ComplyAdvantage announced the launch of ComplyLaunch, a free AML program for fintech startups, in the U.S. and Canada to bring better access to financial services.
ComplyAdvantage is an international anti-money laundering, crimefighting platform used by the likes of Affirm and Gemini.
The new platform gives startups free access to the suite of security options: what would typically amount to hundreds of thousands of hours of in-house compliance work, CEO and Founder Charles Delingpole said.
“I know as a founder, the pain of launching a fintech lending company. When I founded MarketFinance that was a problem,” Delingpole said.
“You want to grow the company but you can’t because you have to deal with compliance; we’ve basically taken that burden away. “
On his third startup, Delingpole has built a platform that aims to give companies omnipotence over financial criminals.
Over 350 employees strong and growing by the month, the founder said offering free access to startups is just a step in faze one, with the end goal of offering firms complete control over financial data.
The ComplyLaunch program has already seen widespread use in Europe. Just under 100 startups and fintechs have used the platform, including fresh ideas like Monet Money, a soon-to-launch content creator banking service founded by Instagram Influencer Jacob Casson. Project head Kanisha Patel said that expanding the launch program into the western hemisphere will help more unique startups grow by optimizing day one.
“We have just under 100 who have joined the program: We don’t have favorites, we’ve seen some really cool products coming out,” Patel said. “One is financing farmers across regions like Lebanon.”
“We’re providing a lot of help to make sure they are optimized from day one, so they’re set up for success so they can mitigate risk, but also be operationally effective. We have so much knowledge from all the companies that are in hyper-growth mode, so the Affirms of the world, the early buy now, pay later companies that are coming on board: helping them set up optimally so that they can grow.”
ComplyAdvantage, along with tracking regulatory compliance rules in more than 75 countries, also features a real-time database of criminals and terrorist organizations. Tens of thousands of risk events are monitored every day, checked automatically against customer data from more than 500 enterprises. Delingpole said it takes an annual $50 million investment to run the project, all in the name of giving financial customers outsized security.
Earlier this year, ComplyAdvantage raised $20 million in a Series C funding round.
In the age of emerging cryptocurrency and fintech regulation, many firms’ chief concerns are unintentional ties to laundering, corruption, and terrorism. Being on top of financial crime means being on top of research: Comply releases bi-annual financial crime whitepapers for their customers to stay up to date.
In ComplyAdvantages mid-year State of Finacial Crimes paper, they found 2021 has been a pivotal year for fintech, cryptocurrency, and virtual assets.
As mentioned in the ComplyAdvantage press release, KPMG’s Pulse of Fintech report on fintech found that overall global fintech funding soared to a new high in the past year. The industry saw funding increasing from $87.1 billion in H2’20 to $98 billion in H1’21 with the U.S. accounting for almost half of the total global investment in fintech – a whopping $42.1 billion. And, as of February 2021, the U.S. had 10,605 fintech startups making it the region with the most fintech startups globally.
To apply, applicants must meet the following criteria:
- Less than $1M in annual revenue
- Pre-seed – Seed stage
- A company website or web profile
- Less than 10 years old
“It’s amazing to see all the incredible fintech’s that have signed up to our program,” Delingpole, said. “Not only is ComplyLaunch good for all the great companies that are participating but, it’s also great for our ecosystem. How a company addresses risk management is becoming a growing factor for everything from investment to partnerships.
We want our fellow startups to be successful and that’s why we continue to make our AML tools and training free.”
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