UK credit reference agency Callcredit has boarded the gravy train built by anti money laundering regulations by launching CallML, an online identity verification service. The new anti-money laundering legislationin the UK comes into force on 1 March 2004.
CallML is a web-based solution, recognised by the FSA and already used by banks, building societies and other credit institutions to do checks on retail customers. It uses a wide range of approved and independent data sources, including the full Electoral Roll and financial data plus various other data sets, to confirm an individual’s identity.
The system also conducts ‘negative verification’ against a range of data sources including the Specially Designated Nationals file, the Politically Exposed Persons file and the Terrorists file.
Users simply enter their customer’s personal details and details of approved identity documents that have been supplied. CallML produces a pass or fail report detailing which data sets were used for identification and which provided confirmation of identity. Users can set their own pass/fail parameters.
“Verifying the identity of new customers with the confidence that your company has complied with all the requirements of money laundering legislation is a key concern to all Money Laundering Reporting Officers,” says Callcredit’s compliance manager Beverley Dewhirst. “Non-compliance can lead to hefty fines as several leading banks have already discovered to their cost. CallML is a cost-effective, easy- to-implement solution that takes away all the worries.”
Callcredit was formed as a partnership between Skipton Building Society, one of the largest building societies in the UK, and Dun & Bradstreet. It now forms part of the Skipton Information Group, together with database management company EuroDirect and market analysis firm GMAP Consulting.