Ease into innovative payment products at icba.org/bancard Ease into modern payments with the comfort of ICBA Bancard. High quality, innovative payment products, including mobile card apps. Backup support for your community bank in negotiating with payments providers. Letting your customers sit back and use payment solutions from anywhere. A strong foundation in thought leadership in payments and ongoing personalized support. Questions, Issues and Strategies Involved In Opening Accounts Online By Sharvelle Washington, CAMS, BSA/Compliance Officer, Bankers’ Bank of the West Sharvelle Washington, CAMS, BSA/Compliance Officer, Bankers’ Bank of the West The new era of opening accounts online is here. Over time, more people have been opting to open accounts online instead of in person at a branch, as some of us might be used to. And with online account opening come uncertainties in staying compliant with Bank Secrecy Act requirements. Even though the process of account openings has evolved, the requirements for opening accounts remain the same. This raises a question: How is it possible to verify someone’s identity without that person being present? Of course, there are third-party vendors with solutions that can be integrated into the financial institution’s interface to collect all the data needed to open an account. But before the decision is made to integrate online account openings, it’s important to do a bit of research and resolve some crucial questions. Start by determining your financial institution’s risk tolerance for online account openings. This will hinge, in part, on the products an online applicant could enroll in. Risk tolerance varies from bank to bank and depends on the types of products offered by each institution. Next, conduct comprehensive due diligence on the thirdparty vendors you’re considering. Compare what several companies offer with respect to the data collection process and their methods of verifying the customer. Determine whether the vendor is able to collect scanned or captured photo IDs and a live photo at the time of enrollment, and find out what you’ll be able to provide when an auditor asks for verifying information. Make sure you’ll have easy access to this information. Never ignore red flags or evasiveness on the part of a vendor. If a potential service provider is unable or unwilling to give you satisfactory answers, it’s not the right vendor for your institution. Don’t forget to create a marketing strategy for engaging new customers to open accounts online. Visual appeal is important today: • Showing what the process entails could entice more people to sign up. • Referrals from current customers may also draw in more new customers. Finally, stay positive throughout the entire process. Opening accounts online is still a fairly new advancement in the financial services industry. Everyone is still learning and adjusting to changing times. WWW.NICBONLINE.COM 7
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