Daily Dash: Danske Bank Enables Dankort Cards For Apple Pay

• Danske Bank Customers Can Now Pay With Dankort Using Apple Pay
• Deutsche Bank To Process Direct Digital Payments For New Smart #1 EV
• CFPB Takes Action Against Third Sector Payments Platform
• Visa, Mastercard Security Tokens Under US Scrutiny
• FSB Proposes Cyber Incident Harmonisation
• UK: FCA Executive Director Resigns After Seven Years
• National Australia Bank Turns Smartphones Into POS Devices With Easy Tap
• FCA Fines Challenger Bank For AML Failings
• UK-US Tighten Cooperation On Russian Sanctions
• Pakistan To Exit FATF Greylist This Week, Insists Minister
• G7 Reiterate Climate Commitments, Endorse ISSB Work On Global Baseline
• Sri Lanka To Pass On Russia's Mir Card Network Due To US Sanctions Risk

Danske Bank Customers Can Now Pay With Dankort Using Apple Pay

Denmark’s largest bank has announced that customers can now connect their dual-branded Visa/Dankort debit cards to pay for goods and services using Apple Pay.

In Denmark, it is generally the merchant who decides whether the payment will be made using Visa or Dankort for domestic transactions, typically favouring the local scheme due to its low cost. However, where technically possible, the customer can decide which network to use.

In a statement, Danske Bank said the new option of linking the Dankort network to Apple Pay has several benefits for the consumer.

For example, there is no 30-day spending limit of DKK25,000 ($3,300), and it will usually be possible to see payments in Danske Mobile Banking and Danske eBanking the same day as they are made.

Deutsche Bank To Process Direct Digital Payments For New Smart #1 EV

Deutsche Bank has announced that it will act as the sole payment processor for sales and leases of the new Smart #1 electric car in Europe.

In addition to setting up the payment interface for buyers, Deutsche Bank will handle incoming payments, management of payment flows, verification of new providers on Smart’s e-commerce platform (e.g., providers of wallbox home chargers) and transfers to providers throughout Europe.

Deutsche Bank said the partnership aligns with its aim to establish itself as a “comprehensive” financial service provider for digital marketplaces. 

"There is currently an enormous need for innovative payment methods on the part of digital marketplace providers and automobile manufacturers, and the potential for banks that offer intelligent processing solutions is correspondingly large," said Ole Matthiessen, head of cash management at Deutsche Bank.

“Direct sales by automobile manufacturers will continue to gain in importance in the future, while banks ensure quick and uncomplicated payment across currency borders.”

Smart Automobile is a joint venture between Germany's Mercedes-Benz and China's biggest private carmaker, Zhejiang Geely.

CFPB Takes Action Against Third Sector Payments Platform

The US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has sued the online event registration company ACTIVE Network for allegedly tricking people signing up for fundraising road races and other events into enrolling into its annual subscription discount club, Active Advantage.

According to the regulator, ACTIVE Network generated more than $300m in membership fees using deceptive patterns. 

Specifically, the CFPB’s lawsuit alleges that ACTIVE harmed consumers by duping event registrants into discount club memberships and sneaking charges onto users’ credit cards, and failing to notify Active Advantage members of fee increases.

Two states, Iowa and Vermont, have separately sanctioned ACTIVE for violating state consumer financial protection laws. These actions resulted in settlements that only applied to the company’s enrollment schemes in those individual states.

Visa, Mastercard Security Tokens Under US Scrutiny

The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is investigating whether security tokens at Visa and Mastercard restrict debit card routing competition on online payments, The Wall Street Journal’s MarketWatch reported citing people familiar with the matter.

The card giants have acknowledged ongoing FTC probes in their previous annual reports, but it is unclear whether the inquiry on security tokens relates to the same investigation.

Visa said before that the competition watchdog is looking at whether its actions “inhibited merchant choice in the selection of debit payments networks in potential violation of the Durbin Amendment”.

The Mastercard investigation also concerns compliance with the debit routing provisions of the Durbin Amendment, Mastercard said.

Meanwhile, the Department of Justice is examining whether Visa has abused its dominance in debit cards.

FSB Proposes Cyber Incident Harmonisation

The Financial Stability Board (FSB) has published new proposals on how to achieve greater convergence in cyber incident reporting.

In the consultation, open until December 31, the FSB has set out 16 recommendations to address issues associated with the collection of cyber incident information from financial institutions and the sharing between regulators. 

The FSB has also outlined plans to establish common terminologies related to cyber incidents. 

In particular, the organisation suggests that a common definition and understanding for what actually constitutes a cyber incident is needed to avoid the over-reporting of incidents that are not important for financial authorities or financial stability.

Another proposal is to develop a common format for incident reporting exchange, which the FSB has called FIRE. This is because a review of incident reporting templates and stocktake of authorities’ cyber incident reporting regimes indicated a high degree of commonality in the information requirements for cyber incident reports.

UK: FCA Executive Director Resigns After Seven Years

Mark Steward, executive director of enforcement and market oversight at the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), has announced that he will be stepping down from the agency early next year.

In a statement, the FCA said that since joining in 2015, Steward has led the delivery of some of the FCA’s most “complex” and “high-profile” enforcement cases. 

This includes the record-breaking fine of £265m issued to NatWest in December last year for anti-money laundering (AML) failures, as covered by VIXIO.

