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- Netherlands: New Study Finds That Young People Underestimate Money Muling Risks
- Poland's BLIK Launches In Romania
- Barclays Clashes With Bank Of England On Retail CBDC
- EU Authorities Appoint DORA Chief
- French Authorities Launch National Campaign To Combat Payment Fraud
- Crypto Ads Face New Restrictions In The UK
- India Contracted To Build 'UPI-Like' Payment System In Trinidad And Tobago
- India, Philippines Joint Working Group On Fintech Goes Live
- Lithuania And Netherlands Move Towards Instant Payments Regulation
- Sweden's FIU Warns Of Crypto Market's Role In Money Laundering
Netherlands: New Study Finds That Young People Underestimate Money Muling Risks
A new study by the Dutch Banking Association (NVB) has found that seven in ten young people are unaware of the risk that money mules can be arrested and prosecuted.
The NVB surveyed 258 people between the ages of 18 to 25 to find out what they know about money muling and its risks.
The survey also found that one in ten young people have been approached to lend their debit card or bank account to criminals as a money mule.
Similarly, two in three young people have seen advertisements or received messages on social media about ways to earn money quickly and easily — a typical approach used by criminals in search of money mules.
Marco Doeland, team lead for security at the NVB, said that young people underestimate the chance of a money mule being caught, even though money mules are easily detected.
“If the victim of a fraud reports it to the bank or the police, the bank can immediately see who the money was transferred to. So you will always be caught,” he said.
“Many young people do not realise that in many cases the money comes directly from victims of online fraud and that money mules can be held liable for the damage.”
Poland's BLIK Launches In Romania
BLIK's Romanian counterpart has obtained authorisation for the operation of the BLIK payment system from the National Bank of Romania (BNR).
Approved as of October 1, the company will facilitate e-commerce transactions in Romania up to RON50,000 (€10,000). The authorisation marks a significant milestone for BLIK Romania, which has been registered locally since 2022.
"The granting of the operating authorisation by the BNR is a key step in the development of BLIK in Romania, which is one of the most important markets in the CEE region, especially in terms of e-commerce growth," said Ryszard Drużynski, CEO of BLIK Romania.
Drużynski said the development of the digital sector and the growing popularity of cashless transactions in Romania create "the perfect conditions" for the implementation of solutions such as BLIK.
"We are open to continuing discussions with various entities in the Romanian market," he said.
Barclays Clashes With Bank Of England On Retail CBDC
The UK’s Barclays bank has clashed with the Bank of England (BoE) in a new paper on the merits of retail central bank digital currency (CBDC).
The four-page paper, penned by three members of Barclays’ chief technology office, considers the BoE’s claim that a retail CBDC may be required in future as an “anchor” for monetary and financial stability.
The paper concludes that the anchoring of private UK retail digital money is currently supported by existing forms of money and digital payments systems.
“These could be sufficient to maintain public trust and confidence in money and the financial system, despite a decline in the use of physical cash for payments and the emergence of new forms of private digital money,” said Barclays.
“However, further research is required before drawing definite conclusions.”
EU Authorities Appoint DORA Chief
The three European supervisory authorities (ESAs) for overseeing the financial services sector have appointed Marc Andries to lead joint oversight of the Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA).
The Frenchman will serve as director of a newly created joint directorate tasked with overseeing critical third-party providers.
From October 1, 2024, Andries will manage the implementation of a pan-European oversight framework aimed at ensuring the resilience of critical ICT third-party service providers (CTPPs) in the financial sector.
Andries’ CV includes previously serving as chief inspector at the Banque de France and at France's Prudential Supervision and Resolution Authority (ACPR) as a chief inspector.
French Authorities Launch National Campaign To Combat Payment Fraud
France has kicked off a nationwide campaign to raise awareness about payment fraud as part of European Cybersecurity Month.
Organised by the Ministry of the Economy, the Banque de France, the French Banking Federation (FBF) and the Observatory for the Security of Payment Methods (OSMP), the campaign targets growing scams involving user manipulation, which accounted for €379m in fraud in 2023.
The campaign will run in the press and online, including influencer support, to alert the public to sophisticated fraud techniques such as fake bank customer service scams and AI deepfakes.
Research from the FBF highlights the growing concern among the French about banking fraud, with 57 percent having experienced a scam attempt.
