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- Latvia, Mastercard Launch New Campaign To Combat Phone Scams
- Singapore Lawmaker Probes MAS About Banking Services For Visually Impaired
- New Zealand Consults On Proposed Agreement To Develop Open Banking
- Lithuania Fines Former Majestic Financial Board Member For AML Violations
- UK's Open Banking Limited Announces Major Update With Standard v4.0
- Kuwait Instant Payments System Cleared For Launch By Central Bank
- Will Labour Make Big Tech Companies Liable For Scams?
- Raiffeisen Bank Hit By Record-Breaking Fine For AML Failures In Austria
- New Open Finance Regulation Goes Live In UAE
- Nigeria Looks Forward To FATF Greylist Removal
Latvia, Mastercard Launch New Campaign To Combat Phone Scams
In response to a rise in telephone fraud cases, the Latvian Financial Industry Association (FNA) and Mastercard have this month launched an anti-fraud campaign with the slogan "Throw it away".
The campaign aims to raise awareness of phone scams, especially among the elderly, and to arm consumers with knowledge to protect themselves.
According to FNA data, there were 4,195 reported fraud cases in Latvia in the first five months of 2024, 2,448 of which were linked to phone scams.
From January to May, fraudsters were able to steal nearly €5.2m, nearly matching the €5.8m lost in all of 2023.
Armands Onzuls, advisor to the FNA, said that fraud has risen as Latvia’s older generations have adopted card payments and other digital payments, particularly for online transactions.
Singapore Lawmaker Probes MAS About Banking Services For Visually Impaired
The Monetary of Singapore (MAS) has faced questions this week about the adequacy of banking services for visually impaired customers.
In a parliamentary session, Singaporean lawmaker Ong Hua Han asked about the steps the MAS has taken to ensure that these customers can access banking services independently.
Gan Kim Yong, deputy prime minister and chair of the MAS, said the central bank has launched several initiatives to support visually impaired customers.
These include "talking ATMs" with audio and braille features, staff training programmes and enhanced digital banking apps compatible with voice command software.
Gan also reported that, from 2021 to 2023, the MAS received four instances of feedback related to the accessibility of internet and phone banking services for visually impaired persons.
The issues, primarily concerning account verification via one-time passwords or personal ID numbers, were swiftly addressed by the banks involved, often through guiding customers to use solutions such as talking ATMs, the minister said.
New Zealand Consults On Proposed Agreement To Develop Open Banking
New Zealand’s Commerce Commission has opened to consultation on a proposed agreement between itself and Payments NZ to further develop the country’s open banking framework.
In a statement, the commission said it has reached a “preliminary view” that it should grant conditional approval to Payments NZ to work with application programming interface (API) providers to develop a partnering framework for API services.
This would enable API providers such as banks and third parties such as fintechs to work together on the provision of API services to other third parties.
The benefits of the proposed agreement include reduced transaction costs and more efficient contract terms between parties, the commission said.
Stakeholders have until July 15, 2024 to give feedback on the proposed agreement.
Lithuania Fines Former Majestic Financial Board Member For AML Violations
The Bank of Lithuania has imposed a €50,000 fine on a former board member of Majestic Financial UAB, a global payments firm, according to a new bulletin.
This action follows an earlier revocation of the institution’s licence due to breaches of anti-money laundering (AML) laws in April this year.
At the time, the central bank said the firm had “grossly and systematically” violated compliance rules.
The ex-board member, who also served as the chief compliance officer, failed to ensure the implementation of adequate AML controls.
An inspection revealed significant lapses, including poor internal controls, inadequate customer identification and insufficient monitoring of high-risk clients.
UK's Open Banking Limited Announces Major Update With Standard v4.0
The Open Banking Limited (OBL) has published its Open Banking Standard v4.0, the first significant update to the framework in almost six years. This release aims to lay a stable foundation for the ecosystem's future growth.
The new version aligns the Open Banking Standard with global norms, aiming to facilitate improved information flows and benefit all participants in the ecosystem.
It also ensures the standard's relevance and alignment with international messaging standards (ISO 20022) and security standards (FAPI 1.0 Advanced Final).
Delivering v4.0 of the standard would not have been possible without extensive consultation with industry and other key stakeholders, the OBL said in a statement shared with Vixio.
