Background Check Compliance in the Financial Services Industry
The Financial Services Industry is facing ever increasing requirements to put in place controls and procedures to prevent unwarranted risk to consumers and to ensure appropriate oversight of third party service providers who work on their properties. This need has been brought into sharper focus resulting from the enactment of Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform, the Consumer Protection Act and oversight and regulation from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). As a result, the Industry has come together to bring a solution to the market that will work for everyone. Aspen Grove Solutions is privileged to be the technology partner of choice in the provision of this solution.
Current regulations mandate due diligence and oversight of vendors by Financial Institutions to ensure regulatory compliance, including reviews of vendor policies, procedures and controls. Financial Institutions must review all third-party vendors in terms of risk associated with the activities undertaken on their behalf. Criminal background checks are a required part of this review. However background checks by themselves are not enough. The industry must also be able to demonstrate that vendors carrying out work are compliant with the background check. Therefore a broader solution is required.
This new reality is to be welcomed as it provides the opportunity for a win/win for each stakeholder. Through the implementation of an industry standard criminal background check and proof of compliance at point of service, the industry and consumers benefit in the following ways:
- Provides an opportunity to adopt and embrace an industry standard background check developed by the industry for the industry
- Significantly reduces the cost of multiple background checks
- Provides a single interface for background check management rather than the potential for multiple interfaces and requirements
- Allows the industry to get ahead of the impending tsunami by putting in place the solution now
- Gives an opportunity to positively enhance the reputational status of professionals operating in the industry
- Helps to increase consumer, city and municipality confidence in health, safety and duty of care standards
- Assists with maintaining a safe, sound and secure environment
- Plays a significant role in raising the performance bar across the industry
- Enables vendors to be compliant with multiple financial institutions and network owner thus enabling business growth potential
- Establishes a pro-active industry standard background check working group that has input from all stakeholders thus ensuring the on-going review and update
The Solution
Aspen Grove Solutions, incorporated in Delaware with corporate offices in Frederick, MD, is a leading technology provider of business management solutions and software applications for the default property market, including REO, Short Sale, Asset Management and Property Preservation. The Aspen iFamily™ suite of property related solutions is relied upon daily by organizations of all sizes to run their operations in an efficient, productive, and cost effective manner. The popular Aspen iAgent® solution is used by thousands of agents nationwide.
The latest addition to the Aspen Grove Solutions family is Aspen iRecord®, an innovative, private cloud based solution that services the growing industry requirement for all vendors to pass a criminal background check. The inclusion of the Aspen iMobile® web application goes one step further by producing the unique ability to demonstrate proof of compliance at point of service.
In addition, the recently introduced and simply named ‘ABC#’, is a personal unique identifier issued to everyone that successfully completes an industry standard background check. With the ABC#, individuals sign-in via Aspen iMobile® at a property to demonstrate proof of compliance at point of service.
Aspen iRecord® has been developed by the industry for the industry. Aspen Grove Solutions is delighted to be involved in its role as technology enabler and technology solutions provider. A collaborative and inclusive approach which involves leading members of the Financial and Field Services industries has resulted in a background check solution that is tailored for adoption across the entire vendor landscape. A one-for-all and all-for-one universally accepted standard means significant cost savings for vendors.
With Aspen iRecord® you are background checked and industry compliant for as little as 18 cents per day, and remember, this is not just a background check but a complete solution.
Benefits of Aspen iRecord®
Now there exists an industry approved technology that enables vendors to be compliant with a standardized background check while simultaneously providing Financial Institutions and Network Owners with the solution they need.
Stakeholders will benefit in different ways:
Financial Institutions and Network Owners:
- Consumer protection is enabled through the provision of an industry standard background check by ensuring that all vendors are compliant
- Supply chain management capability which, to date, was difficult, if not impossible
- Proof of compliance at point of service through exception and anomaly reporting
- The ability to affect change in the supply chain through the anomaly and exception reporting
- Background check compliance will help to better guard physical assets
- Secure in the knowledge that all vendor’s employees and their field service contractors are fully compliant with industry standardized background checks
- Reduction in manual administration overhead and potential reduction in carrying costs
Vendors or Network Members:
- Adherence to the work provider’s standards and compliance requirements
- Proof of compliance at point of service for employees and network members
- A standard that will be positively viewed and welcomed by Financial Institutions and network owners
- Aspen iMobile® delivers validation of background check compliance at point of service to Financial Institutions and network owners
- Geo coded time/date stamp ensures work is carried out at the correct location
- Capability to quickly react and comply with audit requests from a Financial Institution or Network Owners
- A background check management solution for your network
- Background checked annually to approved standards including notifications when your background check(s) are due, to ensure continued compliance
- Issuance of industry recognized unique ABC#
- Enhance your professional status to your network owners
- Confidentiality of your own network of vendors is assured
Consumers:
- The adoption of an industry standard background check raises the bar for field service workers allowed to carry out work when coming into contact with consumers
- Positive contribution to improving safety and wellbeing in and around the home/property
- Reduced risk of incidents and inappropriate behavior
- Reduced risk of personal property damage and theft
- A higher level of professionalism in the work that is carried out
- More confidence in ensuring your family’s safety, by knowing that vendors have completed an industry standard background check