How European Merchant Bank Cut False Positives Almost by Half with AMLYZE
Learn how European Merchant Bank replaced its legacy AML vendor with a tailored AMLYZE implementation, cutting false positives almost by half and building an AML framework that scales with the bank.
Industry: Banking (SME Financing & Payment Services for EMIs and PIs)
Use Case Type: Implementation of AML/CFT compliance modules
Modules Used: Transaction Monitoring, Customer Screening, Customer Risk Scoring, AML Investigations
European Merchant Bank is an ECB-licensed bank in its 8th year of operations, with passporting rights to 29 countries. It serves corporate clients in two main segments: SMEs, where it focuses on financing in the local market, and payments, where it serves mostly electronic money and payment institutions (EMIs and PIs).
In 2026, the bank launched a set of initiatives to strengthen its compliance function. A new Chief Compliance Officer joined the board, and a new Head of Financial Crime Prevention joined the team. Choosing the right monitoring tool was a central part of this work.
Compliance is certainly a requirement, but also an enabler for us. There’s a saying which I like a lot: the stronger brakes you have, the faster you can go.
– Sarp Demiray, CEO and Board Member, European Merchant Bank
Challenge
EMBank’s client base was growing in both segments and becoming more diverse, especially across SMEs and fintechs. That growth brought higher volumes and more complex cases, which the bank’s compliance programme and tools had to handle.
Three challenges stood out:
• Efficiency. Higher volumes made investigations and alert handling slow and manual.
• Quality. The bank needed every assessment and case to meet the right standard.
• Scalability. AML/CFT controls had to grow together with the bank without losing quality.
The goal was not just to replace the existing tool, but to build an integrated AML framework that could support the bank’s future growth.
Technically, I would say inefficiency was one of the primary challenges we had been facing.
– Sarp Demiray, CEO and Board Member, European Merchant Bank
The bank was growing, and it means that the controls should grow together with the bank. Our AML controls needed to scale together with the bank, without compromising their quality.
– Ana Stalmakova, MLRO, European Merchant Bank
Why AMLYZE
EMBank had used another vendor for years and had looked at other vendors as well as building its own solution, which it partly developed in-house. In the end, the bank decided to focus on its strategic business initiatives and leave AML technology to specialists.
Strategically, it’s in the bank’s favour to focus on the real strategic initiatives that will be bringing results business-wise, but leave this to the experts, as there is much more exposure to the abilities, both technically and from the regulator side, as a vendor.
– Sarp Demiray
After considering all alternatives, EMBank chose AMLYZE for four reasons:
- A customisable product. The platform could be shaped around EMBank’s requirements instead of a fixed setup.
- Real AML experience. AMLYZE is built by people with hands-on experience on both the financial institution and the regulator side.
- One integrated platform. All AML modules work together in a single suite.
- A partnership approach. The bank wanted a partner to build and develop with, not just a software provider.
We were looking not just for a software provider, but for a company with a good understanding of the banking area, AML and regulatory expectations.
– Ana Stalmakova
Hear how European Merchant Bank’s representatives explains their decision to partner with AMLYZE in this short video:
Implementation
The implementation was tailored to EMBank’s specific needs rather than deployed out of the box.
Integration with core systems: A custom middleware connects AMLYZE to EMBank’s existing systems, including its core Oracle infrastructure.
Custom scenarios: AMLYZE configured 18 EMBank-specific scenarios in areas where the bank needed additional coverage, including rule sets for its higher-risk clients.
Additional functionality: The AMLYZE team developed further functionality specifically for EMBank’s needs.
I would say it was quite smooth, more smooth than I was expecting, honestly.
– Sarp Demiray
Overall, it was a tailored implementation built around EMB-specific requirements rather than just adapting to a standard solution.
– Ana Stalmakova
Results
Since going live, EMBank’s compliance team handles alerts and investigations more efficiently, with almost half the false positives and more time for real analysis.
| Metric | Result after go-live |
|---|---|
| False positives | Reduced almost 2x |
| EMBank-specific scenarios | 18 configured where extra coverage was needed |
| Manual work | Reduced, with more time for case analysis |
Key Outcomes:
- ~50% fewer false positives thanks to better-calibrated rules
- 18 custom scenarios closing coverage gaps for EMBank’s higher-risk clients
- More efficient investigations and alert handling, with less manual work
- Better visibility and more connected teams, with everything in one place
Since going live, we have more efficient investigations and alert handling. The rules are calibrated better, with the false positives reduced almost twice. We have better visibility across the system, across the tasks, and there is less manual work, with more time we are able to spend on the analysis of the cases.
– Ana Stalmakova
Partnership and Support
EMBank sees AMLYZE as a long-term partner to build with, not just a vendor. The customised rule sets, scenarios and functionality delivered during integration were the first results, and both teams see room to develop further together. The bank also sees a future business opportunity: offering compliance capabilities as a service to its own clients.
We believe we can build together and develop together. We indeed see this as a partnership. We had seen the initial fruits during the integration process: customisation of rule sets, scenarios as well as functionality. But we believe there is much more opportunity for that.
– Sarp Demiray
After the implementation, we had seen very positive results. Having everything in one place increased the visibility of everything, so the teams were much more efficient, much more connected. And I believe this also positively affected the quality of the investigations and alert handling. AMLYZE is a long-term growth partner for us.
– Sarp Demiray
Ana’s advice for other banks choosing an AML solution:
Look beyond simply replacing your existing AML tool. Think in advance how this tool would suit you in the future, and consider implementing a new tool like AMLYZE not just as a technological solution, but also as a partnership.
– Ana Stalmakova
In One Sentence
With a tailored AMLYZE implementation, European Merchant Bank cut false positives almost by half, added 18 custom scenarios and built an AML framework that scales with the bank.
Watch the full interview: European Merchant Bank × AMLYZE on YouTube
Want results like EMBank’s? – Book a demo
