Muinmos co-founder, Remonda Z. Kirketerp-Møller speaks of her innovative MiFID compliant cloud-based platform RegtechPASS with Vedant Sangit.
How do you define the term RegTech?
“Automation of regulation via technology. It is a new field within financial services which places emphasis on regulatory reporting and securing compliance through the use of technology.”
How big is your team and who are the critical players?
“We are 10 people in the team. Our partners help us expand our offering globally and encourage financial institutions to utilize technology in their compliance aspects of client on boarding. It goes without saying that it is that the financial institutions themselves embrace automation in an area which is heavily driven by human resources.”
Brief overview about your product/service offering?
“Our product PASS, is a software which instantly and globally classifies/ categorizes the client in accordance with MiFID in the EU or as equivalent in the rest of the world (KYCC), and instantly determines whether a financial institution can on-board a client to trade with it in a particular service (KYS), product (KYP) and country (KYCO) using a traffic light rating system. This cuts down the on-boarding time from weeks/ months, to seconds at a fraction of the cost. PASS automatically notifies the financial institution of any regulatory changes 24/7, thus ensuring continuous compliance. PASS is a cloud based technology used together with a compliance equation calculator/algorithm, using AI by implementing a rule based expert system. PASS is a stand-alone system but can also easily be integrated into existing on/ offline on-boarding processes/ systems.”
What inspired you to build the above product?
“I have been in the sector for over 16 years and witnessed the pain and headache of client on boarding especially across multiple jurisdictions. It became a huge pain point in financial institutions hindering their growth and potential opportunities. Not one single provider offered the platform we have today, which ultimately allows any financial institution across the globe to on board any client in compliance with the applicable regulation. We therefore took upon ourselves the challenge to fix a real problem that was only becoming more complex especially in line with constant new regulatory changes.”
How did you overcome initial mindset challenges of the regulators ?
“Many regulators across the globe want to ensure that the financial institutions which they are overseeing comply with the prevailing regulatory requirements esp. when they on board clients. In fact the regulators we have been in dialogue with have been incredibly forthcoming and helpful. Automating this area on a global scale is an absolute challenge, primarily due to the fact that the regulatory requirements on client on boarding differs from country to country no matter whether you are in the EU or outside.”
What was most challenging aspect of your journey as the CEO of Muinmos?
“Our biggest challenge is securing that the lawyers and compliance staff who handle this today see the benefits of automation and technology and thus securing their ongoing compliance, but unfortunately many of them are reluctant to make a change due to many reasons, fear of the unknown, fear of losing their jobs, purpose etc so our success is dependent on their acquisition of our product into the financial institution.”
Where do you see yourself in next three years?
Remonda aims to see PASS becoming the main used platform in client on-boarding.
Which countries do you feel you can expand to with your offerings?
“We are already in the EU, and we are planning on expanding our offering in the US, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Singapore and Hong Kong shortly, ultimately offering a global solution.”
Have you built any consulting model for consultants from other countries?
“Our consultants either get a royalty cut or are paid on delivery of various ongoing opinions which our platform seeks from them.”
