The focus on anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorist financing (CTF) heated up last week with the UK announcing tough new proposals to combat financial crime. Billions of pounds of international crime money is reported to be funnelled through the UK…
Money2020 Europe: Collaboration and the future of FinTech
“Will you be at Money2020?” It was the question everyone was asking in the lead up to last week’s conference in Copenhagen. We were first timers sponsoring an event of this size (which had over 3000 attendees over the four…
RegTech gains momentum with FCA roundtables
No longer just murmurs and forecasts, support for the UK’s world-leading RegTech community gained momentum this month, mobilising for take off in a series of roundtables held by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). It follows the FCA’s call for input,…
What is Regtech? And why is it becoming the next big thing?
Heralded “the new FinTech” by Deloitte, “RegTech” has rapidly risen to prominence in 2015, from total obscurity. But what Regulatory Technology (RegTech) tech exactly is? And why is it becoming the next big thing? At risk of sounding too simple,…
Is HSBC Stopping Terrorist Money Laundering? Whistleblower Urges Federal Reserve to Reopen $1.9 billion Settlement
In 2012, HSBC paid a record $1.9 billion fine to settle money-laundering accusations. Yet in a letter to the Federal Reserve, which he publicised this September, ex-employee Everett Stern (among a number of other weighty allegations) accused HSBC of ongoing…
The Fourth AML Directive: Filling the Silence
Although the Fourth Anti Money Laundering Directive is now “set in stone”, the UK does still have some degree of flexibility in how it implements the European requirements. This was what the Head of Financial Crime at the FCA (Rob…
Money in Terrorist Hands: What FinTech Firms Should Fear
It recently emerged that online lender Prosper made a $28,500 collateral-free loan to Syed Rizwan Farook in mid-November, just a few weeks before he and his wife massacred guests at an office holiday party in San Bernardino, with Federal Officials…
Three Things We Learnt From FinTech Connect Live
After a packed and exciting two days of conferences, workshops and great conversations with others in the FinTech sphere, we thought we’d reflect on key insights about the sector that we’ll take away from Wembley. Banks are not braced for…
Halting the Torrent of Stolen Money Finding a Safe Haven in the UK
In a report titled “Don’t Look, Won’t Find” released on 23rd November, Transparency International UK found the country’s AML supervision to be “fragmented”, “inadequate” and riddled with a “lack of transparency”, allowing “billions” of pounds in corrupt funds to flow…
Regulators Focus Their Efforts On RegTech: FCA Call for Input
In a call for input, the FCA has just affirmed that innovative technology has a key role to play in enabling financial services to meet regulatory requirements and invited businesses to have their say in how it should “refine and…
FinTech Connect Live: Three Things That Make London the Place to Be
Dubbing it “the heart of fintech”, FinTech Connect Live is concentrating over 2,000 attendees and 100 sponsors in London for a two day exhibition next week. They have chosen their location well: taking over 68% of European Fintech investment in…
Barclays Hit by £72 Million Fine For Slack Checks on Rich Clients
Barclays was dealt the largest disgorgement penalty ever imposed by the FCA, after a damning report found that it was lax in checking rich politically exposed clients, who were part of an “elephant” £1.9 billion “deal of the century”, because…
The Inclusion of Financial crime as an FCA major risk factor
On the 24th of March 2015 the FCA released their business plan for the year. A notable aspect of the plan was financial crime replacing house price growth as a top risk consideration. Additionally, the FCA placed a special focus…
4 things we can learn from PayPal’s sanction violations
On the 25th of March 2015 PayPal agreed a $7.7m (£5.1m) settlement with U.S officials due to a breach of OFAC sanction regulation. For several years, up until April 2013, PayPal had been allowing users of their service to channel…