Anti-Money Laundering/AML


Al Salam Bank Seychelles selects iFinancial’s AMLtrac solution

Al Salam Bank Seychelles (ASBS) has chosen International Financial Systems’ (iFinancial) anti-money laundering (AML) solution, AMLtrac, as it plans to introduce domestic banking services for local and regional SMEs and corporates. As part of that planned expansion, ASBS, an offshore financial institution, has selected the know your customer (KYC) and document management, account monitoring, transaction […]

HPE adding AI to data centres with Nimble acquisition

Earlier this year, Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) went on an acquisition spree meant to help the company improve its standing in the data centre market with products to address a range of issues customers faced as they moved to the cloud, reports Enterprise Cloud News (Banking Technology’s sister publication). Now, one of those deals is […]

OCBC Bank takes AI-m at financial crime

When crime comes calling OCBC Bank won’t be bawling as it has turned to artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) for the big fight. The Singapore-based bank says: “On any one typical work day, an OCBC Bank anti-money laundering (AML) compliance analyst would log into the bank’s transaction monitoring system and find up to […]

The changing face of financial crime compliance

Paul Taylor of Swift’s Financial Crime Compliance Services Division discusses the evolving compliance landscape and the critical role of technology in helping the industry come together as a whole to combat financial crime.

Correspondent banking: it takes two to tango

The global correspondent banking network is under pressure in several countries as some financial institutions close relationships. While financial inclusion continues to climb the agenda of regulatory authorities and financial institutions pledge their support, the de-risking taking place in correspondent banking threatens to scupper inclusion.

De-risking in trade finance: time to act

As financial authorities express concern about de-risking in correspondent banking, a similar phenomenon is emerging in trade finance, driven by the high costs of KYC compliance.

KYC Registry aligns with Wolfsberg DDQ

Swift is aligning its KYC Registry with the new Wolfsberg Due Diligence Questionnaire (DDQ) for correspondent banks. First issued in 2004, the DDQ was updated in response to regulatory pressure.

Regtech to the rescue

Regulatory technology (regtech) is often cited as the answer to the rising cost of compliance, risk and reporting duties at banks. Will it help financial institutions escape IT silos and enhance control over data?

OCBC Bank, HSBC and MUFG in KYC blockchain breakthrough

OCBC Bank, HSBC and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG), together with the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA), has become the “first consortium” in South East Asia to complete a proof of concept for a know your customer (KYC) blockchain. The parties say the development “raises the possibility” of using blockchain to make KYC “more efficient […]

Payments: where have all the correspondents gone?

At the recent G20 meeting in Germany, Financial Stability Board (FSB) briefed leaders on its efforts to arrest the decline in correspondent banking relationships. FSB also presented the results of a survey of more than 300 banks in 50 countries, supplemented by Swift payments data, which showed that the number of correspondent banking relationships continues to decline globally.

Webinar: Lessons learned from the first year of CRS reporting obligations

Financial institutions face unprecedented data management and compliance challenges as they continue to grapple with multiplying CRS and FATCA (AEOI) related global tax transparency regulations. A year on from our first FATCA and CRS survey, Thomson Reuters and Banking Technology joined forces to survey the industry – to assess the challenges faced by financial institutions […]

Nordea and Danske Bank being investigated for money laundering

Nordea is now keeping people informed about an ongoing investigation by the Danish Prosecution Service into its alleged anti-money laundering (AML) violations. By way of recap, it follows criticism by the Danish Financial Supervisory Authority (DFSA) in June 2016 regarding AML transgressions by Nordea Bank Danmark. According to Danish newspaper Berlingske, the money laundering involves […]

“Jihadi capital” Belgium most lenient country on money laundering

Belgium – the “Jihadi capital of Europe” – is the European Union’s (EU) most lenient country on money laundering despite its role in terrorist financing, according to anti-money laundering (AML) firm Fortytwo Data. With refreshing frankness in the usually jargon-soaked and platitude-drenched world of fintech, Fortytwo Data says the EU’s disjointed approach to the fight […]

Regtech Supplier Performance Report: ignorance is no longer bliss, it’s now criminal offence

The second edition of Regtech Supplier Performance Report, featuring some 50 regtech suppliers, published by Market Fintech Limited and supported by Banking Technology, says that with over 50,000 regulatory documents published across the G20 since 2009, and an average of 45 new documents every week, we must assume that the future of banking will be driven by technological developments.

