Summary
The global spend on financial crime compliance at financial institutions reached US$213.9bn in 2021, an increase of nearly 16% on the previous year. The cost pressure that organizations face, along with other competing priorities, has meant that firms have not always prioritized investment in financial crime unless something has gone wrong.
Traditionally, organizations perform KYC checks at onboarding, classifying clients into categories of risk – high, medium, low. Thereafter, client information is typically refreshed periodically, following a one, three, or five-year cycle. In contrast, perpetual KYC is the practice of maintaining accurate client data, through updates based on changes in clients’ behaviors and circumstances in near real-time. In contrast to cycles of remediation, perpetual KYC is a continuum.
In this guide we explore how organizations can pave the path to perpetual KYC.