Unit21, a pioneer in providing AI-powered risk infrastructures for fraud prevention and anti-money laundering (AML) monitoring, has made a public announcement regarding their strategic partnership with Helix by Q2, a cloud-based core banking platform specially tailored for modern financial institutions. The cooperation revolves around upgrading AML monitoring and investigatory features for Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) as well as embedded finance programs.
Such integration allows financial institutions and fintechs using Helix to easily feed both first- and third-party data into Unit21’s system. This data gets effectively managed by means of flexible, AI-driven workflows. Hence, compliance teams are capable of enhancing monitoring, carrying out investigations, and complying with regulations through reporting, notwithstanding the complex nature of various program structures.
By connecting this partnership, Helix data becomes available for Unit21 directly and thereby, sponsor banks are offered with a consolidated perspective of risk activities not only covering their internal operations but also their fintech partnerships. Furthermore, these financial entities still enjoy the liberty to adapt AML measures in accordance with the particular risk characteristics of each program which is conducive to a personalized as well as a scalable compliance methodology.
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“Sponsor Banks need AML programs that scale as fast as their growth ambitions,” said Trisha Kothari, CEO and Co-Founder of Unit21. “By combining data ingestion from Helix with Unit21’s AI-driven detection and investigation workflows, banks can operate more effective and efficient AML programs, reducing manual effort, improving signal quality, and confidently onboarding more fintech partners without increasing compliance overhead.”
Unit21’s platform is built on deep expertise in banking infrastructure, transforming raw financial data into actionable compliance insights. Once data is taken in, it will be analyzed through the use of rule customization and machine learning functionalities to effectively identify suspicious behaviors, enhance the prioritization of the resulting alerts, and support the achievement of efficient investigation workflows. In this way, compliance teams get the ability to create AML processes that fit with their operational structure, whether the task is handling a single fintech relationship or managing portfolios for multiple entities.
Key Capabilities Enabled by the Partnership
- Seamless Data Ingestion: Integration of core banking and transaction data from Helix into Unit21’s platform
- Customizable AML Workflows: Flexible rules, thresholds, and investigation paths tailored to sponsor banks, programs, or individual fintech partners
- AI-Driven Insights: Intelligent agents that support alert triage, investigation workflows, and decision-making, improving efficiency and consistency
- Enhanced Visibility for Sponsor Banks: Consolidated oversight across multiple fintech programs with program-level controls
As regulatory scrutiny around BaaS and embedded finance continues to intensify, sponsor banks are under increasing pressure to demonstrate robust oversight without hindering innovation. This partnership provides a scalable compliance framework that enables institutions to meet evolving regulatory expectations while supporting the rapid growth of fintech ecosystems.
