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Compliance by country

United Kingdom Compliance Guide

Meet the standards set by the FCA, JMLSG Guidance, and HM Treasury for AML/CTF controls across UK-regulated businesses. AutoKYC provides tailored workflows for e-money, challenger banks, payments firms, and crypto asset service providers operating under the UK regulatory perimeter.

Regulatory framework

  • Money Laundering Regulations 2017 (as amended): Sets risk-based controls for KYC, KYB, and ongoing monitoring.
  • FCA SYSC & CONC: Governance, outsourcing, and consumer protection requirements for authorised firms.
  • JMLSG Guidance Part I & II: Practical interpretation of regulatory expectations for specific sectors (banks, EMIs, PSPs).
  • Cryptoasset AML regime: HMRC supervision with FCA rule references for travel rule compliance.

Risk assessment & onboarding

The FCA expects firms to document risk appetite, risk factors, and control design. AutoKYC workflows map these factors into configurable rules you can evidence to supervisors.

Individual onboarding
Support for UK passports, driving licences, BRP cards, and Home Office share codes. Liveness options include biometric facial capture and NFC chip reads for e-passports.
Business onboarding
Automated Companies House lookups with PSC (Persons of Significant Control) extraction. Identify UBOs to 25% (10% configurable) and collect supporting documents for corporate account opening packs.
Risk engine configuration
Pre-defined rules for FCA high-risk geographies, cash-intensive sectors, and politically exposed persons. Custom scoring feeds the AutoKYC escalation queue, ensuring dual approval for risky cases.

Ongoing monitoring

UK regulations demand continuous oversight, enhanced due diligence for politically exposed persons, and prompt suspicious activity reporting.

  • Daily sanctions and PEP screening against OFSI, HMT consolidated list, and UK-specific law enforcement lists.
  • Case notes, analyst comments, and review timestamps captured for FCA supervisory visits.
  • Automated triggers for source-of-funds/source-of-wealth refresh when large transaction anomalies are detected.
  • Pre-built SAR template mapping to the UKFIU portal with narrative prompts aligned to NCA best practices.

FCA reporting & governance

Demonstrate effective governance, outsourcing oversight, and operational resilience to satisfy SYSC obligations.

  • Board-ready MI dashboards covering onboarding volumes, EDD rates, and case resolution times.
  • Annual control attestations with evidence for independent audits or FCA s166 skilled person reviews.
  • Outsourcing register capturing AutoKYC’s role as a critical supplier with exit/transition plans.

How AutoKYC helps

  • UK-specific onboarding templates covering EMIs, challenger banks, and crypto asset firms supervised by the FCA.
  • Managed Services analysts certified in AML/CTF (ICA/ACAMS) with experience handling FCA and HMRC audits.
  • Configuration packs for travel rule compliance and reporting to the UKFIU.
  • Privacy tooling supporting UK GDPR, including Data Processing Addendum with UK Addendum and SCCs.

Speak with our UK compliance team: book a session.