Buyer's guide

How to choose AML software

Most buyers don't need to understand twenty products. They need to know what kind of product they need, what the terms mean, and which questions to ask. This guide covers exactly that.

1. Know what kind of product you need

"AML software" is sold as one category but covers structurally different products:

• Full platform — hosted software that carries the obligation lifecycle: program, CDD, screening, reporting, records.
• Verification layer — identity and entity checks delivered into a process you run yourself.
• Document pack — templates you complete yourself; there is no software.
• Register — a record-keeping tracker; it doesn't verify or screen.
• Module — AML inside another product you already buy.

Comparing a $30 document pack with a hosted platform on monthly price is meaningless — decide which kind of product you need first. AML Finder's first question does exactly this.

2. Learn the capability terms

CDD is customer due diligence — structured capture of customer details. KYB is entity checking — verifying a company or trust against an independent source. Beneficial ownership is tracing who ultimately owns or controls the entity — different from a basic company check. ECDD is enhanced due diligence for higher-risk relationships. DVS is the government's Document Verification Service. Ongoing customer monitoring and transaction monitoring are different capabilities — one re-reviews customers over time, the other watches transaction patterns automatically. Every one of these is explained in the wizard.

3. Weigh evidence, not slogans

For each capability, ask: is this verified from public sources, partial, confirmed absent, or simply not established? "Not established" is a question to ask the vendor — it is not a "no". A product that publishes more detail will naturally show higher evidence confidence. That is information, not a reason to prefer it blindly — the capabilities still have to fit.

4. Price like a buyer

Entry price is the start of the story. Check the billing basis (monthly, per check, one-off), GST treatment, user or record caps, and what happens on overage. Price-on-application means exactly that — nobody should guess it for you.

5. Ask the right questions

AML Finder turns the unknowns and partials in your results into ready-made questions to ask before buying. Use them. A provider that can't confirm a capability you marked as must-have is not a match — yet.