“Meo integrated perfectly with our existing systems”

KommuneKredit’s goal is to offer leasing and loans to Danish municipalities, regions and joint municipal companies. Previously, only the leasing part required identification from the owners, but it has also become a requirement for the loans. Therefore, KommuneKredit had to find a system to handle the safe-keeping of personal information.

“It is a significant task to store and manage personal data in the correct manner. Our goal was to outsource the safe-keeping of data because we believe in “best-of-breed”, meaning that we all do what we are best at. Therefore, we have not for one second considered developing a solution on our own”, says Christian Jeppesen, customer director and AML manager, who was responsible for finding the best, suitable platform for KommuneKredit.

When you deal with companies, it is simple to identify who the CEO is and who owns the company. But it is different in a municipality - because who is the ultimate beneficial owner, whose identity needs to be verified?

Today, the definition states that the mayor and the municipality director must be considered the municipality’s ultimate beneficial owners. Therefore KommuneKredit keeps the sensitive data of all Danish mayors and municipality directors under lock and key on the Newbanking Identity platform. Only a few designated employees of KommuneKredit have access to this information.

Difficult to develop on our own

“If we had to develop a platform, we would need a lot of governance to determine who should gain access and under which conditions. Aside from the fact that the actual development of the platform would be very complex, it would also involve far too much administrative work with too many unknown factors”, says Christian Jeppesen and continues:

“Today, everything is automated in Meo, where we carry out spot checks on all identity documentation in the system. The platform is easy to work with, and every time we are in dialogue with the Meo founders, they have proved to have an extensive knowledge regarding KYC and GDPR procedures, which gives us a high sense of security.”

Integration with our customer management system

For KommuneKredit, however, a few other factors came into play in choosing a platform to manage their KYC and GDPR compliance. They needed to integrate the KYC system directly with their current customer management system. By integrating Meo with KommuneKredit’s customer management system, it becomes easy for the employees to email their customers, for example, when they must update their identification documents.

Moreover, KommuneKredit was facing a replacement of their current CSR system with a new one, and thus, it was essential to find an easy integrative platform.

“The entire process of implementing Meo in the daily routines has been very agile, and Meo has been very responsive to help to integrate with our customer management system. They are super skilled at integrating the platform with the other systems we use, which is pivotal. The platform works impeccably and has high operational stability. By all means, we have acquired a great solution that meets the full range of our needs”, says Christian Jeppesen.

Compliant management of clients’ personal data has a high significance

DANDERS & MORE was the first Danish law firm to implement the Meo platform. Like many other companies, new legislation regarding the processing of personal data and anti-money laundering was the triggering factor. Since then, DANDERS & MORE has found the platform to be useful beyond their initial need.

“It is of utmost importance to us that we at all times are ready to undergo an audit without any remarks. Therefore, our primary motivation in searching for a platform has been to ensure compliance with personal data and money laundering legislation, which are continuously developing and becoming increasingly strict. Meo was the obvious choice for us as the only suitable platform to meet our different needs,” says Majken Korsgaars, lawyer, partner and co-owner of Danders & More.

Today, many companies receive emails with unsolicited applications containing sensitive personal data. In some cases, applicants even attach a copy of their passport or driver‘s license, unaware that the companies are at risk of breaking the law if they do not delete these emails. It is one of the issues with receiving emails containing sensitive or confidential personal information. Another issue is that the company can not ensure that the applicants and clients send sensitive information via a secure and encrypted email connection.

Uncovering the chain of ownership

All this was - and still is - of immense significance to DANDERS & MORE. For this reason, the choice of Meo’s platform helps the partners to sleep peacefully at night. With the implementation of Meo’s platform, DANDERS & MORE now has a straightforward KYC procedure. If a client should send sensitive or confidential information by email, it will be erased immediately. Instead, the Compliance Officer will send the client a link to the system, which will guide the new user to upload ID and other relevant documentation - all of this without involvement from the law firm. But once the client has completed uploading documents to Meo’s secure platform, the designated persons at DANDERS & MORE will receive a notification.

“The platform is also helpful to obtain and categorise all necessary documentation to uncover the ownership and control structure (chain of ownership) of corporate clients, which gives us the certainty that we are not inadvertently violating the AML and GDPR legislation. This certainty is crucial in our industry. We cannot underestimate the significance of sending a message to the customers that we are vigilantly guarding their sensitive personal data, and we are doing so with reliable procedures”, says Majken Korsgaard.

A better relationship with the clients

In DANDERS & MORE, the partners have appointed a compliance officer responsible for the customer contact when KYC documentation is to be collected. Albeit it is not necessary because the platform is simple to navigate, it has its advantages.

