its focus on delivering gold-standard information security processes to global banks.
Against the current business and regulatory landscape, security is an ongoing priority across financial services, and Acworth’s appointment will underline and enhance Encompass’ ability to offer seamless data-focused processes that contribute to safety, compliance and operational efficiency, whether during the onboarding of new customers or within existing relationships.
Acworth joins with decades of experience in the technology space, including holding senior positions, such as Chief Technical Officer (CTO) and Chief Information Officer (CIO), and within RegTech organisations.
He will oversee Encompass’ information security team and drive its ongoing commitment to promoting best practices in fighting financial crime and contributing to business growth, while maintaining a leading status globally.
Neil Acworth, Chief Information Security Officer at Encompass Corporation, comments: “I’m delighted to join an industry-leading business that is growing and strengthening its value every day. Information security is of the utmost importance to banks and financial institutions, and they need to see that we take it as seriously as they do. It’s clear that Encompass recognises this and is actively working to cement its place as a best-in-class partner.
“I’m excited to bring my leadership skills, perspective and technical expertise, gained from decades of experience, to this role and play my part in the business enhancing its reputation and success.”
Stuart Barnard, Vice President of Finance and Business Operations at Encompass Corporation, comments: “Compliance is at the heart of what we do, and hiring Neil as our new CISO brings this to life, in terms of how we operate internally and externally. For banks, we know security isn’t just about ticking a box, it's business critical, and we are focused on being the proactive and trusted partner that our customers need.
“Neil has outstanding technical and business authority, gained from his vast industry experience. Neil's customer-focused approach also means that he is the ideal leader to help our customers operate most effectively within what is a fast-moving and pressured industry landscape, ensuring they feel safe with Encompass.”
The news follows Encompass’ recent acquisitions of CoorpID and Blacksmith KYC, which strengthen its mission to transform KYC with Corporate Digital Identity (CDI), with real-time digital KYC profiles solving the challenge of identification and verification of corporate and institutional clients.
About Encompass CorporationEncompass enables fast, accurate identity validation and verification of corporate customers, and a gold standard approach to KYC. Our award-winning corporate digital identity (CDI) platform incorporates real-time data and documents from authoritative global public data sources and private customer information to create and maintain digital risk profiles.
Cheri Burns | PR & Corporate Communications Director t +44 (0) 333-772-0002 e cheriburns@encompasscorporation.com w encompasscorporation.com
In a strategic move to expand its customer cyber security offerings, Spirit Technology Solutions, a leading cybersecurity business with a state-of-the-art Security Operations Center (SOC), announced today the acquisition of InfoTrust, a prominent cybersecurity practice with specialisations across assurance, governance, risk, compliance (GRC) and managed security services.
This acquisition marks a significant milestone for Spirit as it reinforces its commitment to providing comprehensive cybersecurity solutions for the Australian market and forging its position as a leader in the Australian cyber security market. By bringing together the advanced threat detection and response capabilities delivered through the state-of-the-art Security Operations Center (SOC), within Spirit’s cyber arm, Intalock, with InfoTrust’s Assurance and GRC services, the combined entity will bring compelling security value proposition to the market.
Spirit’s cyber division will now include a combined 600 customers, providing significant opportunity to deepen customer relationships with new services now available under the Spirit Group.
Key Highlights of the Acquisition:Comprehensive Cybersecurity Solutions: The integration of Spirit and InfoTrust will result in a comprehensive suite of cybersecurity solutions, ensuring customers benefit from a holistic approach to threat management and compliance with access to a comprehensive SOC, offensive security and incident response enabling customers to prepare and respond rapidly to any breach.
Synergies in Secure Managed IT Solutions: The acquisition enables the unification of cutting-edge technologies and solutions from both entities, creating an end-to-end secure managed service platform that addresses the evolving digital workplace and threat landscape effectively.
Enhanced Governance and Compliance Offerings: InfoTrust's expertise in Governance, Risk Management, and Compliance will strengthen Spirit's portfolio, offering clients unparalleled support in navigating regulatory requirements and industry standards.
Expanded Team of Experts and Footprint: The merger brings together a combined 110 seasoned cybersecurity experts, from the talents of both organisations to provide clients with a wealth of knowledge and experience, with customers and expertise across the country.
