ActiveComply, a Florida-based provider of cloud-based regulation compliance solutions, has launched Remote Office Inspection.
The digital service uses the latest encrypted technology to help companies document compliance with agency guidelines as well as state and federal laws when using remote employees.
While a growing number of banks, mortgage lenders, credit unions and investment banking firms allow employees to work from home or a remote office, they remain subject to stringent industry rules and regulations that make compliance difficult to manage remotely.
For instance, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) requires lenders to meet certain rules about protecting Federal Housing Administration loan files, which has proven difficult for employers to prove they’ve done their due diligence, ActiveComply cites.
Remote Office Inspection includes a customizable survey that enables organizations to remotely inspect branch offices to ensure they have proper signage, business license display and adequate security, which saves the expense of sending someone out to do a physical inspection. The survey features can also be tailored to prove compliance of at-home employees.
“When it comes to consumer privacy, the same rules apply whether an employee is working from their company’s headquarters or their living room couch,” ActiveComply Co-Founder and CEO Rob Nunziata said. “Given the recent increase in privacy violations and data breaches, some of which resulted in regulatory enforcement and multi-million-dollar class action settlements, ensuring that remote offices and employees do not create liability is a sound strategy.”
Remote Office Inspection also ensures a company’s remote workers and branches are compliant with individual state remote office requirements by using GPS location tracking as well as on-site image and video captures delivered through a user-friendly virtual assessment, ActiveComply says.
The network quality of a branch or employee’s office can also be assessed, and companies can document their compliance on demand.
“ActiveComply is paving the way for lenders, real estate companies and other organizations to manage compliance safely and effectively,” said Mike Prince, co-founder and CTO of ActiveComply. “We expect more states will soon be changing their guidance on the protection of consumer privacy and the use of social media. When they do, our new Remote Office Inspection service, like our Social Media Monitoring and LicenseLink tools, will evolve with those new policies.”