LAB Group, a leading international RegTech and Australia’s best-connected onboarding provider, is pleased to announce its successful completion of a private investment round raising up to AU$6.5 million in growth capital.

The incoming investor, Global Credit Investments (GCI), is a leading provider of specialist private credit and tailor-made financial products. Founded in Sydney in 2015, GCI provides flexible low-dilution funding structures that enable its investee companies to transform their businesses, funds have been used by businesses to help accelerate sales and marketing and to fund international expansion strategies – to name a few. GCI has raised and deployed c.AU$1 billion to date and specialises in empowering outstanding entrepreneurs and management teams looking to transform and scale their high growth businesses.

LAB Group was co-founded in 2010 by CEO Nick Boudrie and CTO Lyndon Webster, who retain majority stakes in the business. Since launch, LAB Group has deployed its technology across Australian and international financial services licensees, as well as businesses in other sectors, whilst establishing offices in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Copenhagen.

Having partnered with some of Australia and the world’s most recognised and respected institutions, LAB Group’s innovative onboarding and compliance platform solves the key governance, risk and compliance challenges that regulated entities face today. GCI’s investment will support LAB Group to accelerate its business and product development activities, providing working capital to fund domestic and international growth opportunities.

Nick Boudrie, CEO and co-founder of LAB Group, said:

“We are delighted to welcome GCI as an investor in LAB Group. The backing of an investor of GCI’s calibre will bring LAB Group the support we need to further strengthen and scale up our team and accelerate our growth strategy. We are particularly pleased to have found a capital investment solution which will help us take our business to its next growth phase while minimising shareholder dilution.

“Completing the GCI facility underlines the strong market position and unique capabilities that LAB Group has developed through 12 years of evolution and innovation. Our platform delivers significant advantages to LAB Group clients, encompassing a dynamic onboarding framework providing end-to-end account opening and digital workflow management, an easy-to-integrate ID verification solution validating AML, KYC, KYB, and PEP Sanctions for all entity types, and a network of global products and jurisdictions that enables the seamless consented movement of consumer profile data.

“We look forward to a fruitful working relationship with GCI which adds value to LAB Group’s customers, integration partners, staff and investors.”

Gavin Solsky, Managing Director & Co-Founder, from GCI, said:

“We are excited to announce our partnership with LAB Group as they embark on their exciting growth journey. LAB Group embodies all the qualities we seek in an emerging high-growth company, from a proven product-market fit to outstanding customer metrics. With a skilled founder-management team driving their growth strategy and a substantial market opportunity supported by structural growth, we are confident in their future success.”

Henslow Pty Ltd acted as corporate adviser to LAB Group and lead manager of the transaction.

London, 20^th October – Encompass Corporation, the provider of the leading dynamic Know Your Customer (KYC) process automation platform, has been announced as part of  Chartis Research’s RiskTech100 list for the first time.  

Widely considered as the most comprehensive independent study of major players in risk and compliance technology, the annual list ranks the top 100 organisations across various risk and compliance categories.  

It is compiled by industry research and analysis firm  Chartis, using the knowledge and insights of a panel of industry experts, with representatives from household names including Barclays UK, PwC and BNY Mellon. 

While calling out the organisations dominating the space overall, several ‘rising stars’ are also highlighted for having a unique place in the market.

In making its debut appearance on the prestigious list, the impact of Encompass, which helps top global banks transform their KYC processes every day, is underlined. This recognition also comes hot on the heels of the organisation winning the ‘Established Trendsetter’ category of the Discover Perfect Pitch competition held during SIBOS 2023, the premier financial services event. 

The RiskTech100, the go-to for clear and accurate analysis of the marketplace, is published within a report that delves into the industry today, featuring a broad range of vendors from across the sector.  

