We’re levelling up – TRaiCE is becoming part of AQM

We’ve got exciting news to share! TRaiCE is becoming a part of AQM, a global leader in software testing, cybersecurity audits, quality assurance, and more. With 200+ financial institutions already relying on AQM’s services, this move marks a huge leap forward for what we can offer our customers. But this isn’t just a business deal — it’s the next step in a vision we’ve been building toward since our inception. 

A vision that’s now supercharged

When we started TRaiCE, it was because we saw a gap. Corporate lending teams were managing risks using backward-looking data and reactive processes — a methodology that often led to delayed risk detection and portfolio losses. We believed there had to be a better, more proactive way to do this. This led to us building an AI-powered platform that leverages unstructured data to give such teams real-time insights into credit and third-party risks. In other words, lenders can catch emerging risks early on and reduce losses — all without increasing their team’s headcount or working hours.

That vision just got a major boost with our acquisition by AQM.

What this means for banks and other corporate lenders

Stronger, proactive cybersecurity

Cybersecurity risks, especially from third-party and Nth-party vendors, are one of the top concerns for financial institutions today — and for good reason. As of 2024, the average cost of a data breach in the financial sector was over $6 million. More alarmingly, in the same year, 97% of the top 100 U.S. banks experienced a third-party or fourth-party data breach. This is unsurprising given that vendors often prioritize rapid feature delivery over building a secure architecture, a point recently emphasized by JP Morgan Chase’s CISO.  Despite this, banks focus more on post-incident reporting than on proactive incident prevention. That can change now.

AQM is an industry leader in cybersecurity testing and auditing. The company implements up-to-date industry frameworks and rigorous security testing protocols to ensure comprehensive protection across infrastructure, applications, and third-party integrations. With such cutting-edge auditing capabilities, we can now help you test your vendors proactively and not just assess them after the fact. That means better visibility, fewer surprises, and a stronger defense across your entire ecosystem, which can also help you meet regulatory expectations around third-party risks better.

Full Access to AQM’s Business Assurance Suite for all-round TPRM

Modern-day banks depend on a growing ecosystem of third-party partners. While this can enhance service quality and reduce costs for their customers, it can also increase risks. The tricky part is that even if a third party slips up, the bank is still on the hook. New FDIC and OCC guidelines make it clear - FIs will be held responsible for what their partners do. Hence, keeping a close eye on these relationships is more important than ever.

At TRaiCE, we leverage a wide range of real-time unstructured data to help FIs identify emerging operational, reputational, compliance, and similar risks in their third-and-Nth-party networks. This isn’t enough, though. Banks also need to ensure that these relationships are digitally secure, reliable, and high-performing. That’s where AQM comes in. By providing robust end-to-end testing services, AQM helps financial institutions validate the functionality, security, and performance of their third-party connections, ensuring comprehensive TPRM. AQM has spent 20+ years helping financial institutions in this area.

As a TRaiCE customer, you’ll now be able to tap into AQM’s full Business Assurance portfolio, which includes accessibility testing, API testing, performance monitoring, data testing, and more.

A democratization of data and tech

We’ve always held on to a core belief: cutting-edge risk management shouldn’t just be for the big guys. Every bank, no matter the size, should have access to the data and tools they need to protect their portfolios and thrive. As part of the acquisition, TRaiCE will now serve as the strategic front-end of AQM’s Business Assurance services in the U.S. market, helping us bring this combined value to more regional banks, credit unions, and fintechs across the country.

We’re staying true to our belief — bringing powerful, AI-led tools to risk and compliance teams of all sizes — but now with a whole new layer of assurance and cybersecurity muscle behind us. For FIs, this means ready access to data and an expanded risk-management toolkit that ensures stronger coverage and better protection across their risk landscapes.

What’s Next

We’re grateful to the leadership team at AQM for their trust and partnership. This collaboration is an exciting opportunity, and we look forward to working together to deliver proactive, predictive risk intelligence to banks of all sizes. To all of our customers: thank you. Your feedback, partnership, and trust brought us here. And to those who’ve been watching from the sidelines — now’s a great time to see what AQM + TRaiCE can do for you! 

Stay tuned as we continue to innovate together, and do reach out to learn how our combined solutions can help your institution stay ahead of risk.

To know more about AQM technologies: https://aqmtechnologies.com/