In recent years, a Pandora’s Box of decentralised data has been opened, releasing a tsunami of financial solutions all promising to make life easier for clients.
This is creating a range of difficulties for legal firms who are under increasing pressure to gather more client information to confirm they really are who they say they are, writes Tom Lyes.
In the digital age, the number of data sources that clients accumulate is growing,
These rage from different bank accounts, multiple incomes, loans, mortgages and even crypto. With personal data and identification, these data sources continue to grow by the day, and as the number of data sources rises, so does the requirement for more complex checks.
This resulting flood of data means that firms are finding it hard to effectively complete checks. Firms can easily get lost in a web of information, putting them at risk of reputational and financial damage -for example a high-profile legal firm recently had to pay £232, 000 for several breaches relating to AML checks.
Our economy is no longer trust-based. It is now proof-based, and the increasing pressure that regulators are placing on firms to know more about their customers and complete compliance checks only adds to the importance that is placed on data collection.
It is also leading to more complex and longer forms. At the same time, clients no longer want long-winded manual forms – they expect a simple, digital experience.
The Box is Open (Banking)
Open Banking is the key that can unlock ‘hope’ from this Pandora’s Box
At the top level, Open Banking provides a standard and secure method to connect firms with banks to enable sharing of data and access to banks services, providing greater financial transparency and simplifying the lives of firms and clients.
It ensures that data is shared safely and securely and puts the client in control, achieving its full potential by incorporating additional personal information.
With this, firms can rest easy that admin, compliance and reputation are being managed. That it also saves time, drives workplace productivity, creates better client experiences and frees up investment for value-added activities is a huge bonus.
Every day, legal firms are buried under huge volumes of paperwork, making it impossible to track the truth and putting their reputation at risk. With Open Banking, a form free future can become a reality.
Tom Lyes is Head of Legal and Property at Armalytix.