AMLR is coming in 2027. Make your onboarding ready now.
The EU Anti-Money Laundering Regulation (AMLR) will apply directly across Member States from 10 July 2027, replacing fragmented national rules with a single EU rulebook. Signicat helps you turn those requirements into digital onboarding and AML journeys that you can control and adapt – including where strong electronic identification and qualified trust services are required.
AMLR raises the bar for how customers and beneficial owners are identified, verified and monitored. For many organisations – from banks, fintechs, crypto and crowdfunding platforms to selected high-value and luxury sectors – this will mean rethinking KYC, KYB and AML processes.
AMLR: one EU AML rulebook by 2027
The new AMLR is the centrepiece of the EU’s updated AML package. Instead of another directive, it is a directly applicable regulation that sets common, binding standards for obliged entities across Europe.
By 10 July 2027, financial institutions and newly in-scope sectors will need to comply with harmonised rules on risk assessment, customer due diligence, ongoing monitoring and beneficial ownership.
What changes compared to today
Under current AML directives, onboarding and due-diligence requirements vary from country to country. AMLR removes much of this fragmentation. From 2027, obliged entities will follow one harmonised set of rules with far fewer local deviations, and stronger expectations around electronic identification and clear audit trails.
What this means in practice:
• One EU AML rulebook, fewer national variations – but less room for vague processes
• Stricter expectations on KYC, PEP and UBO checks, with clear evidence trails
• Greater scrutiny from supervisors, including the new EU AML Authority, AMLA
• A shift towards electronic identification, supported by eIDAS 2 and the European Digital Identity (EUDI) Wallet
Who needs to get AMLR-ready?
Signicat supports both long-regulated institutions and organisations that are new to EU AML obligations.
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• Banks and credit institutions
• Payment and e-money institutions
• Insurers and intermediaries
• Wealth, investment and fund managers
• Fintechs offering regulated payment, credit or investment services -
• Crypto-asset service providers
• Crowdfunding platforms and intermediaries -
• Selected high-value and luxury goods traders (e.g. jewellery, art, vehicles, premium retail)
• Selected sports organisations such as professional football clubs and agents -
• Non-EU companies with EU branches or subsidiaries
• Non-EU entities entering into business relationships with EU obliged entities or acquiring EU real estate
Harmonised regulation, tougher expectations
For many organisations, AMLR will change how onboarding and AML are run day to day, not just what is written in the policy manual.
Typical challenges:
• Fragmented journeys: legacy, country-specific onboarding flows that do not map cleanly to a single EU rulebook
• Manual, document-heavy checks: slow, costly processes that frustrate customers and staff
• Limited flexibility: every regulatory change becomes an IT project, rather than a configuration update
Done poorly, AMLR preparation adds friction and risk. Done well, it is an opportunity to modernise onboarding and reduce fraud, and tighten foundations such as address data, ownership structures and UBO information.
AMLR-compliant KYC, KYB and signing journeys with Signicat
Signicat offers a digital identity platform with 35+ eID methods, AML/KYC-compliant onboarding, address and customer data verification, and trust orchestration, used by regulated organisations across Europe.
Together with our Qualified Trust Services and EUDI-ready capabilities, this means we can support key elements that matter under AMLR and eIDAS – from strong electronic identification to qualified electronic signatures.
Use us to turn AMLR requirements into digital flows – without starting from scratch.
Under AMLR and eIDAS this includes in particular:
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Provide secure, cross-border identification through nationally recognised eID schemes.
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Offer legally reliable proof of identity and verified attributes for compliant onboarding.
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Enable customers to share pre-verified identity details directly and securely, reducing the need for repeated checks. EUDI Wallets also support a shift from document-heavy onboarding to fast, attribute-based identity sharing, helping reduce friction for users while strengthening assurance levels.
Three key ways we help
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Design and manage end-to-end onboarding and lifecycle journeys that connect identity proofing, address verification, KYC/KYB, screening and monitoring. Signicat also connects you to 200+ data and registry sources for individuals and businesses, helping you verify identity details, addresses, roles, ownership and risk signals in one place.
Trust Orchestration lets you configure flows, apply different rules per segment or country, and update journeys as RTS, guidance or risk appetite change. You can also include UBO checks and ownership lookups as part of the same flow, rather than handling them as separate manual steps. -
Support a wide range of identity methods – from national eIDs and bank-ID schemes to video and biometric verification – and align them with AMLR expectations for different products, channels and customer types.
Where required, you can use eIDAS-notified eIDs at “substantial” or “high” assurance levels, and combine them with qualified trust services such as QES or future EUDI Wallet credentials. -
Automate checks where it makes sense, minimise manual review, and re-use verified customer and business data across journeys. Reduce drop-off and false positives while improving control and auditability.
Attribute reuse – including data sourced through Wallets or trust services – can also help reduce manual exceptions and lower operational costs.
What AMLR readiness looks like with Signicat
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Bank or fintech
A pan-European bank redesigns retail and SME onboarding for AMLR, using Signicat to orchestrate risk-based identity proofing, multi-source KYC/KYB checks, address verification and screening, while keeping a consistent experience across markets.
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Crypto and crowdfunding platforms
A digital-asset or crowdfunding platform standardises investor and merchant onboarding across the EU, applying strong electronic identification, UBO/KYB checks and AML screening through a single orchestration layer
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Non-EU companies with an EU footprint
A non-EU group with EU subsidiaries and customers uses Signicat to harmonise onboarding across entities, combining digital identity verification, address validation, KYB and UBO checks in one AMLR-aligned flow. This helps them show EU partners and supervisors that group-wide KYC/AML controls meet EU expectations.
AMLR – frequently asked questions
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AMLR is part of the new EU AML package adopted in 2024. It enters into application in July 2027, creating a single AML rulebook for obliged entities across the EU.
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Earlier EU AML rules were directives, which each Member State had to transpose into national law, often with variations. AMLR is a regulation – it applies directly and uniformly, and tightens expectations around risk assessments, customer due diligence, PEP and UBO checks, and supervision.
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AMLR raises the standard for how obliged entities know their customers and monitor risk. eIDAS 2 and the EU Digital Identity Wallet create a framework for reusable digital identities and trusted attributes across the EU. Together, they support a shift from manual, document-based checks to electronic identity verification that can be re-used across services and combined with qualified trust services where needed.