Basics of KYC & Client Interaction

At first it might seem strange that this subject needs explaining. Cause how easy can it be, you are investigating a client or need (basic) information and you pick up the phone or send an email to your client. There, you are connected. However, practice teaches us that is not that simple. Cause why and when do you start interacting with your client, is your institution already interacting with this client on a different subject and an another fundamental question: how do you want to interact with you client?

KYC client interaction can take many different forms, depending on the nature of the business and the KYC requirements. In general, the KYC process involves collecting information from the client, verifying that information, and then using that information to assess the client’s risk level. This can involve the following steps:

1. Collection of information: The business will typically collect information from the client using a variety of methods, such as a paper form, an online form, or an in-person interview. The information collected may include the client’s name, address, date of birth, government-issued identification, and other relevant information.
2. Verification of information: Once the information is collected, the business will need to verify that it is accurate and up-to-date. This may involve checking the client’s identification against a government database or other reliable sources.
3. Assessment of risk: After the information has been collected and verified, the business will use it to assess the client’s risk level. This may involve looking at factors such as the client’s financial history, their country of origin, or their occupation.
4. Ongoing monitoring: Once the client has been onboarded, the business will need to monitor their activity to ensure that they continue to meet the KYC requirements. This may involve reviewing transactions, conducting periodic reviews, and updating client information as needed.

If any of the information is missing, your organization will be in default and you will either get fined or you have to (try) let go our your customers. It can become very messy, very quickly and before you know it you will have to send escalation letters to your customers, who might not even know that they should provide you with something. Many institution have a client interaction strategy for their commercial services, but when it comes to KYC more often than not they don’t have KYC incorporated in their Client Interaction Strategy. Consequence: a poor client experience, conversion rates and an ineffective Perpectual KYC framework. Resulting in, less effective risk detection, increasing operational costs and a low appreciation of the institution which your client will tell all their family, friends and business partners about.

Matching your customer with your organization

So where to start with formulating a KYC Client interaction strategy? A couple of quick questions that can help you along the way

• What are the available communication channels of your institution?
• What is the preferable channel for you and is it for your customers?
• Do all customers have access to all these of channels or is there a split?
• Are there specific groups that face problems with your target architure?
• Are there specific groups that have special needs or provide for different requirements?
• Will you have a self-service component that will enable customers to fulfill basic (administrative) tasks?
• How will your employee be involved?
• Is there a treatment procedure necessary if customers do not respond?

Instead of inventing the wheel all over again, how does your institution currently handle this regarding commercial services and how can KYC related interaction be incorporated in this way of working. We know the wheel, so if you don’t mind some good advice, we can help you with this!

Next level KYC processes 

When you have figured out what need your organization has for a client interaction and how (channel) you want your specific subject to play into your total customer service strategy you need to think of the bigger picture. Is it truly a sole intraction or does the interaction need to be orchestrated within the total of interactions. Are you already interacting with your client? And does that task need te be handled before handling this next task, or is it the other way around and do you need to ‘intervene’. You might have other enagements out already like a new marketing campaign for mortgages. How can you make it into one client journey instead of separated journeys that have similar steps and result en re-doing steps, an annoyed client and low conversion rates (I have unsubscribed three times by now, why is this company still harassing me; deletes mail without reading). Finally what will be the tone of voice that you will use and does this match the tone of voice of your institution and commercial services. And if this tone is different due to the subject it can be experienced as harsh. How do get your customer to understand that what are asking is a necessity and make it an experience that benefits both you. 

Its less easy than you thought right? How to  build that client interaction eco-system that enables operational excellences, fueling your perpetual KYC framework whilst creating a customer with a smile on its face?

Would you like to know more about Client Interaction strategies and how it can help you fulfil your AML duty? Contact us through the options on this website or directlty through silven@coduce.nl

Interested to see what we can do? Check out or services pages or read our other blogs