No more risky business(es)

FAQs

What makes Thirdfort’s Know-your-business tool different?

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• Unlike many providers, we are completely focused on making our reports easy to interpret for professionals in the legal, property and accountancy sectors. You will receive only the information that is relevant to you for anti-money laundering purposes, in an easy-to-interpret format, rather than an unwieldily document containing irrelevant information.

• We have a simple workflow for you to move from identifying directors and beneficial owners, to verifying them. All reports on individuals are then tied back to the corporate entity you are engaging with.

Who are your data providers?

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Thirdfort combines multiple best-in-class suppliers to produce one, easy to interpret report for you and your team. Dun & Bradstreet is our supplier for company summary reports and UBO reports for companies globally. For AML screening we use ComplyAdvantage.

Where do Dun & Bradstreet source the data held in their data cloud?

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The Dun & Bradstreet (D&B) data cloud is built on a foundational layer from official public records. This is where legal entity information is captured, with a record of each entity created, to which data attributes are attached. This record is enriched using data from tens of thousands of sources to collect and update all the elements in the D&B Data Cloud. These sources include but are not limited to company web sites, public company filings, news sources, banks, utility companies and Trade Exchange Programs. Regular updates and validations are conducted, including direct investigations and customer-driven inquiries, to maintain the integrity of the data. This comprehensive strategy aims to minimise discrepancies and improve the overall quality of the data.

Why do you use Dun & Bradstreet's data cloud rather than an API feed into commercial registers?

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The Dun & Bradstreet (D&B) data cloud holds over half a billion records with thousands of different data attributes linked to each record. Data is sourced from a number of places and updated constantly. This is a key difference to using an API feed into a registry, as the data is updated more frequently than a static registry where updates are only made a certain times throughout the year.

Another advantage of this approach is that we can provide you with information on entities which may not appear on a commercial register, because we are not solely reliant on those as data sources.

Finally, it also gives you fast results. More than 90% of our reports on companies return in under a minute, even with complex corporate structures. This is made possible because the data lives in the data cloud as oppose to across different registries.

How often is data refreshed?

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The data used to screen corporate entities is updated every few minutes to ensure we're always giving you live data. Through ongoing monitoring you can ensure you won't miss any updates throughout your relationship with the client.

Our company report data source is Dun & Bradstreet's data cloud. The data held in their cloud is updated regularly, but the frequency depends on the source and the jurisdiction. For example, the data they source from Companies House is updated every 24 hours, but other sources, such as from banks and utility companies may be updated more frequently.

Do you offer ongoing monitoring of corporate clients?

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• Yes, we can monitor your corporate clients for any changes to their sanctions status, for as long as you are dealing with them. We'll notify you when there are any changes, so you'll never miss an update.

• If you carry out an ID check on a beneficial owner or director we can also monitor them.

How does pricing work?

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Unlike other providers, we have one price for company summaries and UBO discovery for companies, wherever they are headquartered. Simple. For more details on pricing book a demo with one of our team who will create a personalised proposal.

Can you report on corporate clients that are headquartered outside of the UK?

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Yes, we can produce reports on companies based in over 50 million corporate entities globally. This includes looking at cross-border ownership structures, as well as global sanctions screening. When it comes to verifying the ID of directors and owners, our app is available in nearly every jurisdiction globally. We work wherever your clients do.

How far through an ownership structure will you report on?

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Our reports on beneficial owners use data provided by Dun & Bradstreet to search through multiple layers of ownership, whether that is through layers of businesses or across jurisdictions. Our reports will include any person or entity that owns 5% or more of the business.

Which individuals within a corporate entity should I conduct identification and verification on?

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Depending on the circumstances, you should verify the identity of the beneficial owner(s) to the equivalent standards as that applied to clients who are natural persons.

It is important to note that you are seeking to verify the beneficial owner's identity, not simply that the identity in question is a beneficial owner. You can consider a range of sources to do this provided they are appropriate to the risk posed by the client or matter.

There is no requirement to undertake verification of a director within the Money Laundering Regulations.  But it is good practice to obtain an ID for at least one director or the instructing party, or verification of additional directors where the risk is higher.

Thirdfort has a suite of tools available to you to verify beneficial owners and directors to a suitable level for your own risk-based approach.