“It was very encouraging to see widespread support for the changes and we are grateful for the time and effort across the whole ecosystem to support its successful development,” said Fiona Hamilton, head of standards at OBL.
Caroline Stretton, head of product at open banking firm TrueLayer, welcomed the introduction of the new standard. “Despite regulatory uncertainty, OBL is continuing to maintain and improve how the UK open banking functions, for the benefit of the businesses and consumers who use it," she said.
Kuwait Instant Payments System Cleared For Launch By Central Bank
The Central Bank of Kuwait (CBK) has approved the launch of a new instant payments system known as WAMD.
WAMD users must have a Kuwaiti bank account linked to a phone number, as well as access to a WAMD enabled banking app.
Banks offering WAMD payments at launch of the system include Kuwait Finance House (KFH), National Bank of Kuwait and Commercial Bank of Kuwait (CBK).
Individual transactions are limited to KWD1,000 ($3,260); daily cumulative transactions are limited to KWD3,000 ($9,787); and monthly cumulative transactions are limited to KWD20,000 ($65,250).
Kuwait joins more than 70 countries that have deployed instant payment systems, which can typically deliver payments from sender to receiver in less than 60 seconds.
Will Labour Make Big Tech Companies Liable For Scams?
The UK's Labour Party is reportedly drawing up plans to make big tech companies financially liable for scams that originate on their platforms.
According to a report by the Financial Times, Labour is planning a “new approach” to the reimbursement of authorised push payment (APP) fraud that goes beyond the incoming rules of the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR).
“The big tech companies who provide the platforms on which this fraud takes place must take their proper share of the responsibility for tackling APP fraud and reimbursing victims,” Labour said in an internal document seen by the FT.
“Britain’s banks rightly believe it is both unfair and unsustainable that they should be expected to shoulder so much of the burden of trying to tackle APP fraud and reimburse victims, while the big tech companies contribute very little.”
A Labour spokesperson said the document was a "draft paper”, not policy, that was “produced to help develop options for tackling the issue”.
Raiffeisen Bank Hit By Record-Breaking Fine For AML Failures In Austria
Austria’s Financial Markets Authority (FMA) has imposed a fine of €2.07m on Raiffeisen Bank International for non-compliance with due diligence obligations in the firm’s correspondent banking relationships.
The FMA said Raffaisen failed to comply with anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing (AML/CTF) controls in its relations with two correspondent banks in third countries.
According to the regulator, Raffaisen was unable to demonstrate the adequacy of the AML/CTF checks it performed on the two institutions prior to executing payments to them.
The penal order is not final, the regulator notes.
New Open Finance Regulation Goes Live In UAE
The Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates (CBUAE) has published its Open Finance Regulation, a key part of the central bank’s Financial Infrastructure Transformation (FIT) programme.
Under the regulation, participation in the country’s open finance framework is mandatory for all licensed financial institutions (LFIs), the central bank said.
As data holders and service owners, LFIs are required to provide open finance participants with access to customer data and the ability to initiate transactions from accounts and products (with users’ “express consent”).
The regulation consists of a Trust Framework, an Application Planning Interface (API) Hub and Common Infrastructural Services, which provide open finance access for the cross-sector sharing of data.
The regulation has been published in the official gazette and will come into effect in phases. The issuance of the Open Finance Regulation also results in an amendment to the Retail Payment Services and Card Schemes Regulation, the central bank added.
Nigeria Looks Forward To FATF Greylist Removal
The head of a key anti-corruption organisation has said he is confident that Nigeria will soon be removed from the jurisdictions under increased monitoring by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).
Dr Musa Adamu Aliyu, chair of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), said his organisation has been closely involved in measures aimed at tackling deficiencies in anti-money laundering (AML) and other areas.
Aliyu was speaking at a two-day workshop for law enforcement officers organised by the Anti-Corruption Academy of Nigeria on Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism.
He said the workshop and other similar initiatives demonstrate that stakeholders in Nigeria are “committed” to ensuring that the country exits the “challenging status” imposed by the greylist.
Nigeria was placed on the FATF greylist in February 2023 due to a rise in capital inflows and deficiencies in combating money laundering, terrorism and arms financing.
