Top 10 Anti Money Laundering (AML) Software & Tools 2024

List of AML Software and Tools

• SEON
• Acuris Risk Intelligence
• ComplyAdvantage
• Dow Jones Risk & Compliance
• GBG
• Napier
• LSEG Risk Intelligence World-Check
• Oracle
• NICE Actimize
• AMLCheck

Top Features for AML Software

You need AML software that ensures security, compliance and a seamless user experience at every step of the customer journey. Here’s how AML software plays a crucial role throughout the customer lifecycle:

1. Customer Onboarding: The first step of the customer’s journey is the foundation for a secure and transparent relationship. Certain regulations require checking if you’re allowed to do business with the onboarding user. A key part of this is understanding the regulatory requirements for your business and the AML screening lists you need to check new customers against, such as PEPs, sanctions and financial crime watchlists.
2. Ongoing Due Diligence: As the relationship progresses, continuous due diligence becomes a cornerstone of AML efforts. This is not about invasive scrutiny but about maintaining a secure environment for all customers. Building an AML risk strategy tailored to your business and customers is key for AML risk identification. Software equipped with the ability to create custom rules and automate checks is key for unlocking an effective AML program that reduces false negatives.
3. Complete Transaction Monitoring: Transaction monitoring is a critical component of AML strategies. However, monitoring for high transaction amounts is not always enough. Combining AML transaction monitoring with other digital signals and data points can provide a more comprehensive picture of your customers and make more informed decisions.  
4. Robust Feedback Loops: The key to unlocking an effective AML program is robust feedback loops that drive ongoing improvements. Machine learning technology is essential to ensure enhanced performance, catching trends and patterns that the human eye can’t see. However, these algorithms also require sufficient transparency to ensure alerts appropriately identify suspicious activity.

The Best Anti Money Laundering (AML) Software & Tools

Disclaimer: Everything you’ll read in this article was gleaned from online research, including user reviews. We did not have time to manually test every tool. This article was last updated in Q1 2024. Please feel free to contact us to request an update/correction.

SEON

Imagine having all your AML and fraud prevention data in one place. With SEON, you can screen for PEPs, sanctions, adverse media, RCAs, and SIEs/SIPs, and combine this with digital profiling and device fingerprinting data from customer onboarding. SEON enables accurate validation of customer identities and intentions on the same platform with a single API call. This approach reduces false positives and streamlines manual review time for risk and compliance teams.

Here’s what makes SEON one of the most trusted AML and anti-fraud solutions on the market and a top-tier solution on G2. 

• All the data you need in one platform, increasing cross-collaboration among risk and fraud teams and reducing time spent on manual reviews.
• Customizable rules tailored to your risk tolerance enable you to tailor AML screening to specific regulatory requirements and increase AML detection accuracy for screening and transaction monitoring.
• Transparent AI-driven insights help you uncover patterns unrecognizable to the human eye and understand the rationale for the detection.
• Direct-to-source AML intelligence means you get the most accurate, up-to-date information without the added markups other providers may charge because they resell data from another provider.

Here’s a summary of what SEON offers:

• AML screening for PEPs, sanctions, crime lists, watchlists and adverse media in real time 
• AML transaction monitoring in real-time to catch incoming and outgoing payments and monitor specific users for a one-time annual fee
• Online platform combining AML screening and transaction monitoring, digital footprint analysis and device intelligence data all in one place to combat money laundering and fraud
• Customer support providing guidance to help you set up your AML tool, tailored to your business and has a responsive customer success team to assist with any questions that you may have

With its comprehensive and customizable risk and fraud platform, SEON empowers risk and fraud teams to turn AML checks into their new competitive edge. 

Acuris Risk Intelligence

Acuris Risk Intelligence is an AML platform that brings together intelligence for anti-money laundering, anti-corruption and cybersecurity.  Their online portal KYC6 provides compliance teams with the ability to manually search for individuals, through a batch update or API calls.

Despite their AML offerings, the platform does not have a proper graphical user interface, which might hinder the user experience for risk and compliance teams. And while it’s known for cost-effective access to AML screening data, some users experience more false positives than they’d like to see. 

ComplyAdvantage

ComplyAdvantage offers a suite of information for AML and risk management teams. The core of ComplyAdvantage is to make compliance less painful. The company was born out of the frustration of integrating legacy AML software, so it makes sense that they have built a RESTful API integration. We should note that one of the company’s founders, Charles Delingpole, joined SEON’s Series A round.

Dow Jones Risk & Compliance

Dow Jones is a legacy AML software provider offering comprehensive sanctions data coverage. They have a consulting arm that helps risk and compliance teams manage their AML programs to ensure compliance with regulations. You can also screen for incoming and outgoing payments and transactions in real time. 

