Streamlined onboarding at Hauck Aufhäuser
A look at how private bank Hauck Aufhäuser automated its client onboarding, freeing up team resources and improving the customer experience.
A bank in motion
Hauck Aufhäuser is a leading international private bank, headquartered in Frankfurt and with a major presence in Luxemburg. Managing nearly €12 billion in assets and employing over 1.500 people across 18 locations, the bank has a stellar reputation with international clients and investors alike.
Challenge: operational efficiency
The Asset Servicing division at Hauck Aufhäuser was looking to increase its overall operational efficiency while striking a delicate balance to meet stringent regulatory requirements without compromising the onboarding experience for new clients.
Like many of its industry peers, the bank faced challenges with its complex AML/KYC processes for onboarding funds. Manual procedures typically increased the risk of incomplete data, excessive paperwork, prolonged onboarding cycles and even potential compliance risks. Hauck Aufhäuser sought to speed up these (occasionally even redundant) AML and KYC workflows.
The organisation’s push for automation was driven not only by tightening regulations for fund service providers, but also by the need to improve internal operational capabilities and efficiency. The management team recognised that integrating the right tools on a unified platform would help them to both increase customer satisfaction and save their teams valuable time to focus on more strategic, high-value activities.
Solution: company-tailored KYC management
To address these challenges, Hauck Aufhäuser implemented Finologee’s KYC manager, the Harmoney-powered platform specifically designed for the Luxembourg market.
The main objective? To automate the intricate funding onboarding processes while ensuring full compliance with both local and international AML and KYC regulations.
Key advantages of the platform:
- Modular design and seamless integration. The platform integrates natively with existing in-house systems, document management software and external applications. This streamlined connectivity reduces set-up times, avoids potential integration issues and eliminates the need for lengthy integration development cycles.
- Customisable to fit banking needs. KYC Manager adapts to the unique requirements of the bank, preserving its company DNA. It offers the flexibility to fine-tune compliance processes, ensuring they align perfectly with the nuanced workflows of a private bank while maintaining full regulatory compliance.
- Centralised management for agents and dossier managers. A centralised approach to all AML/KYC management – ranging from document collection all the way through to risk assessment – saves the banking agents time. Automated data enrichment improves the accuracy of end customer records.
Modules used
Discover more about our modules.
Screening connection
Screen customers and related parties automatically against relevant watchlists and sanctions databases. Fewer manual checks, lower compliance risk, and full traceability.
Coverage spans UN, OFAC, EU, and UK sanctions lists, PEP databases, enforcement registries, and custom internal watchlists. Fuzzy matching algorithms handle name variations across languages and character sets, reducing false positives without compromising coverage. Screening runs at onboarding and continues throughout the customer lifecycle, with every check recorded and results automatically fed into the risk scoring engine.
Internal data feed
Connect your internal systems to Harmoney workflows. Prefill dossiers via API at no extra cost, or embed live data feeds from your risk models, documents, and core systems.
Every Harmoney subscription includes full API access at no additional cost, allowing clients to create dossiers, prefill customer information, and push data into workflows programmatically. For organisations that require deeper integration, the Internal Data Feed module connects Harmoney directly to client systems, ingesting results from your proprietary risk models, fetching information from your CRM, or pulling generated documents from your document generation system. Data is consumed in a non-intrusive, read-only mode, governed by role-based access controls and full audit logging to ensure GDPR-compliant handling at every step.
UBOs and related parties
Identify, verify, and monitor beneficial owners with direct access to UBO registers across Europe and beyond. Automatically reconstruct control chains and assess UBO risk.
As regulatory scrutiny on beneficial ownership intensifies, Harmoney provides direct integration with official UBO registers across Europe and the rest of the world. Official documents are retrieved automatically, and ownership information is extracted to reconstruct the full control chain, identifying beneficial owners at every level of the corporate structure. Combined with the screening module, UBOs can be assessed directly against watchlists and sanctions databases.
