Coba: A Case Study on helping Fintechs Work with Partner Banks
Coba is the platform for those who work with foreign companies from Mexico. All in one place.
It seems today, fintechs getting approval to work with partner banks is more difficult than getting into Harvard. One bank we know received applications from over 1,000 fintechs last year and decided to work with less than 1% of them! The reasons are understandable: the last 24 months have seen an unprecedented amount of stories of fintechs running into compliance issues, bringing their partner banks with them. The result is consent orders that restrict the banks from pursuing their objectives and supporting their other customers.
Challenge
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Showing KYC + AML Policies + Enforcement:
- Documenting Policies: Fintechs need to thoroughly document their KYC and AML policies, outlining procedures for customer identification, risk assessment, and ongoing monitoring. These policies should align with regulatory requirements and demonstrate a robust framework for compliance.
- Enforcement: It's not enough to have policies in place; fintechs must also demonstrate effective enforcement mechanisms. This includes implementing automated identity verification processes, conducting regular audits, and providing ongoing training to employees to ensure compliance with KYC and AML procedures.
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Showing Robust Security Infrastructure:
- Data Protection: Partner banks require assurance that fintechs have robust measures in place to protect sensitive customer data from unauthorized access, breaches, or cyberattacks. This involves implementing encryption, access controls, and secure storage mechanisms to safeguard customer information.
- Infrastructure Resilience: Fintechs must demonstrate the resilience of their infrastructure to withstand cyber threats and ensure uninterrupted service delivery. This includes redundancy measures, disaster recovery plans, and regular penetration testing to identify and address vulnerabilities..
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Easy to see Audit Trails:
- Compliance Reporting: Fintechs should have mechanisms in place to generate reports on audit trails, making it easy for partner banks to review transaction histories, identify anomalies, and ensure compliance with regulatory requirements.
- Real-time Monitoring: Implementing real-time monitoring tools allows fintechs and partner banks to proactively detect suspicious activity and address compliance issues in a timely manner, reducing the risk of regulatory violations.
Solution
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Customizable Solutions:
- Coba’s partnership with Footprint allows them to offer highly customizable onboarding flows utilizing the Footprint Rules Engine + Playbooks, making it easy for banks to approve flows and users to sign-up for the platform with a plethora of supported-doc types Coba is able to leverage
- Footprint dynamic point of failure step-up based on OCR mismatching from keyed-in info. Footprint playbooks/rules are auditable and some aspects are immutable, making them a great way to effectively show compliance to banks.
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Developer-Friendly:
- With developer-friendly interfaces, they can move fast and integrate powerful changes that have an immediate impact on both the robustness of their KYC / CIP processes as well as the Coba user experience.
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Built-in Security:
- Coba can utilize Footprint Nitro Enclaves to automatically vault sensitive data as it comes in, allowing them to focus on product and not worry about building their own secure vaulting infrastructure.
Results
- Enhanced Compliance: Footprint’s focus on compliance aligns with our commitment to maintaining the highest standards of security and regulatory adherence. Co-founder Joseph Salibo said “In an age of heightened compliance born from the importance of bank-direct relationships, Footprint’s Identity + Security suite was key in helping us smoothly onboard to our sponsor bank. They offer a world-class product with white-glove support.”
- Successful onboarding to Bangor: In an age where very few fintechs are getting onboarded to new banks, Coba was selected by Bangor to be the partner bank to their program. Now, Coba is live with Bangor with Footprint for onboarding + security and Treasury Prime as the BaaS layer.
- Use of novel products like INE checks: Coba is utilizing a variety of Footprint tools, including INE checks for citizens in Mexico. Co-founder Eduardo says “With Footprint, Coba has a powerful ally in managing client identity securely and efficiently. I want to thank the FootPrint team for helping us improve the lives of people across Mexico that are earning in USD or spending in Pesos.”
Ready to start?
If you're looking to onboard customers quickly and securely store their sensitive data, we'd love to help.
