Secure Trust Bank has chosen Callcredit Information Group to give them customized client acquisition and verification services to aid its growth. The bank has decided to utilize the services of Callcredit's Bristol-based contact center to handle an outbound telesales campaign meant for potential customers. The FSA-accredited contact center will have the responsibility of achieving sales in a fixed timescale.

Paul Lynam, CEO of Secure Trust Bank said, "We are excited to be working with Callcredit to support our customer acquisition and verification processes. Although we have an experienced in-house team to manage inbound calls, we needed a partner who could deliver a successful outbound campaign while maintaining excellent service for our customers and adhering to FSA regulations, and we're delighted that Callcredit offers the services and quality that we were looking for. With the verification software, there is nothing that should be more important to any bank than safeguarding customers by consistently applying the highest possible standards of vigilance and professional disciplines to its operations."

Apart from this, Secure Trust has also signed up to utilize Callcredit's bespoke identification and verification software, CallValidate, to ascertain the identity of new customers and adhere to strict anti-money laundering (AML) requirements. With Callcredit's intelligent system, applications from the bank's customers will be processed in real-time, and a confident pass / fail decision will be given based on the data drawn from UK records, which also include court judgments, insolvency data and the electoral register.

One of the legislative requirements mandatory for the banking sector is the creation of a risk based approach to AML which is in line with Joint Money Laundering Steering Group (JMLSG) guidelines. This software allows for a simultaneous review of a variety of databases, ensuring that high verification rates are managed and there is a reduction in the costs and time involved in validation of identities.

John Cannon, Head of Product Strategy, Financial Crime, at Callcredit, said, "Meeting AML regulatory requirements presents a number of challenges to UK banks in ensuring that their customer's identity can be adequately verified. We are delighted that Secure Trust Bank has chosen to work with Callcredit in using CallValidate to develop a risk based approach in line with JMLSG guidelines."