A solution to secure AML and GDPR compliance

How DFDS orchestrated personal information from 4,000 employees — without meeting them first.

In the celebration of DFDS’ 150th birthday, the board of directors and the management decided they would give anniversary shares to all employees.

However, to set up deposits for the employees, they needed a solution to secure their AML and GDPR compliance. Luckily, DFDS found the solution they needed when they came across NewBanking Identity.

In 2016, more than 4,000 employees with 22 different nationalities were offered anniversary shares in DFDS - including Filipino, Russian, French and Dutch employees, and employees at all levels in the organisation, from the dock worker and the sailor to the middle manager and the CEO.

Before becoming a shareholder, employees had to be identified by their bank as part of a necessary anti-money laundering and KYC (Know Your Customer) compliance procedure.

For DFDS, this meant that each employee had to forward personal identification documentation.

“The employees had to upload various forms of documentation to confirm their identity. To succeed in offering anniversary shares to all DFDS employees, we had to do it in a completely secure way,” says Jens Jakob Hjorth-Hartmann, Legal Counsel HR at DFDS.

The information that the employees had to upload was typically a driver’s license and passport, but in some countries, a gas bill must be used as documentation.

Extremely high security

After scanning the market for opportunities, DFDS decided to use NewBanking Identity’s platform due to the high user-friendliness, which Jens Jakob Hjorth-Hartmann calls user intuitive. And then, of course, the platform’s security needed to be top-notch.

“We looked into different systems on the market, but their focus was primarily on flow and processes. None of the systems was created with a focus on secure processing of the employees’ confidential information. Additionally, no other system was designed with the security of the ‘Chinese walls’ characterising NewBanking Identity’s platform,” says Jens Jakob Hjorth-Hartmann.

Chinese walls - in this context, means that not even NewBanking’s employees have access to the confidential information on the platform. Only the person uploading the data and those who gain admission can see the information.

Great user-friendliness

NewBanking Identity set up more than 20 different flows - one for each country - all in English, enabling DFDS to request data from their employees.

A portal guided the employees step-by-step to upload the correct documents.

“The solution reached all DFDS’ employees in all corners of the world - it even reached the ships, where the employees used the platform while sailing. Everyone provided the information requested by Danske Bank. It is probably the first time in history that employees from so many places in the world have had to provide information according to Danish standards”, says Christian Visti Larsen, CEO and Co-founder of NewBanking Identity.

When DFDS’ employees had uploaded their personal information on the platform confirming their identity, Danske Bank could access their account to set up their bank deposits, which succeeded with all 4,000 employees.

Suitable for stock exchange listings

DFDS found a solution to what at first seemed an overwhelming task, and Jens Jakob Hjorth-Hartmann, therefore, will not dismiss the idea that they will use NewBanking’s platform again.

“The platform is brilliant because it is a forum for passing on personal information, securing that the person providing the information is in full control over his data. For that reason, I can also easily envision us using the platform for other purposes”, says Jens Jakob Hjorth-Hartmann.

NewBanking Identity’s platform provides numerous applications for companies that need to handle highly confidential information to share with only a few individuals and often for a limited period - an example could be regarding stock exchange listings.

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