Hearsay Systems Launches SMS Compliance Automation

Hearsay Systems, a digital communications and workflow solutions for the financial services industry, has released an automated compliance supervision solution specifically for text messaging to proactively protect firms from financial service and telecommunication industry requirements. This solution leverages industry-specific keyword lexicons powered by Hearsay's compliance platform with an artificial intelligence-powered risk meter.

The lexicon lists align with firm, industry, and federally mandated advertising regulations. It uses intelligent classifiers to automatically detect forbidden keywords in employee text messages. Texts that include a match from lexicon lists are either blocked or an AI-driven risk alert is created for compliance review, preventing any agent or advisor from engaging in unscrupulous practices via text. Besides specific regulatory matches, these pre-built lexicon lists also are designed to discourage specific behavior patterns that would run afoul of U.S. Federal Communications Commission or Federal Trade Commission privacy and consumer protection regulations, such as direct solicitation. Hearsay's lexicons are continuously enhanced based on thousands of decisions made by compliance officers, enabling texting programs to scale without adding additional headcount.

"Compliance is one of the biggest issues for financial services organizations, and as more and more business is conducted via text, it becomes increasingly complex," said Chris Fernandes, head of legal and compliance at Hearsay Systems, in a statement. "We recognized this as a problem for our customers and designed our intelligent, modular lexicons to provide a simple, turnkey solution that protects organizations and field representatives alike. It has never been easier for advisors and agents to adhere to their respective firms' texting policies or for firms to protect their brand reputations across all channels."

Financial services organizations can select which terms to use from Hearsay's curated Wealth Management, Property & Casualty, and Life Insurance industry lexicons to meet their own organizational risk profiles. Organizations can also include additional lexicon terms or use Hearsay's lexicons to supplement existing lists that are already set up.

Hearsay's industry-specific lexicons are built on Hearsay's next-generation compliance platform, which enables firms to monitor, supervise, and comply with company policies and industry regulations, including FINRA, SEC, FFIEC, NAIC, IIROC, FCA, and MiFID II requirements. The new Advertising Lexicons allow firms to comply with guidance and regulations from MMA, FCC, and FTC. Hearsay's compliance platform also applies predictive technology to reduce false alerts and help compliance teams focus on activities that pose the highest risk while increasing security coverage and control.

A universal supervision dashboard includes alerts, internal team notes, and text message sampling. Administrators gain flexible policy controls and approval workflows as well. They also can view text message attribution so that they have a record of who said what, when, and to whom. The universal supervision dashboard provides advanced reporting capabilities, both pre-built and custom options, and flexible TCPA Opt-In, Opt-Out and Consent Notice flows. It can be set up based on hierarchy by either region or line of business.

Hearsay's compliance platform captures and logs all mobile voice calling and text message data that can be integrated into a CRM or archive system for activity monitoring and e-discovery. Firms also retain complete ownership of all of their data.

In addition to its pre-built industry lexicons, Hearsay has a dedicated compliance advisory practice available to review firms' existing lexicons and provide recommendations to cover new channels and regulatory needs.

Related Articles

Hearsay Updates Tools for SEC Marketing Rule Compliance

Hearsay's offering enables SEC Marketing Rule-compliant use of testimonials and endorsements to drive business growth.