“The advantage of having a Compliance Officer and a system like Meo is that my colleagues and I can focus on counselling our clients. We do not have to spend time pushing and reminding clients to upload any missing documentation. Now that the Meo platform and my compliance colleague take care of this, I can build a good client relationship without interruptions due to KYC procedures”, says Majken Korsgaard.

Responsive to amendments

At the beginning of the partnership with Meo, DANDERS & MORE had a couple of wishes for the platform’s development to ease the lawyers’ daily operation.

“We have had the opportunity to leave our mark on the platform, and Meo has always been very accommodating to our wishes. They are easy to work with, and they have proved highly skilled and tech-savvy when solving all our issues to meet our needs”, says Majken Korsgaard.

Some companies might question whether they want to collaborate with a new company in such an important area, but Majken Korsgaard was quickly convinced.

Deep insight at Meo

“I had a long meeting with Christian Visti Larsen, who explained about his background. It is compelling to work with people who are as knowledgeable about the GDPR framework as he is. He has been working with it for years, which convinced the partners and me about the platform. In Meo, we deal with very skilled people who know the demands for a platform and recognise the challenges it poses. They are 100% knowledgeable about all relevant issues, which make an excellent collaboration”, says Majken Korsgaard.

Since DANDERS & MORE has started using the platform, it has become a focal point for working with clients. As a result, the law firm has expanded its use to manage funding applications and to receive job applications.

“We were the first law firm to start using the platform, and we have not regretted it for a second”, says Majken Korsgaard.

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Other law firms should follow suit

In April 2019, the law firm, Bech-Bruun, was searching for a platform to assist them in complying with the growing legislation and documentation requirements concerning KYC and GDPR. Bech-Bruun also needed to find a proper way to handle the personal information of their clients and employees. The choice fell on the Meo platform gaining traction with a growing number of law firms.

“We needed to carry out a systematic collection of KYC documentation while meeting all our obligations with GDPR. Therefore, we searched for a system to handle these procedures. The alternative was to develop a system ourselves, but Meo platform checked off the vast majority of our boxes. Furthermore, they were very accommodating to our specific wishes and needs. This is why we chose them.” says Martin Riber Povlsen, CFO and Head of Compliance at Bech-Bruun.

At Bech-Bruun, a total of 11 employees are currently working to ensure that the law firm is compliant with the legislation within KYC (Know Your Customer) and GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation).

Commonly, correct data handling is a responsibility allocated across multiple units within the organisation, but Bech-Bruun has insourced everything to be handled by a designated Compliance Department. However, this does not change their preference for the platform. The Meo platform has become a natural part of the working day ranking alongside Word and Excel.

“We use the platform for all our obligations within KYC, and we are already active with thousands of identities on the platform. As a result, we provide all our customers with a uniform process for obtaining and storing documentation in a legally correct manner. Additionally, the processes of verifying the validity of passports and driver licenses are now automated.” says Martin Riber Povlsen and continues:

“If we did not have these compliance processes governed by a suitable platform, we would either struggle to deliver our service, or we would have to spend many hours solving the tasks manually. As a law firm, it is important to ensure our clients’ correct onboarding and advise clients according to the current KYC and GDPR procedures.”

Legaltech shoots ahead

The requirements are the same for all law firms regarding KYC compliant client onboarding and GDPR compliant storing of personal data. Therefore, Bech-Bruun believes it will be beneficial for law firms and their clients to use the same platform.

“It will be easier for everyone if the clients get accustomed to a shared platform for uploading documentation of different kinds - also when sharing data between the law firms”, ​​says Martin Riber Povlsen.

According to Christian Visti Larsen, CEO and co-founder of Meo, the entire LegalTech industry is in rapid development, and with good reason:

“The law industry has seen how new technology has meant major changes in other industries, and now, due to strict KYC and GDPR legislation, changes to how law firms operate are inevitable. Moreover, many have realised that smart IT platforms can do more than only ensure cost savings in their administrative work. The technology can also be a source of income when used to service their clients. There is a huge market for law firms with access to systems and know-how that makes a difference for the clients.” says Christian Visti Larsen, who has already seen several examples of this in the law industry.

Christian Visti Larsen frames Meo as a platform that complements the law firms’ existing systems when handling client cases. “Usually, there is a law firm represented on both sides of a lawsuit, and therefore, it is a great advantage for all parties if they can use a shared platform”, he explains.

Keeps track of criminal records

In addition to using the platform to handle client information, Bech-Bruun also uses it to support other administrative tasks, such as responsibly reviewing employees‘ criminal records.

Martin Riber Povlsen credits Meo for being very adhering to the needs of Bech-Bruun in the continued development of the platform. Consequently, Bech-Bruun now has a platform that matches the needs of their business and the needs of many other law firms.

“The platform automates and systematises processes, which are easy to document in case of an audit. Instead of developing a system of our own, we now have a platform that automatically evolves with our needs. This makes us very satisfied,” says Martin Riber Povlsen.