Insights Archive

October 21, 2021

News In Brief - October 21, 2021

Authorities in the UK, US and Switzerland fine Credit Suisse after financial crime blunder.

October 21, 2021

FinCEN Working With Fintechs To Fight Crypto Exploitation - DC Fintech Week

Him Das, acting director of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), believes that protecting the U.S. financial system has to be a shared effort between fintechs and his agency. FinCEN is actively engaging with the industry to understand the potential exploitation of the technology.

October 21, 2021

MPs Demand Clarity On FCA’s Five-Year AML Prosecution Of NatWest

The chair of the UK House of Commons’ Treasury Committee has written to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) requesting further information on the prosecution of NatWest for money laundering.

October 21, 2021

U.S. Senators Rise Up Against Facebook’s Novi Pilot

Following numerous turns in Facebook’s plans to enter the digital payments market, the technology company is now launching a pilot for its digital wallet with Paxos stablecoin, but the move has sparked opposition from Democratic senators.

October 21, 2021

Svenska Spel Backs Risk Classifications Above 'Special Moderation'

Swedish state-owned Svenska Spel has warned the government that applying alcohol-style restrictions on gambling adverts will lead to “unwanted consequences”.

October 21, 2021

Public Inquiry Concluded, Canadian Gaming Industry Awaits Money Laundering Report

After two years of testimony from around 200 witnesses and receiving closing submissions, a special commission is close to wrapping its high-profile investigation into the flow of millions of dollars in dirty money through British Columbia’s gaming industry.

October 20, 2021

FSB Chair Addresses Stablecoin And Climate Risks

The Financial Stability Board (FSB) is keeping a close eye on cryptocurrencies and climate-related complexities, Governor Randal K. Quarles has said in a speech.

October 20, 2021

U.S. Treasury Releases Sanctions Review

Sanctions designations, a major headache for financial institutions, have increased tenfold during the last 20 years, a new U.S. Treasury review finds, reminding the digital asset space that they too must comply.

October 20, 2021

Philippine QR Code Payment Expanded To P2M Transactions

Described as a milestone in the Philippines’ digital transformation journey, the expansion of the country’s QR payment service will enable merchants to accept payments for their goods and services across an interoperable payment network.

October 20, 2021

Retail CBDC Is Foundation For Future Payment System - DC Fintech Week

The existence of a domestic instant payment system does not set aside use cases of a general-purpose central bank digital currency (CBDC), the Thai central bank governor said at DC Fintech Week.

October 20, 2021

U.S. Treasury Grants AML Relief For Remote Registration

Federal anti-money laundering rules should not require U.S. sports betting or online casino operators to verify a player’s identity by inspecting a physical document upon opening an account, regulators have confirmed in a new ruling.

October 20, 2021

New York Mobile Sports-Betting Tax Set As High As 64 Percent

Operators bidding to offer mobile sports betting in New York could have to pay a tax rate as high as 64 percent on gross sports-betting revenues, according to a report on Tuesday.

October 20, 2021

Finnish PM Backs Budget To Cover Veikkaus Beneficiaries Shortfall

The Finnish government wants to set aside €332m in next year's budget to ensure non-government organisations do not miss out on any funding because of declining Veikkaus profits.

October 20, 2021

Dismissal Of Florida Challenge Of Seminole Compact Could Hurt Other Lawsuits

A federal judge’s dismissal of a lawsuit against the Florida-Seminole compact could set a damaging precedent for two other lawsuits against the compact in Washington, D.C.

October 19, 2021

HMT Payment Landscape Response Demonstrates Open Banking Sense Of Urgency

Open banking enabled payments could be a key driver of future competition between UK payments networks, but the adoption of such payments are still in the early stages, predominantly being used to make one-off payments, the government response to the Payments Landscape Review has cautioned.

October 19, 2021

News In Brief - October 19, 2021

Hong Kong’s Faster Payment System experiences an outage over the weekend.

October 19, 2021

Klarna Payments Circumvent Gambling Blocks, Says Gamban Co-Founder

Swedish fintech firm Klarna Bank has said customers cannot use any of its pay later or credit products to bet, but the co-founder of a gambling blocking software claims its direct bank transfer system circumvents personal account gambling payment blocks.

October 19, 2021

Randell Steps Down — FCA And PSR Chair To Leave In Spring 2022

Charles Randell has asked the UK’s Chancellor of the Exchequer to begin the process of finding his successor — a year earlier than expected.

October 19, 2021

U.S. Treasury Issues Report On Ransomware Trends And Sanctions Compliance Guidance For Crypto Firms

As part of a “whole-of-government” effort, the U.S. Treasury's new report finds an increasing threat from ransomware attacks, while it also offers guidance to help prevent the illicit use of virtual currencies by sanctioned persons.

October 19, 2021

Klarna Payments Circumvent Gambling Blocks, Says Gamban Co-Founder

October 19, 2021

Polish Ombudsman Wants To Overhaul Gambling Tax

A top official from a government-appointed business group has joined the chorus calling for Poland to reform its betting tax rates.