Anti-Money Laundering Training eLearning: Case Study
This AML training case study shows how a retail banking group replaced 3 classroom compliance sessions a year with 6 scenario-based Articulate Storyline 360 modules in English, French and Arabic. For 1,200 employees in 6 countries, the average assessment score rose from 61% to 82%, and compliance questions to HR fell by 40%.
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Scoped proposal delivered within 48 hours
- 82%average final-assessment score, up from 61%
- 40%fewer compliance questions to HR each month
- 0classroom compliance sessions a year per branch, down from 3
- 1,200employees in 6 countries, 3 languages
Project snapshot
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Industry | Financial services (retail and business banking) |
| Client | A banking group, name withheld |
| Region | Europe and Middle East, 6 countries |
| Learners | 1,200 branch, operations and back-office staff |
| Scope | 6 modules, 75 minutes in total |
| Tool | Articulate Storyline 360 |
| Output and LMS | SCORM 2004, the client's own LMS |
| Languages | English, French and Arabic (right to left) |
| Timeline | 12 weeks |
| Team | Instructional designer, 2 Storyline developers, graphic designer, localization lead, project manager |
| Reviews | 3 review rounds with the client's Head of Compliance Training and legal team |
The client
The client is a retail and business banking group with about 1,200 employees in branches across 6 European and Middle East countries. Its compliance team trains branch tellers, relationship staff, operations and back-office teams every year on anti-money laundering (AML), know your customer (KYC) and conduct rules. The bank asked us not to publish its name.
The challenge: classroom AML training gave uneven results
Every branch ran 3 half-day classroom sessions a year, delivered by different trainers. The average classroom test score was 61%, and scores varied by up to 20 points between branches. HR and compliance answered about 50 policy questions a month, many of them the same questions again.
Constraints that shaped the project
- The bank's own rules, not a generic course. Every scenario had to follow the bank's AML, KYC and escalation policies.
- 3 languages, one of them right to left. Arabic needed a mirrored layout, not just translated text.
- Short training windows. Branch staff could only train in 15 to 20 minute slots between customers.
- Legal sign-off on every change. Each text change went back to the legal team.
Why AML training has to fit your own policies
EU: Directive (EU) 2015/849
In the EU, Directive (EU) 2015/849 requires banks and other obliged entities to make employees aware of AML rules, including through special ongoing training that helps staff recognize operations that may be linked to money laundering and shows them how to proceed (Article 46(1)).
EU: AML Regulation (EU) 2024/1624
The EU's new AML Regulation, (EU) 2024/1624, applies from July 10, 2027. Its Article 12 adds that training must suit each employee's function and the firm's risks, and be "duly documented". In practice, that pushes banks toward training built on their own escalation steps, with a record of who trained and how they scored.
UAE: Cabinet Resolution No. (134) of 2025
The UAE sets the same expectation. Under Cabinet Resolution No. (134) of 2025, the executive regulations of Federal Decree by Law No. (10) of 2025, banks and other financial institutions must include periodic programs and workshops for their compliance staff and other relevant employees in their internal AML policies (Article 21(5)). Their Compliance Officer must develop, implement and document ongoing training plans for employees on money laundering and how to combat it (Article 22(4)).
Training is one control in an AML program, not the whole program. That is why this case study reports learning and workload results, not compliance outcomes.
Goals
- Raise the average assessment score and make it consistent across branches.
- Cut repeat policy questions to HR and compliance.
- Remove classroom days from the branch calendar.
- Keep one master course for all 3 languages, so policy updates happen once.
What we built
6 modules, each 15 minutes or less
1. AML basics
2. KYC and customer due diligence
3. Sanctions screening
4. Suspicious-activity escalation
5. Data protection
6. Code of conduct
Inside the modules
Branching scenarios built on the bank's own escalation policy.
For example, a customer makes a cash deposit just below the reporting threshold, or a customer refuses to show ID. The learner chooses what to do next, and the story changes with each choice.
Consequence feedback that quotes the policy.
After each decision, the feedback shows what happens next and quotes the relevant section of the bank's policy, so staff learn where the rule lives.