Ongoing monitoring dashboards provide a consolidated view of UBO status across the portfolio, with clients organised by risk category to prioritise remediation efforts where they matter most. Harmoney closely monitors the evolving regulatory framework around beneficial ownership, particularly under AMLR, and continuously updates the platform to meet new requirements as they come into force.
Risk scoring engine
Turn complex, multi-source data into objective, auditable risk profiles. Score not only the main parties but also all related parties, with full transparency on every contributing factor.
The risk scoring engine operates at two levels: entity level (individuals and companies) and dossier level.
At the entity level, each part, including all related parties such as UBOs, directors, and signatories, is scored against configurable risk parameters: country and jurisdiction risk, reputational risk, PEP status, product complexity, ownership structure, and screening results. Many of these parameters are filled automatically by Harmoney through connected data sources, while others can be provided manually or via internal data feeds. At the dossier level, product-specific and internal risk parameters are added to produce a total risk score.
By default, customers are automatically classified as Low, Medium, High, or Very High risk in line with FATF recommendations, but the risk categories can be fully customised to match your own risk policy. Each classification triggers the corresponding approval procedure, from standard processing to 4-eyes validation or escalation to a compliance officer. Every score includes a full breakdown of contributing factors, making it straightforward to justify decisions to regulators. When the risk model itself is updated, for example, following a reclassification of country risk levels, the platform can automatically retrigger a rescoring of the entire customer base, surfacing any clients whose risk profile has increased as a result.
Enhanced due diligence
Go deeper when it matters. For high-risk clients, Harmoney enables thorough investigation flows that meet regulatory requirements and reduce exposure, without slowing down your team.
EDD is triggered automatically by PEP identification, high-risk jurisdictions, complex ownership structures, large transaction volumes, or adverse media findings. The module manages source of wealth documentation requirements, enhanced monitoring configuration, and senior management approval routing. A complete audit trail is maintained for every EDD measure taken, demonstrating to regulators that appropriate controls are in place.
Continuous monitoring
Stay ahead of changes in client risk profiles without relying on periodic manual reviews. Harmoney detects relevant events and automatically recalculates risk scores.
An event-driven architecture replaces calendar-based reviews by continuously tracking changes that may impact a client's risk profile, such as updates to sanctions lists, PEP status changes, or corporate events like a change of activities, ownership, or legal status.
When a relevant change is detected, the risk model is automatically recalculated and the risk score updated. If the score remains within acceptable thresholds, the case is closed automatically. If the rescoring triggers a higher risk classification, a review is reopened according to the rules defined in the workflow.
This approach focuses team attention exclusively on clients where something has actually changed, eliminating unnecessary periodic reviews while ensuring no material change goes unnoticed. Every event and rescoring, whether or not the risk score changes, is fully logged, providing a complete audit trail for regulatory reporting.
Dashboarding
Get a consolidated, real-time view of client risk, case progress, and compliance status. The right information, at a glance, for faster and more confident decisions.
Four tailored views serve analysts, team leaders, compliance officers, and executives, each presenting the KPIs most relevant to their role. Operational views track case volumes and team workload, while risk and compliance views cover portfolio distribution, regulatory metrics, and audit readiness. All views support interactive filtering, drill-down, and export to PDF and Excel.
Template generation (PDF & outreach)
Standardise communication and documentation across every case. Reduce administrative effort while keeping every output consistent and regulation-ready.
Automates the generation of welcome letters, document request letters, KYC summary reports, due diligence certificates, approval communications, and compliance attestations. Dynamic field population draws from customer data automatically, ensuring accuracy without manual input. Templates are maintained in a version-controlled library with multi-language support, allowing teams across different jurisdictions to work from the same standardised foundation while adapting outputs to their specific requirements.
Digital signing
Collect legally valid signatures securely and digitally. Faster approvals, shorter turnaround times, no paper trail required.
