The UK provider of digital compliance solutions’ figures have been revealed in a comprehensive new survey of compliance decision-makers in high-street and challenger banks, crypto platforms, property developers, and gambling firms.

Despite being targeted by criminals many challenger banks also admit to continuing to rely on flawed manual checks to verify customers.
Two fifths said they verified new individual and business clients manually, wrongly believing that taking copies of official documents like passports or driving licences provided evidence that customers were genuine.

SmartSearch’s survey of 500 decision-makers also showed that more than a quarter of high-street banks saw an increase in the number of SARs submitted.

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This number has doubled in the last five years and the National Crime Association has estimated that it will hit a million for the first time this year.

Martin Cheek, MD at SmartSearch (pictured above), commented: “These figures are concerning because they show that there is no abatement in criminal attempts to wash dirty money through the UK economy [and] suspicious activity is clearly increasing.

“But that concern is compounded by the number of firms who also admit to a continued reliance on manual checks to onboard new customers.

“If these sectors are seeing a rise in suspicious activity, then their customer verification and anti-money laundering procedures should be as robust as possible, but our survey shows they are not.

“These firms should be investing in a digital compliance solution to limit the risk of breaching compliance rules and having to deal with the considerable fines and reputational damage that accompany such a breach.”