UOB has co-developed an artificial intelligence (AI) powered anti-money laundering (AML) solution with Singaporean regtech company Tookitaki after more than two years of rigorous validation and evaluation.
The solution is said to be highly accurate in identifying suspicious transactions and connected parties as it combats the increased sophistication in financial crime.
UOB claims to be the first Singapore bank to apply AI concurrently to two anti-money laundering (AML) risk dimensions namely transaction monitoring and name screening.
UOB’s use of AI enables it to pinpoint higher-priority cases from the more-than-5,700 average monthly suspicious transaction alerts flagged and to deploy the necessary resources swiftly to investigate potential money laundering attempts.
Through the solution, UOB can spot more sophisticated transaction patterns and is more effective at connecting data points with entities using the financial system.
Once the AI solution flags suspicious activity, UOB’s compliance officers step in to conduct in-depth investigations into those transactions and to submit reports to the authorities in the shortest possible time, increasing the chances of halting criminal activity.
UOB is using the AI solution to screen all customers and transactions involving Singapore-based UOB accounts and is expanding the solution to cover all UOB accounts globally.
Mr Victor Ngo, Head of Group Compliance, UOB, said,
Victor Ngo
“At UOB, we made early investments in artificial intelligence and began our AML proof of concept two years ago. Our AI solution works concurrently on two AML risk dimensions, which is technically more difficult, but also more fruitful as it helps us to pinpoint criminals trying to pose as customers. UOB will continue to invest in advanced technology to strengthen our AML system to deal with emerging risks.”
Since its implementation, UOB’s new AI solution reportedly has proven an overall true positive prediction rate of 96 percent in the high priority category.
UOB’s initiative is built on the back of the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s strong encouragement for financial institutions to leverage technology to combat money laundering and terrorist financing risks.
Mr Abhishek Chatterjee, Founder and CEO of Tookitaki, said,
Abhishek Chatterjee
“Going live with UOB is a testament to our ability to develop and to harness the benefits of new-edge technologies such as machine learning to mitigate real-world problems of money laundering. We were able to showcase the stability of our AI models over time and in dynamic situations, while explaining the decision-making process of the models in a comprehensive yet simple manner through our patent-pending Explainable AI framework.”
Tookitaki is a graduate of The FinLab’s second accelerator programme in 2017. Through The FinLab, UOB provides guidance, resources and mentorship to startups as well as small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to help them grow their businesses and expand into new markets. UOB also explores collaborations with these startups and SMEs for the its innovation drive.