Wayne Johnson, CEO and co-founder at Encompass Corporation, commented:  

“We are proud to be included in the RiskTech100 this year. To be named on this respected list, researched and validated by independent experts, is testament to the impact of, and need for, Encompass – as well as the strides we have made in the last 12 months particularly. 

“As we continue to grow our business and enhance our offering, accomplishments like this highlight that our work is understood, valued and, most importantly, crucial to the customers and the industry we serve.  

“In the last decade, we have established ourselves as the leading provider of dynamic KYC automation process automation for banks and financial institutions attempting to navigate the ever-changing regulatory landscape while delivering top-class customer experience and maximising business efficiency. The need for technology like ours has never been more pressing, as more institutions look to digital transformation to enhance operations and future-proof effectively.”  

Sid Dash, Chief Researcher at Chartis Research, added: 

“A new entrant to this year’s rankings, Encompass is aligning itself with key industry trends. This is particularly notable in its product development, which is converging with broader automation and operationalisation trends in KYC and related areas.” 

About Encompass Corporation  

Encompass enables firms to deliver revenue faster, drive operational efficiency and demonstrate consistent compliance with dynamic KYC process automation. Our award-winning platform, unrivalled data connections and industry  expertise help clients to create and  maintain real-time digital risk profiles of everyone they do business with.  

Our customers include leading global banks and financial institutions, including Wolfsberg Group members. We have strategic alliances with a range of trusted data, technology and consulting partners, enabling a seamless integration of Encompass into existing workflows and systems.

AUSTRAC recognises that RegTechs play an important role in assisting our reporting entities to meet their AML/CTF obligations. In collaboration with the RegTech Association, they are running the AUSTRAC RegTech Symposium 2023 on 1 November in Sydney. 

The objective of this Symposium is to allow RegTechs to hear from AUSTRAC and administrators on AML/CTF obligations and the challenges reporting entities face in complying with them. The symposium will have a specific focus on transaction monitoring programs and quality reporting.

You can express your interest HERE. Please note, attendance confirmation is subject to approval. This is not an opportunity to market a product or gain endorsement from AUSTRAC, and any advice provided is general in nature.

"In such an important time for our industry, witnessing RegTech playing a key role in the SIBOS community evidenced the progress that has been made, and how much potential there is yet to be realized."

Read: Why RegTech won at SIBOS2023 here: https://www.finextra.com/blogposting/25001/why-regtech-won-at-sibos2023

LAB Group, a leading international RegTech and Australia’s best-connected onboarding provider, is pleased to announce that it has delivered a new integration with identity verification specialist IDVerse. 

LAB Group’s new integration partner, IDVerse, provides best-in-class ID document verification, incorporating document scanning, fraud assessment and biometrics. Founded in Australia in 2018, IDVerse is trusted by regtech businesses, governments and global enterprises for borderless and inclusive identity verification. 

IDVerse’s platform is now integrated with LAB’s customer onboarding solution and injects ID document verification directly into the digital onboarding journey. The integration provides a fully-automated solution which verifies new users in seconds with just their face, ID document and smartphone – in over 220 countries and territories with any ID document – without the burden of human intervention. 

LAB Group’s new integration partner can scan, recognise and perform fraud assessment against any global photo ID, incorporating IDVerse’s pioneering Zero Bias AI platform. This generative AI technology is training deep neural network systems to protect against discrimination on the basis of race, age and gender. It is capable of recognising more of the world’s people and skin tones for more comprehensive and universal access. 

The integrated solution is already live in market, servicing the requirement for age verification for online same day liquor orders with a large national retailer. 

Achieving direct integration with the IDVerse platform will provide an immediate solution for LAB Group clients seeking to deliver digital age verification. This is directly applicable to customers seeking to meet the requirements of new regulatory reforms surrounding same-day alcohol delivery. However, LAB Group has identified broader applications of this technology that can add value in new contexts, particularly for those industries affected by the Tranche 2 anti-money laundering (AML) reforms which are expected to come into force soon in Australia. 