Steward also led the FCA’s listing authority and oversight of the UK’s publicly traded markets, and he played a leading role launching in the FCA’s anti-scam marketing campaign, Scamsmart.

National Australia Bank Turns Smartphones Into POS Devices With Easy Tap

National Australia Bank (NAB) has launched a point of sale (POS) app known as Easy Tap, a solution that aims to help solve payment pains for small businesses.

The Easy Tap app allows merchants using an Android device to accept contactless payments from customers using a credit card, debit card or mobile wallet. It is thought to be the first such solution launched by an Australian bank.

“I’ve spoken with hundreds of small business owners around Australia, and the themes are clear: they want time back and they want their banking to be simple and digital,” said NAB executive Andrew Irvine.

“NAB Easy Tap removes complexity and provides real-time sales data via the NAB Hive merchant portal, saving small business owners valuable time.”

FCA Fines Challenger Bank For AML Failings

The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has fined Gatehouse Bank, a Shariah-compliant challenger bank, for failure to comply with anti-money laundering requirements. 

“Gatehouse Bank’s failures exposed itself to the risk that it might be used as part of a laundering process for illegal funds. While not deliberate, there can be no excuse for failures as serious as this,” said FCA oversight chief Mark Steward.

“The FCA will continue to hold firms to account for poor anti-money laundering systems and controls.”

The fine, which came to £1.5m, was handed out due to a failure to conduct sufficient checks on its customers based in countries with a higher risk of money laundering and terrorist financing. 

Gatehouse also failed to undertake the correct checks when some of the customers were classed as politically exposed persons (PEPs), the FCA said. 

For example, one instance saw the financial institution set up an account for a company based in Kuwait to aggregate customer funds, but did not require the company to collect information about customers’ source of funds or wealth, which was required under Gatehouse’s anti-money laundering policies. 

As a result, over a two-year period, Gatehouse accepted $62m into the account without properly vetting the funds for financial crime risks, an example that the FCA says illustrates the risks of failing to have proper systems and controls.

UK-US Tighten Cooperation On Russian Sanctions

The US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and the UK Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) have announced that they are bringing their collaboration over sanctions to a new level.

“The two units are amongst the largest in the world, with similar corresponding functions and tools,” the statement reads. 

“As such, we have decided to deepen OFSI-OFAC co-operation further, to enhance both our own capabilities and the support we provide to those at the forefront of effective sanctions implementation.”

The move aims maximise the impact of Russian sanctions, minimises their unintended consequences and eases the burden of compliance for business.

First, over the coming months, OFAC and OFSI officials will further exchange best practices regarding implementation and enforcement, and strengthen working relationships “at all levels”.

The announcement notes that over time, the collaboration will be expanded to “other common sanctions regimes”.

Pakistan To Exit FATF Greylist This Week, Insists Minister

Finance minister Ishaq Dar has said that he expects the country will finally exit the infamous Financial Action Task Force greylist this week during a press conference in Washington, DC. 

In June, FATF concluded that Pakistan, which was put on the greylist in 2018, had completed all 34 items that were demanded by the global financial crime standards body. 

However, the removal of the country, which had previously been on the list from 2012 to 2015, was conditioned on an on-site visit of a FATF team to verify the implementation and sustainability of the country’s money laundering and counter-terrorism financing measures.

The team visited the country in September and said that findings would be discussed at the next meeting, due to take place on October 20-21. 

This meeting will be the first under the two-year presidency of Singapore’s T. Raja Kumar.

G7 Reiterate Climate Commitments, Endorse ISSB Work On Global Baseline

The G7 finance ministers and central bank governors have issued a statement on climate issues, reiterating their commitment to move towards mandatory climate-related financial disclosures.

The collective has also welcomed the International Sustainability Standards Board’s (ISSB) work to develop a global minimum standard of sustainability disclosures to inform investment decisions. 

“Support for the global baseline has the potential to improve information and thus mobilise finance for the needed investments, particularly in emerging and developing economies, and we ask the ISSB to work closely with regional standard setters and any relevant local stakeholders and to provide advisory and capacity support,” the G7, whose presidency is currently held by Germany, said in a statement.

The ISSB is currently considering the consultation feedback it received on its first two proposed IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards looking at general sustainability-related disclosure requirements and specific climate-related disclosure requirements.

In response to the G7, ISSB chair Emmanuel Faber said that as part of the “building blocks approach”, the organisation is working closely with jurisdictions and other standard-setters to ensure the ISSB’s standards are interoperable with jurisdiction-specific requirements. “We are also developing an ambitious capacity building framework, working in partnership with jurisdictions and organisations, to support application of the global baseline.”

Sri Lanka To Pass On Russia's Mir Card Network Due To US Sanctions Risk

The Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) has confirmed that the country will not be joining Russia’s Mir card payment network due to the threat of US sanctions.

In recent weeks, as reported by VIXIO, Sri Lanka had been among the countries tipped to join the Mir card network, alongside other non-aligned nations such as Egypt, Cuba and Angola.

In September, as reported by VIXIO, the US Treasury added Vladimir Valerievich Komlev, CEO of Mir operator NSPK, to its list of sanctioned Russian individuals and entities. 

Since the Treasury’s announcement, banks in countries such as Turkey, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan have already suspended Mir card payments.