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Brock Bontrager
Ops & Finance @ Brigit
Brock Bontrager is currently the Co-Founder and CEO of Sandbar, a position he has held since January 2021.1 However, the query refers to his previous role at Brigit, where he worked as the Manager of Business Operations from October 2018 to December 2020.1
Brock's professional background includes:
- Co-Founder and CEO at Sandbar (January 2021 - present)1
- Manager of Business Operations at Brigit (October 2018 - December 2020)1
- Associate in the Investment Team at Scout Ventures (October 2017 - November 2018)1
- Analyst at PwC in the Technology, Media, and Telecommunications division (November 2016 - October 2017)1
- Analyst at Lazard in the Corporate and Restructuring division (June 2015 - November 2016)1
Brock holds a Master of Science degree in Finance from Boston College.1 He has been active in the fintech and compliance space, recently attending the Money Services Business Association conference in Washington, DC.2 Brock has also been focusing on topics such as stablecoins and cross-border payments in his current role.5
His LinkedIn username is indeed brockbontrager, as confirmed by several posts from his account.23456
Highlights
Service members are often targeted by financial scams due to their unique vulnerabilities and predictable financial patterns. Staying informed about common scams and sharing this knowledge within the community is essential.
#MDW #stopfinancialcrime
KYC/B is not AML.
We see this far too often. Some companies believe they’re handling AML efforts but are really only focused on the KYC/B part of it.
KYC/B is an important start but think of compliance as an overarching umbrella that includes both KYC/KYB and AML (see the image below).
Both concepts are closely related but distinct, so let's break them down:
1️⃣ AML: An AML program involves several stages of compliance measures to ensure that money laundering and other financial crimes are detected and reported to authorities. Some of the critical operations include KYC/B, transaction monitoring, suspicious activity reporting (SAR), training, and more.
2️⃣ KYC/KYB: KYC/B measures help form the foundation of AML efforts and are typically implemented during the customer onboarding process. Through a KYC/B check, licensed financial institutions verify that users are who they say they are and are not sanctioned individuals or entities. This includes obtaining official identification documents, proof of address, and other information.
We see this disconnect more at the earlier stages of a fintech’s lifecycle: companies paying attention to KYC/B rather than the entire AML program.
Many times, that’s because companies may: 1️⃣ Not fully understand the scope and complexity of AML requirements 2️⃣ Assume the KYC/B measures are sufficient 3️⃣ Lack the necessary resources to implement an AML program fully
That’s problematic because criminals routinely bypass KYC/B checks, and there are limits to how well an institution can know its customer base using KYC/B processes alone. Repeatedly asking clients to identify themselves can frustrate the customers.
An effective AML program covers more ground, continuously monitoring customer activity to understand their clients better and see what activity is truly unexpected.
When a financial institution combines the different areas of AML, it's a more effective strategy.
