ARE YOU READY?
Equifax helps businesses comply with the 3rd Money Laundering Directive
London 1st November 2007 – The 3rd Money Laundering Directive comes into force on the 15th December 2007 and Equifax is urging businesses to make sure they’re ready for the change. The new Directive requires FSA regulated organisations to carry out checks to verify the identity of all business clients, irrespective of the time that they have been dealing with them. As a leading anti-money laundering service provider, Equifax recognises the challenges compliance creates and has developed a number of cost effective solutions to help businesses check and monitor their clients quickly and easily.
“Companies that fail to comply with the new regulations face substantial fines, loss of reputation and, potentially, a prison sentence,” explains Neil Munroe, External Affairs Director for Equifax. “Businesses need to act now to ensure they are ready and that they have systems and processes in place to ensure on-going compliance – without impacting on day to day business. Those that aren’t prepared stand to risk the future success of their business.”
Equifax’s AML Solutions provide businesses with some simple ways to avoid the penalties of non-compliance. Available online and benefiting from extensive business and consumer databases, Equifax’s AML Solutions allow businesses to verify the identity of new clients quickly and effectively and without jeopardising standards of customer service. In addition, monitoring services can alert to changes within a client’s business such as company name, shareholding and board members, ensuring information held is up-to-date and accurate.
Munroe concludes: “With more than just financial loss at stake, businesses can no longer stick their heads in the sand. Anti-money laundering solutions can help organisations reduce the cost of compliance by providing automated systems and processes designed to meet the specific needs of their business. Failure to comply will mean much more than a slap on the wrist, so now is the time to act.”
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For further press information please contact: Claire Foster or Wendy Harrison at HSL on 020 8977 9132 / Fax: 020 8977 5200 or Email: claire@harrisonsadler.com
About Equifax
Equifax empowers businesses and consumers with information they can trust. A global leader in information solutions, we leverage one of the largest sources of consumer and commercial data, along with advanced analytics and proprietary technology, to create customised insights that enrich both the performance of businesses and the lives of consumers.
Customers have trusted Equifax for over 100 years to deliver innovative solutions with the highest integrity and reliability. Businesses – large and small – rely on us for consumer and business credit intelligence, portfolio management, fraud detection, decisioning technology, marketing tools, and much more. We empower individual consumers to manage their personal credit information, protect their identity and maximise their financial well-being.
Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, Equifax Inc. employs approximately 5,000 people in 14 countries throughout North America, Latin America and Europe. Equifax is a member of Standard & Poor’s (S&P) 500® Index. Our common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol EFX.
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