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- US Treasury Publishes 2024 National Illicit Finance Strategy
- New Zealand Parliament Introduces Consumer Data Bill
- Oklahoma Governor Gives Green Light To Crypto Legislation
- FINTRAC Warns Of Risks Linked To Crypto ATMs For Financial Crime
- Philippines To Launch Stablecoin Pilot Backed By Central Bank
- UAE, Indonesia Sign MoU To Promote Use Of Local Currencies
- 'Urgent Action' Needed On Money Laundering, Say International Bodies
- Hong Kong Pilots Cross-Boundary Data Validation Platform With Shenzhen
- Mastercard Joint Venture Begins Processing Domestic Transactions In China
- New NAB Partnership Looks To Accelerate Pay By Bank Adoption In Australia
US Treasury Publishes 2024 National Illicit Finance Strategy
The US Treasury has published its 2024 National Strategy for Combating Terrorist and Other Illicit Financing, which provides a blueprint of the US government’s goals and priorities to disrupt and prevent illicit finance.
The 2024 strategy addresses key illicit finance threats related to large-scale fraud schemes, ransomware attacks, drug trafficking, foreign and domestic terrorist attacks, and exploitation of technological advances in payments and financial services.
“Hamas’ financing of its brutal terrorist attack on Israel and Russia’s financing of its continued full-scale invasion of Ukraine demonstrate how key threats to national security can exploit vulnerabilities in the US and global financial system,” the agency said.
“The 2024 Strategy reflects the commitment of the Biden administration to protect the U.S. financial system from these threats by closing illicit finance pathways and strengthening supervision and enforcement mechanisms.”
New Zealand Parliament Introduces Consumer Data Bill
The New Zealand parliament unveiled the Consumer and Product Data Bill on May 15.
The legislation serves as an economy-wide framework aimed at facilitating enhanced access to, and exchange of, customer and product data among businesses operating in New Zealand.
Key provisions of the bill include requirements for businesses designated as data holders to provide designated customer data to the respective customers upon request, while also accrediting third parties for data access.
Additionally, stringent standards are outlined for data holders concerning electronic requests for various customer actions such as account openings, payments processing and alterations to customer plans.
The bill also establishes criteria and procedures for the accreditation of third parties, ensuring the reliability and trustworthiness of entities accessing sensitive customer information.
Oklahoma Governor Gives Green Light To Crypto Legislation
Oklahoma governor Kevin Stitt has approved legislation with key provisions on crypto-assets, which is effective from November 1, 2024.
The act prohibits the government of Oklahoma from restricting or impairing the ability of an individual to use digital assets to purchase legal goods or services, and self-custody digital assets using a self-hosted wallet or a hardware wallet.
The law also stipulates, among other things, that engaging in home digital asset mining, digital asset mining business, staking, or staking as a service, and operating a node or a series of nodes on a blockchain protocol does not require a money transmitter licence under Section 1513, Title 6 of the Oklahoma Statutes.
FINTRAC Warns Of Risks Linked To Crypto ATMs For Financial Crime
Canada's anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing agency, FINTRAC, has issued a new report uncovering the risks associated with cryptocurrency ATMs for illicit financial activities.
FINTRAC's analysis demonstrates that crypto ATMs have emerged as pivotal tools in the money laundering cycle, particularly in cities such as Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver, as well as in other urban areas like Edmonton, Calgary and Ottawa.
The report underscores the imperative for businesses and crypto ATM operators to enforce stringent compliance measures, including robust client identification protocols and ongoing monitoring of high-risk transactions.
FINTRAC has also warned the public to maintain vigilance against crypto-related fraud and promptly report any suspicious activities to the relevant authorities.
Philippines To Launch Stablecoin Pilot Backed By Central Bank
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has granted approval to Coins.ph, a local crypto exchange, to pilot a Philippine peso-backed stablecoin known as PHPC.
The pilot will take place under the BSP's Regulatory Sandbox Framework, which is designed to enable the development and testing of emerging financial technologies.