The campaign places particular emphasis on encouraging younger people to be more cautious, stating that they are more frequently targeted but less cautious about data protection.
Crypto Ads Face New Restrictions In The UK
The UK’s Broadcast Committee of Advertising Practice (BCAP) has published a new rule that explicitly bans ads for certain types of crypto-asset products from being broadcast to mainstream, non-specialist audiences.
Since October 2023, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has regulated these products, and advertisers are now restricted to targeting only specialised financial audiences with relevant trading experience.
They are obligated to pre-vet individuals to ensure they meet the FCA's criteria before promoting these high-risk investments.
"BCAP considers that adding this category explicitly to the Code will maintain the existing restriction of such products to appropriate specialised broadcast audiences," BCAP said in a media statement.
The committee added that this move "will add more precision to the rule to acknowledge this broad and widespread category of investments that did not exist at the time of the rule’s creation, and remind broadcasters of the statutory restrictions that apply to advertising for them".
India Contracted To Build 'UPI-Like' Payment System In Trinidad And Tobago
The international arm of the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has signed an agreement to develop a “UPI-like” instant payments system for Trinidad and Tobago.
The deal between NPCI International and the Ministry of Digital Transformation is the first of its kind, and will bring India’s expertise in real-time payments to the Caribbean nation.
The partnership aims to empower Trinidad and Tobago to establish a reliable and efficient real-time payments platform for both person-to-person (P2P) and person-to-merchant (P2M) transactions.
“By leveraging technology and experiences from India’s UPI, the partnership seeks to assist Trinidad and Tobago in modernising its financial ecosystem,” said the NPCI.
“This involves enhancing accessibility, affordability, connectivity with domestic and international payment networks and ensuring interoperability.”
The news follows a similar announcement from NPCI International and Peru, whose central bank, in June this year, became the first in South America to partner with India to develop an instant payments system.
India, Philippines Joint Working Group On Fintech Goes Live
The Philippines Department of Finance (DOF) has announced that it led the first meeting of a joint working group (JWG) on fintech issues with the Indian government in New Delhi.
During the meeting, the JWG discussed initiatives and best practices to enhance the regulatory framework and digital infrastructure for fintech firms in the Philippines.
According to the DOF, the discussions opened up opportunities for greater innovation and cooperation in areas such as digital payments and blockchain technology.
The Philippine delegation was joined by representatives from the Department of Foreign Affairs, the National Economic and Development Authority, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Insurance Commission.
Meanwhile, the Indian delegation was led by the Ministry of Finance and was joined by representatives from the Reserve Bank of India, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, the Securities and Exchange Board of India and other agencies.
The JWG is the product of a memorandum of understanding on bilateral cooperation that was signed between the two governments in June 2023.
Lithuania And Netherlands Move Towards Instant Payments Regulation
Both Lithuania and the Netherlands have made moves regarding the implementation of the EU’s Instant Payments Regulation (IPR).
In Lithuania, the government has proposed amendments to the Settlement Finality in Payment and Securities Settlement Systems Law, which would allow payment institutions (PIs) and e-money institutions (EMIs) to directly participate in payment systems without intermediaries. Additionally, the amendments would remove existing restrictions on system operators, aligning the law with European regulations on instant credit transfers.
Meanwhile, the Dutch government has launched a public consultation on the “Implementing Act and Implementing Decree on the Regulation on Instant Transfers”.
This initiative is part of the process of enacting the IPR in national law, and interested parties have until October 20, 2024 to provide feedback on the draft legislation through the ministry's consultation forum.
Sweden's FIU Warns Of Crypto Market's Role In Money Laundering
The Swedish Police Authority’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU Sweden) has released a new report highlighting the growing threat of unlicensed crypto exchange providers acting as professional money launderers (PMLs).
According to the report, these individuals are key players in converting criminal proceeds into cryptocurrencies or vice versa, facilitating money laundering for organised crime.
The report identifies four main subgroups of illicit crypto providers, ranging from those deeply embedded in criminal networks to those openly operating on peer-to-peer platforms, with FIU Sweden warning that these providers are difficult to detect and disrupt, presenting significant challenges for law enforcement.
To combat this issue, the report calls for enhanced supervision and monitoring, urging the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority (FSA) to strengthen regulations on unlicensed providers. Banks and legitimate crypto platforms are also encouraged to remain vigilant against suspicious activities.
