A complete
automated process
“If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.”
Albert Einstein
At Flexado, we think it is important to know our customers are and what their motivations for a business address are. In addition, compliance with AML legislation is essential. From experience we know that compliance can be a time-consuming and complicated process. Therefore, we make every effort to make the entire process as simple and friendly as possible for all parties involved. By combining 13+ years of experience with the recent technological developments and by collaborating with leading partners from different industries, we have managed to fully automate this process. We ensure a complete file that is always up to date in a way that has never been easier.
Because Flexado provides business addresses and processes the resulting transactions, Flexado falls under anti-money laundering legislation. In the Netherlands, this is the WWFT (Wet ter voorkoming van witwassen en financieren van terrorisme) and internationally, this legislation is referred to as the AML (Anti-Money Laundering).
It is a law aimed at preventing money laundering or terrorist financing. Companies covered by this legislation must take measures to prevent these practices and must comply with the obligations imposed by the law. These include customer due diligence and reporting unusual transactions. Failure to comply with legislation can lead to sanctions, fines or even criminal charges.
AML legislation applies worldwide and is often implemented in conjunction with Know Your Customer (KYC) and Know Your Business (KYB) guidelines.
The main commitments are
1. Client survey
Companies must implement identification and verification procedures to establish the identity of their customers. This includes gathering information on the nature and purpose of the business relationship and monitoring and assessing the risks of the transaction.
2. Duty to report
Companies are obliged to report unusual transactions to the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU). These are transactions that are suspected may be linked to money laundering or terrorist financing.
3. Internal procedures and control
Companies must have effective internal procedures and controls to ensure proper compliance. This includes appointing a responsible person, training staff and establishing procedures and controls.
4. Retention period
Firms must keep records of their customer due diligence, transactions and reports for five years.
5. Sanctions
Companies must impose sanctions on individuals or entities that fail to comply with anti-money laundering laws. This can range from a warning to termination of the business relationship.
How does Flexado handle these obligations?
1. Client survey
The first step in client research is Know Your Customer (KYB). This involves collecting information on the company address, legal form, company registration number, shareholders, directors, business activities and other relevant data. By having insight into more than 180 trade registers with 200+ million companies, we easily and quickly map company structures.
Based on the resulting data, the individuals to be investigated are determined. The Know Your Customer (KYC) check.
KYC requirements may vary from country to country, but generally the following information should be requested:
- First name and surname
- Address details
- Identification documents
- Verification of identification documents
Advanced biometric algorithms are used to verify whether the delivered documents are genuine and valid and if the person in question is also the person on the document. AI-driven ID verification is reviewed by expert reviewers, who monitor all automated ID verifications and remove possible system errors, fraud attempts or failures. The systems and processes used for this purpose are all ISO 27001, ISO 27017 and ISO 27018 certified. This ensures the quality of the process and the privacy protection of our customers.
Below is a simplified representation of the process.
2. Duty to report
An unusual transaction is a transaction that deviates from a customer’s normal payment pattern and is suspected to be related to money laundering or terrorist financing. When such a transaction is spotted, it will be reported to the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) Netherlands. The FIU assesses whether there is a suspicion of money laundering or terrorist financing and may pass this information on to investigative agencies.
3. Internal procedures and controls
To ensure the integrity and quality of legal processes, Flexado relies on a number of key aspects and principles.
Legal8
The entire legal aspect and the processes involved are carefully scrutinised, assessed and, if necessary, tightened by our legal partner Legal8 B.V. (Chamber of Commerce: 30284374).
Training
To ensure that knowledge is always up to date, several training courses are attended annually (organised by Legal8). By requiring the entire Flexado team to attend these training courses, we ensure a broad understanding of (inter)national legislation and can guarantee the quality of our knowledge.
Duo control principle
The 4-eye principle, also known as the dual control principle, is an important principle applied to reduce risks and errors and prevent fraud. The principle means that any transaction or action that is potentially risky should be monitored by at least two people. The duo control principle is an important measure to ensure the integrity and security of business processes.
Compliance Officer
Full compliance is under the watchful eye of the compliance officer. This officer is specially trained, educated and equipped with far-reaching knowledge of domestic and foreign legislation and case law. The compliance officer ensures that internal processes comply with legal requirements and also maintains contact with external parties.
The Chambre of Commerce
In consultation with the Chamber of Commerce, we regularly check for changes in the requirements for business registration addresses.
4. Retention period
All documents are kept in accordance with the AML for up to 5 years after the termination of the agreement between Flexado and the client. After this period, the documents will be destroyed. For all questions about the GDPR (general data protection regulation) and document retention periods, please refer to our privacy policy.
5. Sanctions
If matters are not in line with the legislation, for whatever reason, the agreement between Flexado and the customer will be unilaterally terminated immediately, without further reason. In this way, we guarantee the quality of our customer due diligence.
Risk analysis
Flexado has conducted a comprehensive risk analysis that determines the risk categories under which customers fall, based on various factors and the corresponding measures. Download the full risk analysis below.
Do you have questions about our services, prices
or availability? Feel free to contact us.
Find important articles and
answers to frequently asked questions.
Frequently asked questions
For what period do I commit to Flexado?
An agreement with Flexado is indefinite with a minimum term of 6 months. This allows us to offer our customers security for their operations.
What is the income distribution between Flexado and me?
As a partner of Flexado, you receive income:
- Meeting room 70%.
- Workplaces and day offices 70%.
- Virtual office 50%.
- Fixed office space: 90% over the first year.
How often will I be paid?
In your own MyFlexado portal, you have an overview of the customers registered at your location. Each month, Flexado automatically pays the commission amount to be received by you. You no longer need to send an invoice for this.
Can I register multiple locations?
In the portal, you can add multiple locations.
How do I receive a notification from a new customer?
As soon as we receive an application for your location, we will notify you by e-mail. In this e-mail, you will receive all the necessary information. For a virtual office, you can think of a company name, contact person, start date and post instructions.
Can I let Flexado fully manage my virtual clients?
It is possible to accommodate all your virtual clients at Flexado. We facilitate the whole process, all you have to do is process the mail.
Can I refuse customers or companies?
You can always decide whether to accept a customer or not.
Even during the period someone is a customer, you can choose to refuse the customer.
