Blog: MCB Chooses Logica's HotScan payments filtering solution

Logica today announced that MCB Bank Limited has selected and successfully implemented its payments filtering solution, HotScan.

MCB is now using HotScan to monitor and filter its SWIFT messages in Pakistan. MCB is the fourth largest bank in Pakistan.

It has a customer base of approximately four million and a nationwide distribution network of over 1,100 branches and over 450 ATMs in the market.

HotScan enables MCB to comply with new regulations and allows operations and compliance employees to focus on addressing other potential threats - significantly reducing operational costs.

It integrates with SWIFT prime messaging interface, Alliance Access - thereby scanning all incoming and outgoing SWIFT messages.

MCB is now benefiting from automated checking of all its cross-border payments and immediate alerts of sanction entities. The bank is compliant with Financial Action Task Force (FATF) sanctions regulations.

With growing international pressure to combat terrorist and remove the financial benefits of crime, the bank can scan transactions in real-time, to ensure that every payment has received the highest level of compliance verification and achieve end-of-day payments deadlines.

The implementation was completed in five months and is currently used by compliance and operations units. Logica implemented HotScan in partnership with IBM Pakistan.

John Evans, director of financial crime solutions at Logica, commented:

"Levels of filtering required of banks will only increase further, due to more stringent regulatory requirements and increasing payments volumes. We are delighted to add MCB to Logica's growing customer base in this region. This is our second customer within Pakistan which proves that our innovative filtering software can help banks worldwide minimise risks and maximise operational resources."