At financial institutions
Financial institutions are subject to continuously changing laws and regulations. In the field of fraud detection, increasingly strict requirements are being imposed on banks, insurers, and asset managers to screen their (potential) customers and prevent criminal, fraudulent acts. The challenges this entails for companies are enormous, and often, these are processes of weeks and even months.
This is also the case with a large asset manager. They asked LINKIT to develop a customer portal application to create extensive customer risk profiles quickly and to be able to adopt new laws and regulations faster.
Serious consequences
Omid Darroudi (Director of New Business at LINKIT) was not surprised that this question came up. “Failure to comply with laws and regulations can have serious consequences for financial institutions, such as huge fines or criminal prosecution of employees,” he says. “In this case, the customer wanted to make the onboarding process for the customer (the so-called ‘Know Your Customer’) more user-friendly and efficient. By using new technologies and smart tooling, potential risks – such as money laundering, financing terrorism or other forms of financial crime – are prevented.”
“Failure to comply with laws and regulations can have serious consequences for financial institutions, such as huge fines or criminal prosecution of employees.”
Omid Darroudi
Determining risk profiles
Know Your Customer (KYC for short) is a process that helps financial institutions identify (potential) customers. Based on this process, relevant customer information is collected, and a risk profile is created. It limits the risk of fraudulent acts and contributes to the transparency and integrity of the financial institution.
Dion Drost, Low-code Account Manager at LINKIT, was closely involved in the asset manager’s project. “First of all, it is important to know that the KYC process is not a one-time event but a periodic process. Customer data must be kept up-to-date, suspicious transactions and changes must be detected early, and the risk profile must be constantly monitored. Therefore, it was necessary to develop a fast, flexible, future-proof and user-friendly application. Thanks to the OutSystems low-code platform, we (LINKIT, ed.) have realized an advanced customer portal, fully in line with the wishes and requirements of the bank.”
Integration with existing systems
The main foundations of this asset manager’s question were security, integration and manageability. Three parts come together in low-code, says Dion. “OutSystems is known for its extensive encryption and security capabilities. Moreover, the cloud platform lends itself perfectly to seamless integration with existing (custom) systems, guaranteeing continuity and linkability.”
More efficient automation
Programming via OutSystems is mainly done visually, so the customer does not need specific code language knowledge. Omid: “With standard software packages, you are limited in your freedom of movement. OutSystems, on the other hand, is programming as you would expect in 2023: no specific code language, but via drag-and-drop, you logically develop an application with an extremely low margin of error.”
The visual aspect allows bank employees to add rules and validations or change the KYC process. This not only makes financial organizations flexible, it also makes automation much more efficient. Frequent tasks such as collecting customer data, verifying identity documents and conducting risk assessments are automated and human error is minimized.
The result
After a few weeks, the customer application was finally delivered to the customer’s great satisfaction. “Financial institutions are becoming increasingly regulated, which means flexibility is disappearing,” says Dion. “By opting for low-code, organizations are assured of a platform with which they can develop applications at lightning speed and continue to comply with changing national and international laws and regulations.”
“Financial institutions are becoming increasingly regulated, which means flexibility is disappearing.”
Dion Drost
“And that indicates the power and extensive possibilities of OutSystems,” Omid adds. “Developing a custom solution in the short term that is easy to modulate without hardcore code language and integrates seamlessly into the existing software landscape. This way, despite all the regulations, banks, insurers and asset managers retain their flexibility and strengthen their position.”
Expertise at LINKIT
LINKIT is a specialist in the field of low code. Are you curious about how low-code can support your financial organization? We are happy to tell you more about it. Contact one of our low-code professionals for more information.
