FAQ: What factors determine whether a product or service is higher risk?

Applies to: AML Accelerate

Question

What determines whether a product or service is considered high risk?

Why are Stored-Value (Gift) Cards a higher-risk product, but Prepaid Debit Cards are not despite having a similar product description?

Answer

Higher risk products are denoted by a red flag in the Manage Products popup window if the Product Risk Assessment.

Products are marked higher risk if they are known to have been used for money laundering in real cases and/or appear in typologies issued by regulators.

Examples

Stored-Value (Gift) Cards vs Prepaid Debit Cards

While they have very similar descriptions, gift cards can be transferred anonymously whereas debit cards are linked to verified accounts; therefore gift cards are considered high risk while debit cards are not.

Motor Vehicle Loans

These types of loans are an easy way to place laundered money into the system. Any high-value item can be used, and if financing applies, it is less likely to be questioned about where the funds come from.

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FAQ: Where can I see a list of high risk products?