Zkr makes compliance a head start, not a burden
For many accounting, advisory and financial service providers, complying with AML and KYC obligations is still a time-consuming and error-prone process. Separate systems, manual checks and increasing supervisory requirements make it difficult to combine speed, care and customer-friendliness. Zkr wants to do this fundamentally differently. With one integrated platform, the company digitizes client and engagement acceptance, risk classification, identity verification and continuous monitoring. In this way, zkr helps organizations work compliantly without this getting in the way of their growth or customer experience.
Compliance accessible, reliable and scalable
Zkr has a clear mission: to make compliance accessible, reliable and scalable. The company aims to become the standard for digital AML/KYC compliance in European business services. What is still fragmented and labor-intensive in many organizations, zkr brings together in one compliant platform. This changes compliance from a reactive obligation into a structural and scalable part of the organization.
— Koen de Vrij, co-CEO of zkr
The pressure on AML compliance is increasing. Supervisory pressure and enforcement around AML are increasing, laws and regulations are becoming stricter, and organizations continue to grow while manual processes do not scale with them. At the same time, end customers expect smooth and fast onboarding. This creates a tension in which reliability and digitization are essential. Zkr is responding to this development with a SaaS platform that helps organizations demonstrably put their processes in order.
One platform for the entire process
Zkr's software digitizes the entire acceptance and monitoring process: from client and engagement acceptance to risk classification, identity verification and continuous monitoring. The platform integrates with systems that firms already use, such as AFAS, so that compliance does not become a separate island but part of the existing process.
What sets zkr apart is its all-in-one approach. Instead of separate tools, Excel files and email flows, the company brings all the steps together in one environment. As a recognized Chamber of Commerce partner, zkr also has direct access to the source: up-to-date data from the Chamber of Commerce, with which files can be automatically enriched. International business structures, including UBOs, can also be made transparent quickly. Documents can be retrieved and processed efficiently via a customer portal.
At the same time, human assessment remains central. Each firm can configure its own risk appetite and easily adapt it to changing laws and regulations, without losing track of previous assessments or oversight. In addition, the platform supports a clear governance structure, including the four-eyes principle. This combination makes zkr interesting for Rabobank as a partner for innovative growth companies.
Less manual work, more grip
This provides concrete benefits for customers. Zkr helps organizations reduce manual work, lower the risk of errors, onboard customers faster and demonstrate compliance to regulators. According to the company, this can lead to time savings of up to 80% per file in automated AML checks.
This approach is catching on in the market. Zkr now serves large clients in the accountancy sector and works with four fast-growing top-20 accounting firms, although their names are not yet being shared publicly. From that basis, zkr continues to expand into new markets, including commercial real estate, housing corporations and leasing.
Building the next phase of growth
The ambitions for the coming years are also significant. Zkr wants to become the market leader in compliance solutions for accountancy and administration firms and is explicitly looking at international expansion, including in Belgium and Germany. At the same time, the company continues to work on product development. For example, the launch of the zkr wallet is planned for this year, making it easier for end users to identify themselves and share source data, including bank checks.
To support this growth, zkr raised almost €7 million, with Shoe Investments as lead investor, supplemented by angel investors. In addition, just over €1 million was recently invested to further accelerate growth, with Rabobank playing a role as a provider of growth financing. According to zkr, this investor base fits well with the entrepreneurial and growth-oriented phase in which the company finds itself.
A partner who understands the growth phase
Through the network of one of its investors, zkr came into contact with Rabobank. For the Startup & Scale-up Banking team, the match was logical.
— Robbert Lut, Startup & Scale-up banker at Rabobank
Rabobank supported zkr with financing that fits the company's growth phase. In addition, the bank contributed ideas on broader financial issues, such as insurance structures, to help further professionalize zkr.
Koen de Vrij sees this collaboration as valuable: "Rabobank thinks along as an entrepreneur, not as a bank. The lines of communication are short, they understand the phase we are in and they act from trust in entrepreneurs. For a fast-growing startup like zkr, that is exactly what you need."
About the Rabobank Startup & Scale-up Team
Startups and scale-ups are drivers of economic renewal through their innovative power. They make a significant contribution to solving societal challenges and are a key engine of economic growth and employment in the Netherlands. As such, this segment represents substantial strategic value for Rabobank. The Startup & Scale-up team supports entrepreneurs who share this mission in achieving sustainable growth by providing access to networks (including international ones), expertise, and financing. Ask for advice.