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Barley Laing

Barley Laing UK Managing Director at Melissa

Strategies to deliver a standout customer onboarding experience

In an increasingly competitive and congested financial services industry, improving the customer onboarding experience is vital for those serious about growth. With it costing on average five times more to source a new customer than to keep an existing one delivering a great customer experience from the outset, during the onboarding stage, is criti...

/regulation /identity Customer Service 2015-2019-2025

Barley Laing

Barley Laing UK Managing Director at Melissa

Reducing the impact of AI-driven fraud in 2025

Driven by evolving AI technologies deepfake software, automated phishing systems, chatbots and advanced data analytics, are enabling fraudsters to create highly personalised and convincing fraudulent schemes, quickly and easily. This is at a time when fraud and scams are at record levels according to the UK’s Financial Ombudsman Service. They have ...

/ai /identity Artificial Intelligence and Financial Services

Barley Laing

Barley Laing UK Managing Director at Melissa

Prioritise contact data quality for effective fraud prevention

Financial crime remains a big issue with $3.1 trillion of illicit funds flowing through the global financial system in 2023, according to Nasdaq’s 2024 Global Financial Crime Report. It’s no wonder that most in financial services are investing heavily in advanced ID verification technology to protect themselves from fraud and meet increasingly stri...

/identity /crime Digital Identity Management

Barley Laing

Barley Laing UK Managing Director at Melissa

How to prevent AI induced hallucinations

In the financial services sector the transformative power of artificial intelligence (AI) promises to, and in many cases already is, driving real-time business success. From enhancing data-driven insight and productivity, to improving fraud detection and customer experience. However, in the rush to adopt AI many haven’t taken into consideration ho...

/ai /retail Artificial Intelligence

Barley Laing

Barley Laing UK Managing Director at Melissa

The damaging impact of poor quality data in the financial services sector

It has been estimated by MITSloan that the cumulative cost of inaccurate data is 15 to 25 per cent of revenue for most organisations. This is because poor quality data wastes resources, undermines everyday operations and communications – particularly personalised customer communications. It causes inefficiencies in both time and money in the creat...

/regulation /identity Data Management and Governance

Barley Laing

Barley Laing UK Managing Director at Melissa

Why those in financial services must spring clean their customer databases

With the cost of living crisis continuing and slow economic growth forecast for the remainder of the year, these are challenging times for financial institutions looking to drive growth. This makes it vital to ensure account holders continue to receive a standout experience, to prevent customer churn and drive profitability. Equally important is ...

/regulation /identity Data Management and Governance

Barley Laing

Barley Laing UK Managing Director at Melissa

Preventing fraud in a globalised world

As migration increases and globalisation continues at pace, financial institutions around the world are having to review and verify a greater range of identification (ID) documents when onboarding customers than they traditionally would. This is backed up by research from the United Nations (UN) highlighting that nearly four per cent of the world’...

/identity /crime Digital Identity Management

Barley Laing

Barley Laing UK Managing Director at Melissa

The money laundering red flags and how to prevent it in 2024

Supporting criminal activity and risking substantial fines from regulators that also damage their reputation are not things any financial institution aspires to. Yet many are exposing themselves to such risks because they are not doing enough to prevent money laundering. With digitalisation creating new opportunities for money laundering to take p...

/regulation /inclusion Digital Identity Management

Barley Laing

Barley Laing UK Managing Director at Melissa

Delivering effective sanctions screening amid growing FCA concerns

Finextra recently reported that many of those in financial services were found wanting with their sanctions screening efforts by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). After a survey of sanctions controls at 90 firms the FCA uncovered deficiencies across staffing, technology and reporting networks, leading to a lack of adequate resources to ensure...

/regulation /identity Digital Identity Management

Barley Laing

Barley Laing UK Managing Director at Melissa

Time to evolve your approach to know your business (KYB) checks

Fraud, whether by an individual or a business, is on the increase. This is largely due to many banking services being accessible online – a convenience that comes with some risk. To help prevent fraud, as well as to ensure compliance with existing know your customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) regulations; know your business (KYB) and KYC...

/regulation /identity Digital Identity Management

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