Financial services organizations of all sizes must remain one step ahead of financial crime, NICE said in a statement today.

To enable this, the firm announced this week that it has entered a definitive agreement to acquire Guardian Analytics, an AI cloud-based financial crime risk management solution provider.

The Most Diverse Audience to Date at FMLS 2020 – Where Finance Meets Innovation

NICE is a provider of both cloud and on-premises enterprise software solutions that empower organizations to make smarter decisions based on advanced analytics of structured and unstructured data.

Financial services organizations of all sizes rely on Guardian Analytics’ real-time behavioral analytics and machine learning solutions. Powered by the cloud, Guardian Analytics simplifies deployments and ongoing operations, optimizing operational resource efficiency.

The unique combination of NICE Actimize and Guardian Analytics’ fraud and anti-money laundering capabilities will empower firms of all sizes to accelerate the adoption of the industry’s most innovative solutions, to best protect their assets and customers.

The combination delivers AML and fraud capabilities in the cloud for complete financial crime and compliance coverage.

It dynamically adapts to new attacks and changes in customer behavior with real-time behavior-based analytics and machine learning, enabling higher detection accuracy, lower false positives, and 360 degree view to maximize operational efficiency.

Additionally, the combination delivers fast and easy deployment, significantly reducing time and cost with out of the box AML and fraud models and data connectors.

It will extend NICE Actimize’s offering across the entire financial services sector, enabling  firms of all sizes, from small and mid-sized banks to global financial institutions, to benefit from NICE Actimize’s financial crime and compliance solutions.

Advancing the future of managing financial crime risk

“Today, NICE Actimize is taking a significant step forward in advancing the future of managing financial crime risk,” said Craig Costigan, NICE Actimize CEO.  “With criminals seeking to exploit the current environment, we need to make sure financial institutions and consumers are protected in a way that’s cost-effective and intuitive. The acquisition of Guardian Analytics brings together the unique combination of proven expertise, best-in-class innovation, and the power of the cloud, presenting a major opportunity for accelerated growth. I am excited to embark on this journey in advancing the industry’s fight against financial crime.”

“We are excited to join forces with NICE Actimize and look forward to the opportunities that the combination of our expertise and capabilities will bring to market,” said Eric Tran-Le, Guardian Analytics co-CEO.

“Financial services organizations need to stay ahead of today’s threats and our unique offerings enable firms to rely on a single provider to accelerate their financial crime risk management strategies, especially given the dynamic nature of today’s market,” he added.

The acquisition is expected to close in the latter part of Q4 2020.