Supports simple, advanced (AES), and qualified (QES) electronic signatures and is eIDAS compliant for European contexts. Integrates with providers such as DocuSign and Adobe Sign, with mobile-responsive interfaces and multi-party signing workflows. Every signature is backed by a full audit log recording the authentication method, timestamp, IP address, and device information. Automatic reminders are sent for pending signatures, and a certificate of completion is generated upon finalisation.
External outreach
Manage and streamline communication with clients and counterparties during KYC data collection. Structured, controlled, and fully traceable.
A self-service customer portal allows clients to upload documents, track their case progress in real time, and view outstanding requirements at any time. Communication is handled across email, SMS, and secure messaging channels, with automated reminders for missing information and status updates triggered by workflow events. All interactions are encrypted, GDPR-compliant, and stored in a complete communication audit trail.
Natural person identification & validation
Verify individual identities with high assurance. Prevent impersonation and identity fraud before they enter your workflow.
Combines document authentication with MRZ validation, security feature checking, and facial recognition backed by liveness detection. Anti-spoofing measures include deepfake detection to prevent presentation attacks. Identity is further verified through database checks against government registries and credit bureaus. Three configurable assurance levels allow the depth of verification to be matched to the risk profile of each individual case, from basic document upload to full biometric verification.
Internal forms
Capture the right information, in a structured way, every time. Enforce consistent data collection across teams and cases.
Dynamic conditional logic adapts which fields are shown based on prior responses, allowing a single form to serve multiple use cases without overcomplicating the experience. Fields are pre-populated from the internal data feed and document extraction results to reduce repetitive entry. Forms are built using a drag-and-drop designer, include version control, support multi-language configurations, and save drafts automatically to prevent data loss. Less room for oversights, inconsistencies, or missing data.
Internal tasks
Orchestrate activities, deadlines, and responsibilities within your compliance workflows. Keep processes on track and every action accountable.
Tasks can be created manually, triggered by workflow events, or scheduled in advance, across four priority levels with configurable SLA targets. Sequential, parallel, and conditional task structures allow complex processes to be modelled accurately. When deadlines are missed, automatic escalation alerts notify supervisors immediately. Every activity is assigned to a named owner, with a complete audit trail maintained throughout the process.
An essential tool for teams managing high volumes of cases in parallel.
Custom statuses
Adapt workflow stages to match your internal processes. Clearer progress tracking, better accountability, and full alignment with how your team actually works.
Each status is configured with a name, colour coding, SLA targets, and transition permissions defined per role. Required fields must be completed before a case can progress to the next stage, preventing gaps in data collection. Automatic actions trigger on entry and exit from each status, and linear, branching, and loop-back workflow configurations are all supported. No development needed. Everything is configured directly within the platform.
Summary & snapshot
Get an instant, high-level overview of any client's risk and compliance profile. Everything your team needs to make a quick, informed decision, in one view.
Traffic light indicators surface critical information immediately across risk rating, KYC status, screening results, and active alerts. Four snapshot types serve different audiences, from a quick view for daily operations to a regulatory snapshot for audit readiness. Historical snapshots preserve point-in-time views and trend tracking across the full relationship lifecycle.
Outcome: fully integrated AML and KYC that saves time
After integrating KYC Manager, Hauck & Aufhäuser managed to achieve the perfect equilibrium between full compliance and a seamless investor onboarding experience. The platform’s features, including Ultimate Beneficial Owner (UBO) verification and risk scoring, have helped to simplify and enhance the bank’s various onboarding workflows. “Before KYC Manager, our internal perpetual KYC strategy was heavily reliant on manual efforts, demanding considerable resources,” says Christian Mader, a member of Hauck Aufhäuser’s management board. “Now, we have a solution that is both integrated and intuitive.”
© Finologee.
The centralised dashboard provides a comprehensive overview of dossiers for agents.
The integration and automation of the bank’s KYC processes underscores the transformative power of integrated, omnichannel compliance. “We’re looking to further harness the platform’s capabilities to anticipate new regulations, so we can maintain the exceptional standards we hold ourselves to,” Mader concludes.
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