A 20-question final assessment per module.
Questions are drawn from a question bank, with an 80% pass mark.
A one-page escalation checklist per language.
Staff can print it or keep it at the counter.
One English master, translated with XLIFF. Storyline 360 exports course text as an XLIFF file for translation and imports it back. Arabic was laid out right to left, which Storyline 360 supports. Updates are made once in the master and flow to every language.
How we worked: 12 weeks from policy review to launch
- 01
Weeks 1 to 2: Policy review and interviews
IKHYA, with the client's branch managersWe read the bank's AML, KYC and escalation policies and interviewed 4 branch managers about the cases staff find hardest.
- 02
Weeks 3 to 4: Design document and storyboards
IKHYA drafts, client reviewsWe wrote the design document and a storyboard for each module, with every scenario mapped to a policy section.
- 03
Weeks 5 to 9: Build
IKHYA builds, client reviewsWe built the 6 modules in Storyline 360. The Head of Compliance Training and legal reviewed them in 3 rounds.
- 04
Weeks 10 to 11: Translation and testing
IKHYA, client language reviewersFrench and Arabic translation, language review, right-to-left layout and LMS testing in every language.
- 05
Week 12: Pilot and launch
IKHYA and clientPilot in 2 branches. Feedback led to clearer wording in 2 scenarios, then launch to all branches.
Results and how we measured them
| Result | Before | After | How it was measured | Period |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average assessment score | 61% | 82% (+21 points) | Final-assessment scores in the client's LMS reports vs the previous year's classroom test | First year after launch vs the year before |
| Score gap between branches | Up to 20 points | 6 points | Same LMS reports, by branch | First year after launch vs the year before |
| Compliance-related questions to HR | About 50 a month | About 30 a month (40% fewer) | Questions logged by HR | 6 months after launch vs the 6 months before |
| Classroom compliance sessions | 3 half-days a year per branch | 0 | The bank's training calendar | From launch |
An honest caveat: the online assessment draws questions from a question bank, so it is not the same paper test staff took in the classroom. The score comparison is therefore indicative, not a like-for-like test.
What the client has now
The bank owns the editable Storyline source files and a translation-ready English master. Its compliance team updates the policy text once a year, exports it for translation and republishes all 3 languages from one file.
What the client said
"IKHYA built every scenario on our own escalation policy, not a generic one, and in three languages from one master. Scores went up across all our branches, the questions to HR went down, and we no longer pull staff into classrooms three times a year."
Planning AML training like this? 4 lessons to take into your brief
- 01
Start from your own policy and the decisions staff get wrong.
Ask branch managers which cases cause the most escalation mistakes, and build the scenarios around those.
- 02
Build one master and translate from it.
A single source file keeps every language in step when the policy changes.
- 03
Record a baseline before launch.
Note your current scores, policy questions or audit findings, and the period they cover, so you can compare like with like later.
- 04
Put legal and compliance reviews in the plan.
Agree the number of review rounds and who signs off before the build starts.
FAQ
Yes. We build custom compliance eLearning, so scenarios, feedback and assessment questions follow your own AML, KYC and escalation policies. Your compliance and legal teams review the content in agreed rounds before launch.
We work in 40+ languages, with human or AI voiceover, and publish to SCORM 1.2, SCORM 2004, xAPI or HTML5. LMS platforms we have delivered courses to include Moodle, TalentLMS, Docebo and Cornerstone, and we test every course in your LMS before launch.
It depends on the number of modules, languages, review rounds and legal sign-off. A free quote includes a timeline for your project. For a week-by-week example, see How we worked.
No course does that on its own. Training is one part of an AML program. EU law requires ongoing AML training for employees, and from July 10, 2027 the AML Regulation adds that it must fit each role and be documented. A good course helps staff spot and escalate suspicious activity and gives you a record of who trained and how they scored.
Have an AML or compliance course to build?
IKHYA has delivered eLearning since 2010, with 120+ specialists and 500+ projects for clients in 40+ countries. Tell us about your policies, audience and languages, and we will send a free quote with a timeline.
