Source: iFinancial
International Financial Systems (iFinancial), the London-based author of financial software solutions, announces the Universal Payments Hub (UMH) as a replacement for its existing SWIFT Message Screening service that currently forms an integral part of its anti-money laundering solution, AMLtrac.
Managing Director Matthew Day says “Whereas the existing message screening service only screens and quarantines SWIFT FIN messages for sanctioned entities, individuals, countries, regions, and BIC, the new service does all of that plus a whole lot more. With the introduction of the new SWIFT MX message format, we knew we were going to have to make changes to the existing software, so rather than just do the bare minimum we decided to create an entirely new solution that would cover all financial messaging formats.
The AMLtrac universal message takes messages in any format, extracts the fields that require screening, and submits them to UMH for screening and validation. Messages with exceptions are written to AMLtrac’s quarantine queue for manual intervention and sign-off in the same way as they are currently done. For the purposes of screening lists, iFinancial is a Dow Jones partner although the software can be configured to work with any third-party or government list such as OFAC.
An additional benefit of UMH is its ability to transform an inbound message into an entirely different format for onward transmission. For example, it is possible to receive a SWIFT FIN MT103 message, screen it, and, if valid, automatically pass it on as a UK Faster Payment.
From a customer perspective, UMH means that all the messages they send or receive irrespective of source can go through one single screening channel, be subject to one set of common procedures, and be transmitted without manual intervention thereby significantly improving efficiency and throughput.
The first releases of UMH are in the field and are proving to be incredibly efficient and popular with our customers. Existing AMLtrac users are automatically upgraded to the new technology for no additional licence fees. We are looking forward to welcoming a whole new range of customers to this exciting platform over the coming months.”
AMLtrac is the product name of an anti-money laundering solution provided by International Financial Systems Ltd and supported worldwide.