AML/Compliance/KYC professionals come in!

Originally Posted by FATFMember

Adding to what the author has mentioned, the emergence of Regtech will soon transform the way compliance professionals will go about doing BAU. Throwing bodies at compliance function will no longer be the case once banks have dealt with the immediate COVID disruption - fraud investigation and aging backlogs - and start thinking about automation processes.

Thanks for quoting my WOT. I agree - regtech is indeed the way to go.
If it is of any comfort to anyone looking to start in this line, the complete harmonization of regtech and AML ops would be a progressive one, so don't have to worry about having your job being cut away due to automation... yet. But do take note some Banks are in the progress /or have already implemented some degree of automation in these labour-intensive roles. As with most things involving tech, Banks would still require warm bodies (but less) there to examine the cases flagged by these systems.
Some Banks have opted to move the triage assessment of such processes to cheaper locations such as India (or Poland) or wherever they are able to save costs... And again, for the time being, AML ops will not completely 'die out' in SG as most Banks would keep a dedicated team at their major booking centre to handle the higher risks escalations.... otherwise your local CE / compliance head has a lot of explaining to do when it comes to their annual material outsourcing assessment....

Lastly, I just want to add on - Regtech is pretty much absent for small to mid sized banks for now... the adaptation of AI/data science in their BAU often requires the business to reach a certain critical mass... imagine trying to sell this idea to some ikan bilis bank with less than 1000 client accounts at group level...

[FATFMember]

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Thanks for quoting my WOT. I agree - regtech is indeed the way to go.
If it is of any comfort to anyone looking to start in this line, the complete harmonization of regtech and AML ops would be a progressive one, so don't have to worry about having your job being cut away due to automation... yet. But do take note some Banks are in the progress /or have already implemented some degree of automation in these labour-intensive roles. As with most things involving tech, Banks would still require warm bodies (but less) there to examine the cases flagged by these systems.
Some Banks have opted to move the triage assessment of such processes to cheaper locations such as India (or Poland) or wherever they are able to save costs... And again, for the time being, AML ops will not completely 'die out' in SG as most Banks would keep a dedicated team at their major booking centre to handle the higher risks escalations.... otherwise your local CE / compliance head has a lot of explaining to do when it comes to their annual material outsourcing assessment....

Lastly, I just want to add on - Regtech is pretty much absent for small to mid sized banks for now... the adaptation of AI/data science in their BAU often requires the business to reach a certain critical mass... imagine trying to sell this idea to some ikan bilis bank with less than 1000 client accounts at group level...

Glad to have someone in this forum who is shedding real light on the current kyc landscape. In the space of Regtech, one area which can be immediately deployed would be RPA - aggregation data points from various systems and arranging them in an orderly manner. I'm sure you would have also understood the pain of the time taken to just collect documents and still wondering if there could still be missing pieces of crumb lying around

Originally Posted by FATFMember

Glad to have someone in this forum who is shedding real light on the current kyc landscape. In the space of Regtech, one area which can be immediately deployed would be RPA - aggregation data points from various systems and arranging them in an orderly manner. I'm sure you would have also understood the pain of the time taken to just collect documents and still wondering if there could still be missing pieces of crumb lying around

Yes indeed. Not to mention, there are many banks with incomplete/outdated client information in their systems / wherever they are keeping the records at. This exacerbates the problem that you have rightly pointed out in your earlier post...essentially "garbage in, garbage out" - feed incorrect parameters, we'll get incorrect results. This might sound crazy, but it'll be cheaper to maintain physical headcounts to handle this issue than to address the source of the problem (i.e. the systems)...until the business reaches a stage where it will be more cost-efficient to overhaul their systems/processes entirely.