During the pilot, the PHPC deployed will be backed by cash and cash equivalents held by Coins.ph in Philippine bank accounts.
The project will assess the functionality and potential benefits of PHPC in real-world applications while monitoring its impact on the existing financial ecosystem.
PHPC’s potential uses include domestic and cross-border payments, trading with other virtual assets, hedging against market volatility, and providing collateral and liquidity in DeFi applications.
UAE, Indonesia Sign MoU To Promote Use Of Local Currencies
The central banks of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Indonesia have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to promote the use of local currencies in bilateral transactions.
Under the agreement, the two countries will work with importers and exporters to build a joint framework for settlement of cross-border trade transactions in UAE dirham and Indonesian rupiah.
The framework will identify eligible transactions and will allow for developing the conditions to support hedging and liquidity management activities in AED-IDR.
Between 2017 and 2023, the value of trade in non-oil products between the UAE and Indonesia grew by 100 percent, reaching AED16bn ($4.3bn).
'Urgent Action' Needed On Money Laundering, Say International Bodies
Countries need to urgently step up their efforts to target the huge illicit profits generated by money laundering, the heads of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), INTERPOL and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said in a joint call for action on Monday (May 13).
“Global financial integrity is critical for financial stability, inclusion, and for peace and security,” said T. Raja Kumar, FATF president. “It can only be achieved through the robust and effective implementation of money laundering and terrorist financing standards."
The three agencies said that by focusing on the proceeds of crime and the illicit financial networks behind them, states can more effectively disrupt organised crime and enhance the effectiveness of crime prevention efforts.
They also highlighted recent enhancements to FATF’s international standards on anti-money laundering/counter-terrorism financing (AML/CTF), and called for accelerated progress on policy reforms and capacity building ahead of the UN 2026 Crime Congress, which is to be hosted by the United Arab Emirates.
Hong Kong Pilots Cross-Boundary Data Validation Platform With Shenzhen
Authorities in Hong Kong and Shenzhen have announced the launch of a new pilot for a cross-boundary data validation platform.
The platform uses blockchain technology and data coding (i.e., hash values) for document verification without the need for cross-boundary transfers or storage of original documents.
It aims to provide a “credible means” for validating the authenticity of the documents presented by the data owners.
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority, which has been working closely with mainland authorities on fintech innovation and cross-boundary data flows, welcomed the move.
Mastercard Joint Venture Begins Processing Domestic Transactions In China
Mastercard NetsUnion has begun processing domestic payments made in China using Mastercard cards issued by the country’s banks.
Michael Miebach, CEO of Mastercard, said the move is a "significant milestone" in the company's 40-year history in China.
In February 2020, the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) granted principal approval for Mastercard NetsUnion to begin formal preparations for a domestic bank card clearing institution in China.
Since then, the joint venture has established standards, rules, structures and infrastructure in line with local regulatory requirements and obtained the required certificates for a local switch business.
In November 2023, Mastercard NetsUnion received formal approval from the PBOC and the National Administration of Financial Regulation (NAFR) to commence domestic bank card clearing activity.
New NAB Partnership Looks To Accelerate Pay By Bank Adoption In Australia
National Australia Bank (NAB) has partnered with global fintech Banked in an effort to increase merchant adoption of account-to-account payment solutions.
The partnership aims to boost the use of "pay by bank" technology using PayTo, an account-to-account addressing service from Australian Payments Plus (AP+).
“Pay by bank capability will enable merchants to send PayTo Agreements to their customers and initiate payments and refunds according to their PayTo agreements,” Banked said in a statement.
This addresses a range of scenarios for merchants such as online payments, scheduled recurring payments with fixed or variable amounts, and split payment amounts.
"The nascent A2A payments industry in Australia presents an incredible opportunity,” said Banked CEO Bread Goodall. “Local regulators have developed well-constructed mandates and the banking industry is primed for innovation, all of which sets the stage for rapid growth in real-time payments.”