Quotes: Julian Challingsworth, Managing Director, and CEO of Spirit Group:
"This strategic acquisition aligns with our vision of becoming the go-to cybersecurity partner in Australia. By combining our SOC capabilities with InfoTrust's Assurance, GRC and product focus, we are positioned to deliver a completed and robust cybersecurity solution set that enables our clients to build robust defences against a cyber-attack and respond quickly to threats and attacks which are becoming more prevalent."
Simon McKay Co-Founder/CEO of InfoTrust:
"We are excited to join forces with Spirit to create a powerhouse in the Australian cybersecurity market. This merger enables us to combine Intalock’s world class Managed Security Services with InfoTrust’s leading GRC, Penetration Testing and Technology expertise and enable us to scale and deliver a comprehensive set of solutions to our clients, ensuring their security and compliance needs are met with the highest standards."
Dane Meah Co-Founder/Director of InfoTrust:
"I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve built at InfoTrust over the past 10 years. The business has never been in better shape achieving record growth over the past 2 years, thanks to the hard work of Simon and the whole team. Integrating InfoTrust with Spirit provides a platform to create an incredible cybersecurity powerhouse for many years to come. The best days are ahead, and we’re excited for what the future holds."
Additional Information: Interested media representatives may contact Pattigrace Lupari for additional information or to schedule interviews.
About Spirit Technologies Solutions:Spirit (ASX: ST1), a technology company delivering innovative solutions to help Australian businesses stay ahead of the curve by building a secure, sustainable, and scalable work environment. With a core focus on providing cutting-edge solutions to safeguard organisations against cyber threats through a state-of-the-art SOC, Spirit is dedicated to securing the digital future.
About InfoTrust: Infotrust is a specialist cybersecurity provider with deep expertise in Assurance, Governance, Risk and Compliance (GRC) and Managed Security Services. With over 400 customers nationally, across SMB, mid-market and enterprise, InfoTrust is a truly trusted partner when it comes to achieving successful cybersecurity outcomes.
For media inquiries, please contactPattigrace Lupari Senior Marketing Manager Intalock Cyber Security Pattigrace.lupari@intalock.com.au
London, February 20 2024 — Encompass Corporation, the global provider of real-time digital Know Your Customer (KYC) profiles, has appointed Job den Hamer, former CEO of CoorpID, as Head of Business Development to bolster its mission to revolutionise KYC with Corporate Digital Identity (CDI).
With more than 20 years of experience within mid-corporate and corporate financial services markets, den Hamer has held senior roles across sales, business development and change management. Most recently, he conceptualised and grew CoorpID within ING’s innovation network, with it helping banks to transform KYC outreach before being acquired by Encompass last month.
As Head of Business Development, based in the Netherlands, den Hamer will be a key member of Encompass’ sales leadership team, under the direction of Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) Steve Hadaway. He will be responsible for maximising the value the CoorpID platform brings to Encompass’ global banking customers, with the acquisition furthering Encompass’ efforts to solve the challenge of identification and verification of corporate and institutional clients with its game-changing CDI platform.
CoorpID was founded by ING Labs in 2018 to allow global banks to automate outreach and gather private KYC data directly from corporate banking customers, providing a repository that allows the corporate to manage all their banking relationships.
Its functionality enables Encompass to build a complete KYC profile that combines authoritative public information with private information directly from customers. This makes CDI possible for the first time, providing a unified source of truth and unrivalled visibility into risk. As a result of this complete customer profile, the need for unnecessary outreach is eliminated, improving customer experience without compromising on robust regulatory compliance.
Job den Hamer, Head of Business Development, Encompass Corporation, comments: “Joining Encompass at such a pivotal time for the organisation is a fantastic next step, which allows me to continue my efforts to contribute genuinely exciting innovation to the financial services industry, which improves the KYC journey for banks and corporates.
“CDI offers real value, solving critical challenges banks face today, and to be involved in this journey, and able to carry on the story of CoorpID as part of Encompass, is a huge privilege.
“The bringing together of Encompass and CoorpID will facilitate change and impact like we have never seen before, and I am thrilled to play my part in bringing the possibilities to life.”
Steve Hadaway, Chief Revenue Officer, Encompass Corporation, adds: “There is so much to be excited about on the road ahead for Encompass, and I am delighted to follow the acquisition of a uniquely strong platform in CoorpID by bringing Job on board.
“Not only does he possess decades of experience and enviable knowledge, but being the driving force behind CoorpID means he will add a great deal to what we bring to customers and the industry alike as we lead the way in transforming KYC with CDI.”
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