Unit21, an AI risk infrastructure provider based in the United States, has teamed up with Helix by Q2, a cloud-native core banking platform designed for modern financial programs. This collaboration focuses on enhancing AI-driven AML (Anti-Money Laundering) compliance for BaaS (Banking-as-a-Service) and embedded finance clients.

The partnership allows sponsor banks and fintech firms using Helix to import both first-party and third-party data into Unit21’s system. The ingested data is then processed through adjustable, AI-driven detection and investigation procedures. This setup enables compliance teams to manage monitoring, investigations, and reporting more effectively across intricate programme structures. Meanwhile, it offers sponsor banks a unified view of activities, encompassing their own risk information alongside that of their fintech partners.

AI-Driven Compliance Framework

Unit21’s platform transforms received banking data into compliance indicators via customizable rules and machine learning algorithms. It highlights unusual activities, prioritizes alerts, and supports investigation processes.

Compliance teams maintain control over the AML workflow design. Rules, thresholds, and investigative pathways can be personalized based on sponsor bank needs, specific programs, or individual fintech partners. AI agents aid in alert management, investigation steps, and decision-making support to lessen manual workload and enhance consistency in monitoring operations.

Responding to Regulatory Trends

This collaboration addresses a significant challenge in the BaaS industry, where regulatory oversight of sponsor bank supervision has become more stringent. In recent years, US regulatory bodies have pushed for greater transparency and accountability from sponsor banks regarding their fintech partners. This has spurred demand for scalable compliance infrastructure that can handle multi-entity programme portfolios.

Trisha Kothari, the CEO and Co-Founder of Unit21, commented that this integration helps banks to run more robust and streamlined AML programs, reducing manual labor while maintaining high-quality signals. It also facilitates the confident onboarding of additional fintech partners without adding undue compliance burdens.