Onboarding and compliance
for regulated companies and developers
Onboarding and compliance
for regulated companies and developers
Onboarding and compliance
for regulated companies and developers
The German Money Laundering Act (GwG) requires a growing number of companies and entrepreneurs operating in Germany to play an active role in preventing money laundering. This is intended to prevent illegal money flows from entering the economic cycle. Explicity means this: Those obligated under the GwG must research the so-called beneficial owners, verify the identity of customers, and retain their data.
The KYC(Know Your Customer) or KYB (Know your Business) is part of the general due diligence obligations that are regulated for obliged entities in Section 10 GwG and the following. The customer must be identified and this data must then be verified.
That sounds harsh, but it is a fact. Violations of the Money Laundering Act are punishable as an administrative offense and punishable by a fines of up to one million euros. is punishable. Some people may now wave off the idea that, as is so often the case, this only affects large companies and can therefore be seen as media sabre-rattling. However, this is no longer the case. Individual professionals such as lawyers, notaries and tax consultants are now regularly audited. Even simple violations are punishable by a fines of up to 150,000 euros can be expected. In practice, it is not uncommon for the fine to be twice the economic benefit derived from the infringement.
When handling data, companies and self-employed persons are each responsible for processing it and must ensure that it is stored in an appropriate and secure manner.
Extensive documentation obligations are intended to ensure this. The records serve as proof to the data protection supervisory authority, in the event of judicial control proceedings and, under certain circumstances, for subsequent information to data subjects.
Successful implementation of this obligation prevents penalties and requires a well-functioning data protection management system. Those responsible must assess which documentation obligations they have to observe and introduce processes to ensure compliance. This is not done with a few lines of text and references within the existing CRM, the customer file or an Excel list - at least not in compliance with the law. You should be aware of this in order to avoid unpleasant and potentially costly surprises.
A lack of compliance can actually cost you a lot.
In contrast, it's cheaper to be compliant and largely covered while saving a lot on administrative costs. Before we go into this in more detail, we would like to briefly address a fundamental question:
With the law implementing the fifth EU Money Laundering Directive, which came into force in January 2020, the circle of obligated parties has expanded significantly.
Since then, this has also included, among others: Lawyers, tax consultants and notaries, real estate agents, banks and payment service providers, gold and precious metal dealers, auditors, insurers, auction houses, art dealers and warehousemen, commercial traders of goods, real estate agents, organizers and brokers of games of chance are now also included in this group and must comply with stricter due diligence and reporting requirements in their business transactions.
In doing so, the above-mentioned must generally, continuously and actively monitor whether there are any indications of money laundering among their customers or business partners.
Many of the obligated parties are of course well aware of the topic and also of the possibilities and tools to be compliant with AMLA and KYC. In practice, however, it is self-explanatory that day-to-day business has a higher priority and the bureaucratic effort is a major burden for companies and entrepreneurs. The "confusion" in the cooperation with the various parties involved generates further risks for gaps in compliance and performance.
It is all too easy for something to be overlooked or simply get lost in the crowd. Small carelessnesses that can be costly.
Software for KYC processes helps to minimize financial risk. Damage to the company caused by corruption, money laundering and terrorist financing is averted.
Collaboration between all parties involved is not only more efficient, but also more secure thanks to a suitable collaboration platform, thus generating maximum conformity.
As a result, your own reputation can be enhanced, loss of image and trust can be avoided, even a significant cost savings is achieved.
While there are already isolated software solutions with various approaches, a reliable, easy-to-use and secure end-to-end solution is still lacking.
This is exactly where BetterCo comes in. As an intuitive KYC and trust platform for all stakeholders, BetterCo offers companies and KYC-obligated advisors a centralized solution. This single-source-of-trust platform offers legal compliance and a digital customer experience at the same time. BetterCo is a directly usable solution that does not require any implementation or IT effort (costs).
Book a free product demo and find out how BetterCo realizes a clear, common and consistent vision for regulated companies and all stakeholders. And on top of that, measurably reduce effort, time and costs.
Start with mandates in hours instead of weeks and relieve staff
Experience 5x faster customer due diligence
Efficient risk management thanks to automated compliance checks and customizable risk models
Verify the identity of your clients in minutes & sign digitally
Protect your company with continuous monitoring
First-class collaboration and digital housekeeping with clients & customers
Integrate BetterCo seamlessly into your system and offer your customers an exceptional customer experience throughout the entire customer lifecycle.
