Leave Legacy Behind: Unit21’s Modern Platform for Banks & Credit Unions

The financial crime landscape is evolving faster than ever; yet most fraud and AML systems are stuck in the past. Financial institutions face a daily balancing act: fighting increasingly sophisticated threats while navigating outdated technology, rigid processes, and a rising tide of regulatory pressure.

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At Unit21, we believe it’s time to break the mold.

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Today, we’re proud to announce a major new release of the Unit21 platform - purpose-built for banks, credit unions, and sponsor FIs. This launch is more than a feature drop. It’s a full-scale upgrade that redefines how financial institutions manage risk and compliance, delivering faster fraud detection, smarter AML workflows, and greater control across your operations.

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Whether you're dealing with alert fatigue, regulatory bottlenecks, or slow-to-deploy systems, Unit21’s modern platform brings speed, clarity, and automation to your entire fraud and AML program.

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Why Financial Institutions Must Modernize Now?

Financial institutions today are under pressure from all sides. Fraudsters are faster, compliance requirements are stricter, and resource-strapped teams are left to bridge the gap with outdated tools. Legacy systems were built for a different era. They rely on batch-based detection, inflexible rules, and long implementation cycles that can’t keep pace with today’s threats.

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At the same time, regulators expect faster, more accurate filings and transparent decision-making. Internal teams are burning out under the weight of false positives, redundant reviews, and siloed systems that don't speak to each other.

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Unit21 offers financial institutions a single, unified platform to manage fraud and AML workflows from end to end. With faster alerting, no-code rule creation, explainable ML, and automated filings, banks and credit unions can now operate with the speed of a fintech - without sacrificing control, auditability, or compliance.

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The Three Pillars: A Smarter Approach to Fraud & AML

This launch is anchored in what today’s financial institutions truly need: speed, clarity, and automation. Our platform delivers on all three, giving compliance and fraud teams the power to move faster while staying fully in control.

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Speed With Control

Legacy systems hinder your productivity with batch-based alerts and rigid rule logic. Unit21 changes the game. Manage all your fraud and AML programs from one unified platform - and launch new rules or change thresholds in minutes, no engineers required. With real-time and near real-time alerting, you’ll detect threats as they happen, not a day later. And with flexible deployment via API or FFIP (flat file ingestion protocol), Unit21 fits into your processes, not the other way around. 

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“We moved from delayed alerts to real-time fraud detection - cutting over $250K in losses and deploying new rules in under 24 hours.”
  -  Mid-sized U.S. Bank

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The intrinsic nature of the Unit21 platform is what sets us apart - the unification of fraud and AML has never been easier to leverage through no-code, customizable rules and thresholds. 

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Explain With Conviction

Transparency isn’t optional - it’s a requirement. Whether it’s an investigator reviewing an alert, an auditor requesting logs, or a regulator scrutinizing your system, Unit21 delivers clear, defensible explanations. With explainable machine learning (ML), dynamic customer risk ratings, and an AI Agent that shows its work, every decision is traceable. That means faster reviews, confident actions, and audit-readiness built in.

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AI Agent for AML Reviews

Think of it as a digital analyst. Our AI Agent helps teams review alerts faster by summarizing key information, recommending next steps, and identifying false positives. It even drafts case notes - saving time and improving consistency. This means fewer hours spent on low-risk alerts and more focus on complex, high-risk cases.

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Customer Risk Rating Segmentation

Not all customers carry the same risk - so why treat them the same? With Customer Risk Rating segmentation, you can now apply different risk models to different customer segments (e.g., fintech partners vs. consumers). Ratings dynamically update based on behavior and external data, helping your team focus where it matters most.

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This clarity extends further with our network analysis tools - helping teams visualize relationships between entities, uncover fraud rings, and trace activity across accounts. When combined with explainable ML, every alert becomes more than just a flag - it becomes a fully traceable, understandable signal that supports confident, defensible decision-making.

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Automate With Confidence

Manual filings, disjointed reviews, and clunky spreadsheets are compliance risks in themselves. Unit21 automates every step of the process - from CTRs, SARs, and STRs to 314(a) screenings and watchlist checks. Use templated, pre-populated forms and file directly to FinCEN or goAML - all without leaving the platform. The result? Less time spent on paperwork, fewer errors, and a team that can stay focused on stopping financial crime.

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CTR Direct Filing

Manual filings are slow, error-prone, and hard to scale. Our CTR Direct Filing feature allows you to submit directly to FinCEN from the Unit21 platform - no handoffs or spreadsheets. With pre-populated, validated forms, you’ll reduce errors and meet regulatory deadlines with ease.

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NACHA & X9 Ingestion

ACH and check fraud are on the rise - and many systems struggle to keep up. Unit21 now supports NACHA and X9 file ingestion, enabling faster detection across these high-volume, high-risk payment rails. This gives deposit ops and fraud teams better coverage and fewer operational blind spots.

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“We gained full visibility into ACH and check fraud with custom dashboards and case tracking tailored to our workflows.”
  -  Deposit Ops Leader, Regional Bank

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And it doesn’t stop at filings. With Unit21, you can also automate screening against regulatory and internal watchlists, respond swiftly to 314(a) requests, and monitor for signals from the dark web - all from within the same platform. It’s a full-spectrum automation layer that frees up your team to focus on what really matters: stopping financial crime.

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What’s Next

This release is just the beginning. As fraud threats evolve and regulatory demands grow, Unit21 remains committed to helping financial institutions stay ahead with agile, explainable, and automated compliance solutions.

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Learn From Your Peers In These Upcoming Webinars

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June 17 | Hosted by American Banker
Breaking the Mold: How innovative banks are ditching legacy tools and embracing AI
👉 [Register Now]

July 9 | Hosted by CUInsights
From Reactive to Resilient: How credit unions are redefining fraud & AML strategy
👉 [Register Now]