Cloud-based remote accounting opening solution aids small businesses in accessing Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans guaranteed by the Small Business Administration (SBA), under the US Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act
New York (April 16, 2020) – Fenergo, the leading provider of digital transformation, customer journey and client lifecycle management (CLM) solutions for financial institutions, today announces the launch of its digital cloud-based Remote Account Opening solution, ahead of schedule, in order to assist US small businesses in accessing PPP emergency loans.
This plug-and-play solution allows US business and commercial banks to digitally onboard new clients, while digitally satisfying Know Your Customer (KYC), Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) requirements, reducing the time to onboard and rapidly process new PPP loan applications.
Small businesses represent 43 percent of the US American economy, yet many are struggling to access much needed PPP loans under the US CARES Act. Financial Institutions across the United States are subject to stringent BSA and KYC requirements and obligations, in order to open and service new business and commercial accounts. These obligations can be complex, time consuming and costly and are currently impeding most financial firms’ ability to offer SBA financing to US small businesses.
“Now is not the time for small businesses across the United States to be struggling to access desperately needed funding. Building on our KYC, AML and BSA heritage and expertise, we were able to rapidly extend our system to accommodate the KYC, AML and screening challenges presented by the PPP loan application process. In these unprecedented times, when physical branches are mostly closed, this new digital-only proposition helps US business and commercial banks with their ability to rapidly onboard new customers and open accounts remotely – and deliver much needed SBA-approved funding”, said James Follette, Global Head Commercial, Business and Retail Banking, Fenergo (New York).
“Many US banks are unable to offer services to new small business customers in a timely manner, due to the complex and challenging nature of BSA rules and obligations. The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has published PPP FAQs, clarifying the obligations when providing loans to new, versus existing, customers. Whilst lenders are not required to re-verify existing customers, they must obtain beneficial ownership information and satisfy BSA requirements for new clients. As a result, many small businesses may be disproportionately impacted as the onboarding process may slow down their access to critical funding. Fenergo’s proposition provides banks with the ability to remotely onboard new business clients and still meet those essential compliance requirements,” said Rachel Woolley, Global AML Manager, Fenergo.
Fenergo’s remote account opening solution is a pre-configured digital-only service that seamlessly integrates with a bank’s existing loan application process. It delivers front to back KYC, AML and BSA rules automation and screening. It transforms compliance and offers:
- Pre-configured automated regulatory rules engine and associated workflows
- Digital, dynamic collection of required data and documents (ID and Verification), and automated screening for AML due diligence processes
- Plug and play account opening and client onboarding functionality with API connectivity to enhance existing digital channels and capitalize on previous investments
- Pre-built PPP/SBA Loan Application Module
Fenergo is the leader in KYC, AML and BSA digitalization and automation. Its unique regulatory heritage and mutualized community approach to compliance allows it to rapidly develop this proposition. Fenergo’s global partnerships with firms such as Salesforce, DXC Technology and AWS allow the company to digitally deliver its systems and services around the world, and to integrate seamlessly into any bank’s eco-system.
For more information about this new solution click here or visit https://go.fenergo.com/LP-Product-NAM-Remote-Account-Opening.html.
About Fenergo
Fenergo is the digital enabler of client and regulatory technology for financial services. It provides digital transformation, client journey and Client Lifecycle Management (CLM) software solutions for Financial Institutions including Corporate & Institutional Banking, Commercial & Retail Banking, Asset Management & Asset Servicing, Private Banking & Wealth Management. Counting 80+ global Financial Institutions as clients, its award-winning CLM suite digitally transforms how Financial Institutions manage clients; from initial onboarding to KYC/AML and regulatory compliance, to data management and ongoing lifecycle KYC reviews and refreshes. Fenergo CLM empowers financial institutions to deliver a faster, compliant and digital customer experience while achieving a single client view across channels, products, business lines and jurisdictions.
Fenergo is quickly becoming the KYC backbone for banks, where a common set of Fenergo KYC services are being leveraged across the bank agnostic of business vertical, product, jurisdiction or client type. This backbone trades increasing complexity for well-designed simplicity.
Fenergo’s community-based approach to product development allows clients to collaborate on solution design on a global scale. Its rules-driven solution ensures compliance with multiple global and local regulatory frameworks including AML, KYC, SFTR, Tax (CRS, FATCA, 871M), OTC Derivatives (EMIR, Dodd-Frank, MiFID II, Margin Requirements) and data privacy rules (GDPR). It supports the collection, centralization and sharing of client and counterparty data and documentation across the institution and deploys an API-first approach to advanced integration with a host of external KYC, AML and entity data providers, KYC and industry utilities. The solution is underpinned by next generation Artificial Intelligence, Robotics Process Automation and Machine Learning technologies, using advanced OCR and NLP capabilities to extract information, expedite compliance and improve operational efficiencies.
