Atlanticus automates suspicious transaction detection and SAR filing at scale

Atlanticus is a technology company that enables banks, retailers, and healthcare providers to offer more inclusive financial services including loans and credit cards. 

A core part of Atlanticus’ business portfolio is the two credit card brands it supports, Aspire and Fortiva. Atlanticus manages the credit card program on behalf of The Bank of Missouri (TBOM), the issuer of these credit cards. 

Manual processes created compliance risks

Atlanticus previously relied on a remote team to manually identify suspicious activities, which were then sent to TBOM to enable SAR filing. Atlanticus’ previous solution could also only support rudimentary rules for transaction identification while tracking individual customer account activity was challenging. It was clear to the compliance leadership team at Atlanticus that working with a new vendor could significantly improve the firm’s ability to identify and report suspicious activity. 

“Our previous solution utilized internal reporting. When we began searching for a vendor, we wanted a partner who could provide much greater automation to manage significant transaction volumes. We also needed greater flexibility around building rules to capture new AML and fraud typologies and greater detail for audit and reporting purposes. Underlying all of this was a desire to continue strengthening our relationship with our banking partner, TBOM,” said Dari Damazo, VP of Support Services at Atlanticus.

From ink to implementation in three months 

Having selected ComplyAdvantage for transaction monitoring, implementation began in January 2023, with go-live achieved by mid-April. This required tight collaboration with implementation and engineering teams at ComplyAdvantage to overcome roadblocks quickly and ensure the initial three-year partnership hit the ground running. 

Today, Atlanticus can process 300,000 transactions daily through ComplyAdvantage in a single environment. Automating suspicious transaction detection means teams in Atlanticus’ US and India offices can save significant time, which can be reallocated to more strategic projects. 

Key information can also be transferred electronically to TBOM, speeding up the creation of suspicious activity reports (SARs) and reducing the likelihood of errors inherent in manual processes. 

“With ComplyAdvantage, we have the flexibility to capture new AML and fraud typologies. This helps reduce TBOM’s exposure to losses and means we can meet our Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) regulatory obligations to TBOM,” explains Ashley Clements, Fraud Operations Director and BSA Officer, Atlanticus