Published by Wanda Rich
Posted on August 27, 2025
Financial institutions today are navigating a complex and demanding landscape, where adapting to evolving regulations and managing the complexities of financial crime are top priorities. In this Q&A, we speak with John Flowers, Global Head of Financial Markets at eClerx to discuss the company's innovative approach to this challenge. Specifically, we delve into the success of their Fayetteville Center of Excellence, an onshore facility that has been strategically staffed with military veterans. John shares how this unique workforce, coupled with a purpose-built operational model, is helping financial clients enhance their compliance capabilities while also achieving social impact.
How were the opening and staffing decisions of Fayetteville’s Center of Excellence originally conceived?
The decision to staff the eClerx Fayetteville Center of Excellence with military veterans was both strategic and purpose-driven. While eClerx already had an established presence in Fayetteville focused on providing Customer Care services, we recognized an opportunity to expand our footprint in a way that aligned with both business needs and community impact. Fayetteville’s proximity to Fort Bragg provides access to a highly skilled and disciplined talent pool of transitioning service members and their spouses. Many of these individuals possess backgrounds in intelligence, operations, logistics, and compliance — skill sets that align extremely well with the needs of our Financial Markets practice, particularly in areas such as financial crime compliance (FCC), trade operations, and data quality.The idea evolved organically as we looked to scale our FCC delivery capabilities and saw the opportunity to tap into this unique workforce.
What are the main services you provide for clients at the Fayetteville Center of Excellence?
At the Fayetteville Center of Excellence, we specialize in delivering comprehensive financial crime compliance support. Our team handles everything from KYC due diligence and risk assessment to enhanced due diligence, ongoing monitoring, and periodic reviews, always with a strong emphasis on quality assurance.
We combine that operational expertise with analytics, business intelligence, and reporting, giving clients actionable insights to strengthen their compliance programs and make smarter decisions. Because we operate as a true extension of their compliance function, our clients can count on scalable, high-quality delivery that meets regulatory requirements and keeps them ahead of risk.
How are veterans recruited to the Fayetteville Center of Excellence?
We recruit veterans for the Fayetteville Center of Excellence through a combination of structured programs, partnerships, and community engagements. Early on, one of the most impactful channels was our close collaboration with Fort Bragg’s Transition Assistance Program (TAP) and Onward to Opportunity (O2O). These programs are specifically designed to support service members as they transition into the civilian workforce, providing both training and direct connections to employers, such as eClerx. As we continue to grow, we also benefit from a strong and growing referral network within the veteran community. We've built a reputation for being a veteran-friendly employer with meaningful, long-term career paths, and our existing team members often refer peers, military spouses, and former colleagues who are looking for similar opportunities. That personal connection and credibility go a long way. In addition, we regularly participate in local hiring events, military job fairs, and resume workshops all designed to help us engage early and directly with top talent. This approach not only ensures a strong cultural fit but also allows us to tap into a workforce that brings exceptional discipline, problem-solving ability, and a mission-first mindset, all of which are essential to our Financial Markets delivery work.
How do military veterans provide a distinct performance edge and more cost-effective, onshore support for financial services compliance clients?
Veterans bring a high degree of mission focus, adaptability, and a strong understanding of process and controls — all critical in regulated financial environments. By creating a veteran-staffed Center of Excellence, we were able to deliver high-quality outcomes for our clients while also supporting career transitions for those who have served. It’s been a win-win strategy that blends operational excellence with social impact.
How does the Center of Excellence address the operational complexities and regulatory burdens of today’s landscape, and what specific advantages does centralizing FCC and operations offer for financial services compliance?
The Fayetteville Center of Excellence simplifies the complexity of today’s regulatory environment by centralizing financial crime compliance and operations under one controlled, technology-enabled framework. Standardized processes, a veteran-led workforce, and our Compliance Manager platform ensure consistent quality, faster cycle times, and complete audit readiness. Centralization delivers measurable benefits—scalable capacity for surges and new markets, lower costs through reduced duplication, and real-time transparency for leadership. The result is an FCC operation that’s more efficient, resilient, and fully prepared for evolving regulatory demands.
What do financial institutions need to know about the operational challenges they can face in KYC refresh cycles today, and how does eClerx address these?
Today’s KYC refresh cycles for ongoing monitoring, present significant operational challenges for financial institutions, including fluctuating volumes, legacy system limitations, data quality gaps, evolving regulatory requirements, and the need to balance speed with thoroughness. These pressures often lead to backlogs, inconsistent quality, and increased compliance risk.
eClerx addresses these challenges through a structured, scalable delivery model supported by our proprietary Compliance Manager platform. This platform not only streamlines refresh cycles but also lays the foundation for a shift toward perpetual KYC, a more dynamic and continuous approach to client due diligence. We deploy cross-trained analysts, standardized playbooks, and embedded quality controls to ensure every case meets regulatory standards while maintaining efficiency. Real-time dashboards give clients visibility into cycle times, quality scores, and workload forecasts, enabling proactive adjustments. By combining process discipline, onshore expertise, and targeted automation, we help clients reduce backlog risk, improve accuracy, and complete refresh cycles faster, without compromising compliance.
How does the CoE's approach to scalability and process optimization prepare clients for future growth and regulatory demands?
The eClerx Fayetteville Center of Excellence provides financial institutions with a scalable, cost-predictable operating model purpose-built for KYC and financial crime compliance. Leveraging a cross-trained, veteran-led workforce, standardized process playbooks, and the proprietary Compliance Manager platform, the CoE enables rapid capacity expansion, consistent quality, and real-time performance visibility.
Fully auditable workflows and configurable processes allow institutions to swiftly adapt to changing regulatory requirements while maintaining rigorous controls and operational efficiency. This model not only supports current compliance needs but also advances clients toward perpetual KYC—a continuous, intelligence-driven approach to client due diligence that reduces refresh cycle burdens and improves responsiveness to risk. With this future-ready foundation, clients are positioned to manage growth, mitigate risk, and meet regulatory demands with confidence.
What does the future of the Fayetteville Center of Excellence look like?
The future of the Fayetteville Center of Excellence is defined by continued growth and expanded impact. In just the past two years, we have scaled from supporting a single client to partnering with five, while building a proven track record for delivering high-quality, scalable KYC and financial crime compliance solutions. Multiple expansion discussions are already underway, and we anticipate steady growth over the next 18 months as more institutions recognize the value of our onshore, veteran-led delivery model. Our focus will remain on deepening existing client relationships, broadening our service portfolio beyond FCC into additional core operational areas, and leveraging automation and analytics to deliver even greater efficiency, control, and regulatory readiness.
John Flowers, Global Head of Financial Markets, eClerx
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