Your agency can require that anti-money-laundering (AML) checks are complete before a listing is published to portals. When this is switched on, Rex stops a listing from publishing until the required people on the listing have passed their AML checks, and it tells you exactly what is missing. This means no listing goes live before the people involved have been properly verified.
This article covers how an administrator turns the setting on and chooses which listing types it applies to, how a listing passes the AML check, and what an agent sees and does when a publish is blocked.
How the Setting Behaves
The AML publishing requirement is an account-level setting that is off by default, so nothing changes for your account until an administrator turns it on. It applies to the whole account, and it can be switched back off at any time, which removes the AML publishing requirement immediately while leaving your other publishing rules in place.
Please Note: The check only runs at the moment you publish. A listing that is already live on portals is never affected by AML, so turning the setting on will not pull down or unpublish any of your existing listings.
Turning On the AML Publishing Requirement (Administrators)
- Go to Settings > Portals and Publication Defaults.
- Open the AML section.
- Tick Require AML verification before a listing can be published.
When the setting is off, publishing works exactly as it does today. By default the requirement applies to all listing types, but you can choose which listing types it should apply to (see below).
Choosing Which Listing Types the Blocker Applies To
AML obligations do not apply to every kind of listing, so you can scope the requirement to the listing types that need it. When you turn the AML setting on, an Apply to listing types checklist appears.
- By default, all listing types are ticked, so the requirement applies to every listing type until you change it.
- Untick any types that do not require AML, for example rental or lease listings. Listings of an unticked type will publish without the AML check.
- Click Save Changes to apply.
The listing types shown match your region. AU and NZ accounts see the full set (Business, Commercial Rental, Commercial Sale, Commercial Sale or Rental, Holiday Rental, Land, Residential Rental, Residential Sale, and Rural), while UK accounts see the UK set (Commercial Rental, Commercial Sale, Land, Residential Rental, and Residential Sale).
Please Note: At least one listing type must stay ticked while the blocker is on. Unticking every type is not a way to switch the feature off, and Rex will not save that. To stop the requirement entirely, untick Require AML verification before a listing can be published instead.
Listings whose type is unticked publish as normal, with your other publishing rules still applying. Listings whose type is ticked follow the AML rules described below.
How a Listing Passes the AML Check
Once the setting is on, a listing of a ticked type can only be published when its listing owners have completed AML. How that is satisfied depends on how your agency does AML.
If You Use an AML Integration (First AML or APLYiD)
The listing can be published once its AML status shows Verified, meaning every submitted contact on the listing has been verified through your provider. If the status is anything else (Not Added, Pending, Needs Review, or Failed), publishing stays blocked.
If You Complete AML Manually (No Integration)
For the listing to publish, you need to:
- Relate every listing owner to the listing as a related contact.
- Make sure each of those owners has both ID verified and AML check complete recorded in their contact record.
All listing owners must be complete. If even one owner is missing a check, publishing stays blocked. The "To be substantiated" step is not required.
If You Use a Mix of Both Methods
Some agencies verify some owners through an integration and others manually. In that case, each listing owner only needs to be verified by one method, either through the provider or through a completed manual check in their contact record. The listing publishes once every owner is covered by at least one method.
What You Will See When a Listing Is Blocked
If AML is not complete when you try to publish, Rex shows an AML check required error in a few places:
- In the Publish Listing window and the Listing Validation Errors list, with instructions on what to fix. The Publish button stays disabled until it is resolved.
- In the Portal Settings area of the listing, where it counts toward the "publishing blocked" message.
The wording of the error tells you which path to follow. An integration error asks you to make sure your submitted contacts are verified through your provider, and a manual error asks you to relate all listing owners and complete the check in the contact record.
How to Resolve a Blocked Publish
- Open the listing and check the related contacts, making sure every listing owner is related.
- Complete AML for each listing owner:
- Integration: complete verification through First AML or APLYiD until the listing's AML status reads Verified.
- Manual: open the contact, go to ID Verification, and complete ID verified and AML check complete.
- Return to the listing and publish. The AML check required error clears once all owners are done, and publishing then proceeds subject to the listing's other validations.
Good to Know
- The check applies per listing. A new listing needs its owners related and verified again, even if the same person was verified on another listing.
- Manual verification is reused until it expires. A contact stays verified until their verification expires, so an already-verified owner just needs to be related to the new listing, with no need to re-verify them unless their verification has expired.
- After publishing, later AML changes do not pull a listing down. For example, adding a buyer after publication, or a verification expiring later, will not remove the listing from portals.
- Only listing owners are checked. Other related contacts, such as solicitors, do not affect the check.
- The requirement only applies to the listing types you have ticked. Listings of an unticked type publish without the AML check.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will turning this on unpublish my existing live listings?
No. The check only applies at the moment you publish. Listings already live are not affected.
A listing owner is verified but the listing still will not publish. Why?
Check that every listing owner is both related to the listing and verified. A single owner who is not related, or who is missing ID or AML, will keep the listing blocked. If you are on an integration, confirm the listing's AML status reads Verified.
Can I switch it off again?
Yes. Turning the setting off removes the AML publishing requirement. Your other publishing rules still apply as normal.