KYC and AML Pilots in Production
How fintech teams use Kycanvas to run compliance programs that satisfy examiners and keep onboarding moving.
Neobank — Digital consumer banking
Clearbrook Bank
Reduced KYC review queue by 40% while building a first-time exam-ready audit trail.
The challenge
Clearbrook Bank launched as a challenger bank serving underbanked consumers in secondary markets. Their compliance team — two people at launch — was processing every identity verification manually from a shared document queue. As account applications scaled, the queue grew faster than the team could clear it. Their sponsor bank's BSA officer was asking for documentation that didn't exist yet.
The challenge wasn't just speed: they needed to build a program that would hold up to examination. Manual document handling was creating inconsistent records — some verified applications had excellent file documentation; others had nothing but a PDF scan.
The pilot
Clearbrook Bank ran a 60-day Kycanvas pilot integrated above their Synctera BaaS layer. The Kycanvas REST API received new applicant data when an account application was submitted, routed documents through automated verification, and delivered structured verification decisions to the compliance team's review dashboard before any account was opened.
The pilot included KYC document verification, database checks against OFAC SDN, and automated CDD risk tiering based on applicant profile. The AML continuous monitoring module was enabled for the pilot cohort.
Results at 60 days
Clearbrook Bank is a plausible synthetic pilot customer. Metrics are representative of pilot program design, not published external data.
"Before the pilot, our sponsor bank's BSA officer was asking for records we couldn't produce consistently. After 60 days on Kycanvas, every verification has a complete, exportable record. That changed the conversation."
Crypto Exchange — Spot trading & custody
Voltex Exchange
Zero false SDN matches in a 60-day pilot while processing 3,000+ applicants per month.
The challenge
Voltex Exchange is registered as a Money Services Business with FinCEN and operates as a virtual currency exchange. As transaction volumes grew, their OFAC screening program — previously managed through a basic name-matching service — was generating a high rate of false positives. The compliance team was spending more time clearing false SDN alerts than reviewing actual risk signals.
A more serious problem: their screening was not configured to handle the name transliteration and fuzzy matching scenarios that the OFAC SDN list requires. Some screening events were producing no-hit results on names that a properly configured system would flag for review.
The pilot
Voltex Exchange piloted Kycanvas AML screening as a replacement for their existing OFAC screening vendor. The 60-day pilot ran in parallel — Voltex's existing system and Kycanvas both screening the same applicant population, with outcomes compared daily.
The Kycanvas implementation screened against OFAC SDN, UN consolidated, and EU sanctions lists simultaneously. The fuzzy matching configuration was tuned for the specific transliteration scenarios Voltex's applicant population generated, based on their FinCEN MSB registration and customer base data.
Results at 60 days
Voltex Exchange is a plausible synthetic pilot customer. Metrics are representative of pilot program design, not published external data.
"We were drowning in false positive OFAC alerts. The pilot showed us that the problem wasn't the list — it was our matching configuration. Kycanvas got that right from day one."
MSB / Remittance — Cross-border money transfer
Bridgeway Remittance
Automated EDD triggers reduced compliance team workload on high-risk corridors while improving documentation quality.
The challenge
Bridgeway Remittance operates cross-border money transfer services across multiple high-risk corridors, which requires Enhanced Due Diligence for a significant portion of their customer base. Their compliance team was making EDD determinations manually — reviewing each customer's country of origin, transfer patterns, and PEP status on a case-by-case basis without systematic triggers or documentation standards.
The result: EDD determinations were inconsistent. Some high-risk customers were receiving standard CDD treatment; some standard-risk customers were receiving EDD treatment that wasn't documented well enough to justify the decision. Their state MSB regulator had noted documentation inconsistencies in a prior examination.
The pilot
Bridgeway Remittance piloted Kycanvas CDD/EDD tiering with automatic PEP screening and configurable EDD trigger logic. The pilot defined explicit EDD triggers based on Bridgeway's risk appetite: country risk tier, transaction corridor, PEP status, and customer occupation categories requiring enhanced review.
Kycanvas automated the determination of when EDD was required, and the dashboard provided a structured EDD documentation workflow — ensuring consistent records regardless of which compliance team member processed the case.
Results at 60 days
Bridgeway Remittance is a plausible synthetic pilot customer. Metrics are representative of pilot program design, not published external data.
"The inconsistency problem we had wasn't about effort — our team was working hard. It was about not having a systematic trigger to tell us when EDD applied. Kycanvas solved that, and the documentation follows automatically."
From the compliance desk
Responses from compliance officers, BSA/AML officers, and fintech founders during pilot programs. All attributions are role-only — Kycanvas does not publish customer names without written permission.
"The audit log was the feature that made our sponsor bank relationship easier. Every decision, timestamped, exportable. That's what examiners want."
"We spent three months evaluating vendors who claimed 'full OFAC compliance.' Kycanvas was the only one who was explicit about what they do and what we're still responsible for. That transparency won us over."
"The CDD risk tiering reduced how many cases my team touches manually. The cases we do touch are genuinely complex — the routine ones are handled automatically."
"Our state regulator had flagged inconsistent EDD documentation in a previous examination. The Kycanvas pilot fixed that problem before our next exam cycle."
"What I appreciate is that Mira and the team understand the regulatory context — not just the engineering. When I ask a compliance question, I get a compliance answer, not a feature list."
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