ACI Worldwide (NASDAQ:TSAI), a leading international provider of enterprise payment solutions, today announced that Access Bank Plc, one of the largest and fastest-growing Nigerian banks, has selected ACI Proactive Risk Manager software to automate its procedures in order to comply with Nigeria's Money Laundering Prohibition Act of 2004 and meet global anti-money laundering requirements.
Access Bank selected ACI's enterprise risk solution for anti-money laundering based on the software's ability to detect suspicious activity quickly and effectively using neural networks, rules-based strategies and workflow management functionality. The solution is modular in design so it can be expanded to include monitoring for card-based fraud and other risk across the enterprise using an account-based view of transactions.
Nigeria's Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and its financial data collection and reporting arm, the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), have mandated that local banks comply with international standards for reporting on suspicious transactions. Proactive Risk Manager will help Access Bank comply with these regulations by enabling the bank to detect suspicious activity in an effective yet efficient manner. Staff from B2B Solutions, ACI's local partner, will be trained by ACI to provide local, first line support.
Herbert Wigwe, deputy managing director of Access Bank Plc, commented, "Our reputation as a leading Nigerian Bank is paramount; therefore, we did not take this decision lightly. We did extensive market research and concluded that the combination of global experience in electronic payments and risk management, the functionality and modularity of their risk management solutions, and the speed of implementation made ACI Worldwide the ideal vendor for Access Bank. We also have the ability, at a later stage, to use the same software base to monitor card transactions for potential fraud attacks, thereby protecting our cardholders."
Richard Launder, president of ACI Worldwide EMEA, said, "We are pleased that Access Bank has entrusted ACI to help them meet the requirements of the EFCC. Our relationship with Access Bank marks an important milestone for ACI, as they represent our first customer in Nigeria, bringing ACI's global reach to 84 countries. We're committed to helping all our customers in Africa take advantage of world-class technology for compliance and risk management."