To those who are starting out in this line - be open to learning other things outside of your usual BAU, learn the end-to-end process, the IT parts and etc. Sounds easy but over the years I've seen so many people refuse to step out of their own comfort zone, and these ppl are pretty stuck in a dead-end...that is to say, their future career options are pretty much limited to what they have been doing all the while... it's easy and tempting to go for the highest paying one but don't be baited by the honey trap. And lastly... don't expect your career (i.e. your pay grade) to fly from the start or within the next few years after starting out... let's be real - being in AML/KYC, you are not some superstar that'll bring in the dough for the business...even if you have the necessary skill sets the role is looking for, don't expect superstar's treatment.. no one is irreplaceable... that is my personal take...

[raynerho]

Tried doing a search in this thread but could not find anything useful.

As part of the IBF-STS scheme, I'm required to take the ACAMS Singapore AML Regime Exam as well for the funding. I have since cleared the CAMS and is on track to take the Regime Exam.

However, while doing my study, I am unable to find more information online on this exam.

Would anyone who took this exam provide some insights? Is the test difficult and that questions can be found form the study guide and/or MAS 626, or do we need external resources as well? Is this exam harder than the CAMS? I feel more unprepared for this test compared to the CAMS, although I read the study guide/MAS 626 many times. I'm afraid that I'm overconfident for this compare to CAMS and then fail it.

Thanks!

I’m from MAS AML/CFT. Could I check if this is sought after and what’s the salary like for 5-year experience?

Originally Posted by raynerho

Tried doing a search in this thread but could not find anything useful.

As part of the IBF-STS scheme, I'm required to take the ACAMS Singapore AML Regime Exam as well for the funding. I have since cleared the CAMS and is on track to take the Regime Exam.

However, while doing my study, I am unable to find more information online on this exam.

Would anyone who took this exam provide some insights? Is the test difficult and that questions can be found form the study guide and/or MAS 626, or do we need external resources as well? Is this exam harder than the CAMS? I feel more unprepared for this test compared to the CAMS, although I read the study guide/MAS 626 many times. I'm afraid that I'm overconfident for this compare to CAMS and then fail it.

Thanks!

I took the regime exam. 626 and guidelines was what I encountered. Expect qns from all para of the guidelines, including training, reliance, ewra etc. But there are more qns on case studies involving a mixture of edd/str.

I find the regime exam trickier as there r less qns and some of them are not clearly constructed. But if u are very familiar with the guidelines, You are good to go

Originally Posted by raynerho

Tried doing a search in this thread but could not find anything useful.

As part of the IBF-STS scheme, I'm required to take the ACAMS Singapore AML Regime Exam as well for the funding. I have since cleared the CAMS and is on track to take the Regime Exam.

However, while doing my study, I am unable to find more information online on this exam.

Would anyone who took this exam provide some insights? Is the test difficult and that questions can be found form the study guide and/or MAS 626, or do we need external resources as well? Is this exam harder than the CAMS? I feel more unprepared for this test compared to the CAMS, although I read the study guide/MAS 626 many times. I'm afraid that I'm overconfident for this compare to CAMS and then fail it.

Thanks!

Study the 626 and guidelines and u will be fine. I took the exam. Expect qns from all para of the 626 guidelines, even those which you don’t expect. But main is still on cdd and a few scenarios based qns

Total 25 qns, dunno what is the passing. Tough or not is subjective, I find less room for error and qns r not very clear so to me is slightly tougher

Originally Posted by Unregistered

I’m from MAS AML/CFT. Could I check if this is sought after and what’s the salary like for 5-year experience?

Whats your full title and scope of duties at MAS?

Working in AML/TM for 3 years and looking for a switch.

Current salary 4.5k, and 17 months total salary package. Would it be wise to look for work now in this climate? Have friends from the industry earning more and hoping to jump to bridge the gap

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Working in AML/TM for 3 years and looking for a switch.

Current salary 4.5k, and 17 months total salary package. Would it be wise to look for work now in this climate? Have friends from the industry earning more and hoping to jump to bridge the gap

Honestly, 5 mths bonus is pretty good in this economic climate. 4.5k for 3 years experience seems reasonable too. Have to consider the entire pay package, career progression and not just the monthly salary.