Despite Dow Jones Risk & Compliance’s offerings, it has some drawbacks. One of them is the integration requirements are through a third-party vendor which can lead to higher costs, making it better suited for larger organizations. While Dow Jones offers comprehensive AML data, some users have also noted that the platform yields more false positives than they had hoped and requires extensive resources to ensure optimal utilization.

GBG

GBG is another established provider of AML data specializing in digital identity. They have been established for over three decades and first started out providing address management services to provide an alternative to postcode and address information.  

While GBG is known for its data, it leverages data providers for proprietary information and does not openly disclose the data providers they work with. This could make access to information such as its AML screening data more costly and at risk for timely updates. 

Napier

Founded in 2018 and headquartered in London, Napier is described by Crunchbase as “a new breed of financial crime compliance technology specialist.” The company has also secured investment from Crestline Investors.

LSEG Risk Intelligence World-Check

LSEG World-Check, formerly known as Refinitiv World-Check, provides AML data, a database and a data file to help risk and compliance teams adhere to regulations. As a legacy provider of AML solutions, their team is spread across the globe, serving a wide swath of markets.  

Despite their extensive data coverage, LSEG Risk Intelligence World-Check might not be the best fit for all organizations. Access to data screening requires an add-on with World-Check One, and if you need customer or payments screening, you’d need to add on Data File, a third-party workflow solution. This can be costly for smaller organizations who may not have the necessary resources to get full use of their offering. While users report global risk data is timely and up-to-date, some users report that name matches are off and result in too many false positives.  

Oracle

Crunchbase describes Oracle as a leading provider of integrated cloud applications and platform services, delivering a wide range of enterprise IT solutions designed to meet diverse business needs. Since its founding in 1977, Oracle has grown into a major player in the technology sector, renowned for its comprehensive software and hardware offerings.

NICE Actimize

NICE Actimize, according to Crunchbase, provides solutions for anti-money laundering, real-time fraud prevention, enterprise investigations, and risk management. Operating in over 30 countries globally, the company has a broad international presence. Their advanced technologies are widely used across various industries to ensure compliance and mitigate risks effectively.

AMLCheck: Spanish Market Expert

AMLCheck is a Madrid-based company specializing in manual and automatic checks of user data against sanctions and PEP lists. The lists are provided by its key partner, Dow Jones Risk and Compliance, and are updated regularly. You can also check against other public lists and any private list you have access to.

What AML Checks Should You Perform?

AML compliance requires diligent monitoring through several key checks, each crucial for identifying potential risks and ensuring regulatory adherence:

• Politically Exposed Persons (PEP) checks identify individuals who have held or currently hold significant public roles, such as politicians, ambassadors or diplomats. The essence of PEP monitoring lies in its ability to safeguard organizations from inadvertently facilitating corrupt activities. The definition of a PEP may change from country to country.
• Sanction lists screen for entities and individuals listed on international, government and regulator sanctions lists (sometimes known as watchlist checks), which help prevent the financial system from being used as a conduit for activities that could lead to regulatory repercussions.
• Adverse media searches for negative news coverage and provides an early warning system for potential risks that have yet to be reflected in sanctions lists.  
• Special Interest Person (SIP) or Special Interest Entity (SIE) checks individuals or entities for current or historical financial crimes, usually logged on government blacklists. 
• Relatives and close associates (RCA) investigate those closely linked to PEPs to enable a thorough risk assessment, as the social networks surrounding PEPs can also be channels for money laundering. 
• Transaction monitoring looks for signs of money laundering or terrorism financing by detecting high-value, illicit financial flows. 

How to Find the Best AML Software

When exploring the best AML software for your organization, navigating the myriad options with a clear strategy is essential. The right software can significantly enhance your compliance efforts, mitigate risks, and streamline operations. Here’s how to find the best AML software tailored to your needs:

• Understand your specific requirements: Assess your organization’s risk based on your business, customer base, and location. Identify applicable regulations and ensure the software integrates well with your existing systems for seamless operation.
• Check for reliability and support: Research the vendor’s track record in the industry. Focus on reliability, customer service and updates to keep pace with evolving regulations.
• Consider cost and ROI: Understand the pricing model and ensure it aligns with your budget and usage expectations while evaluating how the software can save time, reduce compliance costs and prevent potential fines by enhancing your AML processes.
• Request demos and trials: Request a comprehensive demo to see the software in action, focusing on ease of use and how it meets your specific needs. If available, take advantage of free trials to test it out in your environment for valuable insights into its suitability.
• Gather feedback and reviews: Consult with industry peers to gather insights on their experiences with AML software and look for unbiased reviews and comparisons online to get a broader perspective on its performance and reliability.

Finding the best AML software involves a careful assessment of your needs, thorough research into available options and an evaluation of the features and benefits. By following these steps, you can select an AML solution that complies with regulatory requirements and aligns with your operational needs and strategic goals.

Frequently Asked Questions