Nick Boudrie, CEO and co-founder of LAB Group, said:  

“We are delighted to partner with IDVerse to bring best-in-class ID document verification solutions to our customers. As LAB Group has previously led strategic integrations with IDVerse to deliver fully-automated identity and data verification, we are confident that implementing a comprehensive integration will add ongoing value to a broader set of LAB Group customers as our verification capabilities continue to evolve. 

“As an Australian company taking home-grown technology to the world, we are proud to support IDVerse’s growth ambitions and look forward to jointly serving our customers’ onboarding and verification needs.” 

Paul Warren-Tape, GM of APAC at IDVerse, said: 

“We are pleased to partner with LAB Group to integrate our ID verification services with LAB Verify. As IDVerse can provide reliable authentication across every layer of identity, documentation, and point of access, it is mutually beneficial for us to combine our platforms into each other’s workflows.  

“As global awareness of algorithmic bias continues to rise, we are proud to inspire LAB Group’s trust as we strive to remain at the forefront of a more inclusive and seamless digital landscape.” 

 

About LAB Group Services Pty Ltd 

Where welcome onboard begins. 

LAB is a RegTech providing an innovative KYC & Onboarding platform that revolutionises the customer journey from the very first steps, fulfilling AML/CTF regulatory needs whilst saving time and resources by providing a high degree of automation for account creation and customer lifecycle management using remediation and ongoing customer due diligence processes. 

The LAB platform welcomes tens of thousands of people into hundreds of financial product offerings across over 15 industry verticals, matching applicants with a vast array of market offerings. 

Connect to more people in more places. 

Connect into the LAB Network that leverages strategic partnerships and integrations to enhance product origination and distribution. 

Hundreds of regulated entities around the globe connect through the LAB Network to accelerate customer registration, reduce onboarding time, increase security, and achieve higher completion rates.  

The leaders in secure onboarding. 

LAB’s continually advancing platform empowers our businesses to stay ahead of rapidly changing compliance regulations and evolving customer experience expectations. 

Our Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platform provides a fully compliant, end-to-end, multi product digital onboarding process. LAB seamlessly connects digital client acquisition, ID verification, biometrics, workflow management, fraud protection and compliance services on a single platform. 

Become part of the most connected digital onboarding platform. 

With LAB’s unmatched connectivity, we get you to market sooner through our sector-agnostic integrations and transformational data automation. 

Discover more at  https://labgroup.com.au/  

1WordFlow is now revealr.ai - reflecting the combination of their unique Digital Twin technology with AI and machine learning, to offer an end to end secure, digital and AI solution for all your documents.

Read more here

Making identity solutions that are inclusive for our First Nations. HOLDACCESS (WUNA) Access CEO and Founder Jason-Urranndulla Davis joins Brad Carr on the NAB Digital Next podcast.

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/carrbrad_coming-soon-making-identity-solutions-that-activity-7092249472872706048-aT3j?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop

The RegTech Association member Upplft is currently offering 3 months free access to the Upplft Platform.

Upplft helps you to elevate your hiring experience and match with candidates on not only capability and experience but personality, values and culture.

Click here to learn more.

Now in its 7th year, the RegTech Summit NYC will bring together the RegTech ecosystem to explore how the North American capital markets financial industry can leverage technology to innovate the compliance function and response.

Click here for more information.

The RegTech Association member LeapXpert has teamed up with Shield for the 2023 State of Mobile Communications Compliance Survey.

They spoke to hundreds of senior compliance professionals to understand their primary concerns and future plans for the upcoming year and beyond.

Key Findings:

✅73% of financial institutions expressed a lack of confidence in the effectiveness of bans on employees' use of off-channel communications.
✅ Almost 100% of respondents plan on monitoring WhatsApp by the end of the year.
✅ Their main apprehension lies in their level of preparedness for regulatory audits (64%) and not only the potential fines (34%)

Get your copy of the report here.