Risk Management

AML Transaction & Customer Risk Scorer

A hands-on sandbox for CAMS candidates. Score a customer relationship and a transaction for money-laundering risk with a weighted rating model, test CTR and structuring thresholds, and read off a Low / Medium / High tier with the required action — standard CDD versus enhanced due diligence (EDD) — exactly the risk-based approach the exam centres on.

Customer type weight 30%
PEP = politically exposed person; shell / nominee structures and cash-intensive businesses raise inherent risk.
Geography weight 25%
High-risk = FATF call-for-action / grey-list, sanctioned or secrecy jurisdictions.
Product / delivery channel weight 25%
Non-face-to-face onboarding, correspondent banking, private banking and virtual assets carry elevated channel risk.
Transaction behaviour weight 20%
Rate the activity against the customer's known profile and expected level of activity.
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Enter several cash transactions by the same customer inside the structuring window (e.g. one business day). If they sum to the CTR limit or more, a structuring pattern is flagged.
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How the score works

This tool implements a classic risk-based-approach (RBA) rating model. Each risk factor is rated on a three-point scale and weighted by category, then the result is normalised to a single 0–100 composite.

1. Rate each factor

Low = 1 point · Medium = 2 points · High = 3 points

You rate four factors: customer type, geography, product / delivery channel and transaction behaviour (activity versus expected profile).

2. Apply category weights

Customer 30% · Geography 25% · Product / channel 25% · Transaction 20%

The weighted average of the four point scores reflects the relative importance each factor carries in a typical money-laundering risk assessment.

3. Normalise to 0–100

Score = ( Σ(point×weight) − 1 ) / 2 × 100
A weighted average of 1 (all-Low) maps to 0; an average of 3 (all-High) maps to 100.

4. Read the tier & action

≤ 33

Low

Standard customer due diligence (CDD). Routine monitoring.

34–66

Medium

Standard CDD with closer ongoing monitoring and periodic review.

> 66

High

Enhanced due diligence (EDD): senior sign-off, source of funds/wealth, escalated monitoring.

CTR & structuring tests

Independently of the risk score, the tool screens the transaction against two bright-line tests:

  • CTR flag — raised when a cash transaction is at or above the CTR limit (default $10,000). In the US a Currency Transaction Report is then mandatory.
  • Structuring flag — raised when the amount sits in the just-below band [CTR−10%, CTR), or when the linked sub-threshold transactions you enter sum to ≥ the CTR limit within the window. Structuring (smurfing) is a federal crime and a SAR trigger.
Remember: a CTR is a mandatory currency report; a SAR (Suspicious Activity Report) is a suspicion-based filing. They are filed for different reasons and one does not replace the other.
RBA

Proportional controls

Match the depth of due diligence to the assessed risk — the heart of every AML program.

EDD

For high risk

Source of funds and wealth, senior approval, and heightened ongoing monitoring.

Learn

Go deeper

Prep for the exam with free certified courses on AMAADOR Academy.

FAQ

Is this an official CAMS scoring model? No. It is an educational, transparent weighted model that mirrors how a risk-based assessment is built so you can practise the reasoning. Real institutions calibrate their own weights, thresholds and risk drivers, and obligations vary by jurisdiction.
Why is a PEP automatically higher risk? Politically exposed persons present greater bribery and corruption risk, so most frameworks treat a PEP relationship as inherently higher risk and apply enhanced due diligence regardless of the composite tier.
What's the difference between a CTR and structuring? A CTR is the mandatory report for large cash transactions. Structuring is deliberately splitting cash to stay under that reporting threshold — itself an offence and a SAR trigger, even if no single transaction ever crosses the CTR limit.

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