AML responsibilities increase compliance headaches

While the prepaid card industry is under increased pressure from federal law enforcement to step up anti-money laundering (AML) efforts, a survey conducted by Dow Jones & Co.'s Risk & Compliance division and the Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists found that businesses' compliance departments are struggling to fulfill their AML responsibilities due to a lack of training and resources.

Of over 600 compliance and AML staff surveyed worldwide, 55 percent said additional regulations and/or increased enforcement were to be among their key challenges in 2012, according to the ACAMS survey. Furthermore, over 60 percent of survey respondents indicated staffing and training shortfalls would also represent significant challenges.

Another key challenge identified by respondents involved the administrative burdens of AML reporting responsibilities. A third of survey takers said AML screening procedures that result in false positives is a drain on resources.

"The survey highlights the fact that institutions are stretched operationally and struggling with the workload generated by their client screening systems," said Rupert de Ruig, Managing Director of Risk & Compliance at Dow Jones. "A significant proportion of the respondents also reported that they have little confidence in the accuracy of their screening data and said they do not proactively test the accuracy of the information they receive from data providers."

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