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Modulr glossary

AML (Anti-Money Laundering)

Anti-Money Laundering (AML) refers to the regulatory framework and compliance processes designed to prevent the movement of illicit funds through financial systems. To mitigate financial crime risks, financial institutions must implement stringent KYC (Know Your Customer) checks, transaction monitoring and suspicious activity reporting. Regulators, including the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the UK, mandate AML policies to ensure transparency and accountability.

Applications

E-commerce:

Reduces fraud in online card payments by verifying the cardholder's identity

Banking and fintech:

Helps issuers and payment providers comply with Strong Customer Authentication (SCA) requirements.

Advantages

  • Enhanced security: Reduces unauthorised transactions by verifying that the genuine account holder is authorising the payment
  • Fraud prevention: Helps reduce chargebacks related to fraud.

Challenges

  • User Experience: Additional authentication steps can cause friction and increase checkout abandonment
  • Implementation complexity: Requires integration with card schemes and issuer systems.

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