Anyone who is conducting business internationally or making large transactions should be aware of attorney paymaster services. These services are designed to protect you and others involved in your high-dollar transaction from fraud, and to offer legal protections by ensuring that all the proper steps are followed to comply with financial regulations, including KYC, AML, CDDand EDD.
Beloware just a few of the risks that an attorney paymaster can protect against.
Fraud
Whenever you conduct high-dollar transactions (such as real estate, jet fuel or precious diamonds and metals), or work with an overseas buyer or seller, there is a risk that you could be participating in a fraudulent transaction. This is especially true in transactions in which you may have never met the person face to face or talked to them except electronically.
With an attorney paymaster acting as an escrow account, you can hold funds in the reserve account until you verify that the transaction is legitimate.
This is prudent on both the buyer’s and the seller’s side—if you are selling goods, the attorney paymaster can confirm that payment is made before you release the items. If you are buying, the attorney paymaster can release your funds to the seller and track the shipment of goods.
Money Laundering
Another potential risk that people face when they are doing business with entities or individuals they have never met is inadvertently becoming a participant in a money laundering transaction. Your attorney paymaster can help you verify the person or entity on the other end of the transaction using KYC (know your customer), CDD or EDD (customer due diligence or enhanced due diligence) and AML (anti-money laundering) verifications.
It is often easier for an attorney paymaster to perform these checks than it would be for you, as they can be time-consuming and difficult if you don’t have experience in these areas. These checks are also required by law, so it’s important that you have them done by someone who knows how to do it right.
Clerical Errors
Even legitimate transactions with buyers who have checked out through KYC, CDD and AML can run into issues when it comes to the paperwork. A lot of information must be confirmed, filled out, filed with various regulatory bodies and shared in the process of your transaction. Missing a key piece of information or filling out some of the forms incorrectly can still land you in trouble or significantly slow down a transaction.
Working with an attorney paymaster service ensures that all the i’s are dotted and t’s are crossed, so you can move forward confidently in your transaction.
Cantley Dietrich is available to provide attorney paymaster services for your high-value domestic or international transactions. Contact us today to learn more.