Socure raises $14m in new funding

In a Series B round led by Commerce Ventures, digital identity verification specialist Socure raised $13.9 million in new funding. The investment, which also featured the participation of Flint Capital, Santander InnoVentures, Synchrony Financial, Two Sigma Ventures, and Workbench, takes Socure’s total funding to $27.5 million.

Time to act: EU Funds Transfer Regulation 2015

The EU Funds Transfer Regulation 2015 (FTR 2015), which has been in effect since 26 June 2017, aims to deliver full traceability of payments. A lack of regulatory clarity is, however, leading to significant implementation hurdles that require urgent action from all stakeholders.

Hello Soda’s new platform has a pop at dark web fraud

Big data and text analytics firm Hello Soda has launched Fraud Web, a new software solution built to combat identity fraud committed through the untraceable internet. The company says Fraud Web identifies the risk of consumer data being available for sale on the dark web and issues high, medium and low risk alerts so that […]

Belize’s central bank selects Swift to combat financial crime

The Central Bank of Belize has chosen Swift’s Sanctions Screening solution to combat financial crime and put in compliance controls. The bank says: “Implementing the right compliance controls within an organisation is not only a regulatory responsibility, but also a priority for global security.” Juan Martínez, managing director Latin America and the Caribbean, Swift, says […]

Australia calls for risk-loving fintech firms

The Risk Management Association of Australia (RMA) has partnered with KPMG and match-making firm Matchi to offer three fintech companies the opportunity to pitch their solutions to forty chief risk officers (CROs) from various Australian banks. KPMG is arranging this year’s CRO roundtable event for the RMA members with the theme “Generation Next”. Matchi says […]

UK regulator balances the looks for current accounts

The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has launched proposals to help people compare the service levels for personal and business current accounts. The FCA proposes that firms offer information on how long it takes to open an account; how long it takes to replace a lost, stolen or stopped debit card; and the number and […]

OCBC Bank fights money laundering with AI double act

Singapore’s OCBC Bank has piloted two fintech solutions from a pair of start-ups as it looks to combat money laundering and terrorism financing via artificial intelligence (AI). The two firms involved – BlackSwan Technologies and Silent Eight – were part of OCBC’s second fintech accelerator programme, Open Vault, which was launched last year. Both companies […]

Meta taps Melissa for KYC and AML initiatives

Melissa Global Intelligence, a provider of global contact data quality and identity-verification solutions, announced that its technology is fueling know your customer (KYC) and anti-money laundering (AML) initiatives for Meta Payment Systems, one of the largest prepaid card issuers in the US. Meta relies on Melissa to provide “a 360-degree view” of the customer, including […]

Blockchain and Bitcoin round-up: 10 July 2017

Reading doesn’t have to be a trial. Our latest blockchain and Bitcoin round-up keeps it ultra-brief. Featuring Mt. Gox, less than smooth criminals, the Council of the European Union and Coinsource. Mark Karpeles, the former CEO of collapsed Bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox, will go on trial in Tokyo next week on charges stemming from the […]

People on the Move: W2 Global Data

U.K.-based W2 Global Data, a provider of regulatory, KYC/AML and fraud prevention solutions, has welcomed three new hires, including Alex Lafferty, Richard Evans and Kerry Cleary.

Compliance Titans: Jeff Ross, Green Dot Corp.

Nearly a decade after jumping from the public to the private sector, Green Dot’s Jeff Ross remains as enthused as ever by the new challenges and complexities he faces every day as compliance head for one of the biggest players in an industry with a constantly shifting regulatory landscape and technology that’s advancing at a breakneck pace.

Sterling Bank and Trust signs for iFinancial BankWare core system

Sterling Bank and Trust, a new bank in the Bahamas, has selected the BankWare core system from UK-based International Financial Systems’ (iFinancial). The bank will be using the multi-currency accounting, exposure management, current accounts, deposits, loans, payments, and Swift modules from the BankWare portfolio of retail and wholesale banking solutions. The bank is part of […]

People on the Move: A.J. Koehn, Urban FT

A.J. Koehn has joined Urban FT Inc., a digital payments platform provider and 2017 Pay Awards winner for Startup of the Year, as its new senior vice president of compliance and program management.

Compliance Titans: Jani Gode, Payoneer

Jani Gode’s knowledge of payments compliance reaches to parts of the globe that are about as far away from the small Minnesota farm where she grew up as you can get. Gode leads the global compliance program as chief compliance officer at Payoneer, an online payments company founded in 2005 that enables businesses to send and receive cross-border payments.