• Forty-five fines for money laundering failures issued in 2020; on par with 45 issued in 2019
• Fines for anti-money laundering (AML) failings globally five times higher in 2020 than 2019, totalling USD 2.2 billion
• Total fines for AML failings in January – June 2021 stand at 45% of 2020 total, totalling USD 994 million

Kroll, the world’s premier provider of services and digital products related to valuation, governance, risk and transparency, has today published new data showing that the COVID-19 pandemic has not stunted global enforcement action for anti-money laundering (AML) failings.

The findings come from the company’s annual Global Enforcement Review 2021, which shows that, globally, 45 fines for AML failures were issued in 2020, the same as in 2019. Moreover, the first half of 2021 seems to be following suit, with 17 fines issued between January and July this year, just under half of 2020’s year-end total.

Despite the consistency in the volume of fines issued, the total value of AML enforcement has rocketed, reaching USD 2.2 billion (bn) at the end of 2020, which is five times higher than in 2019 and over two-thirds of the record levels recorded in 2018 (USD 444 million (mn) and USD 3.3 bn, respectively). Similarly, the total value of AML fines as of June 2021 is nearly half of the 2020 total, standing at USD 994 mn.

Claire Simm, Managing Director, Financial Services Compliance and Regulation at Kroll, said:

“The figures show that investigations were not paused for COVID-19. While the number of fines remained constant, the value of fines surged as regulators imposed tougher penalties, continuing to send the message that despite any obstacles, enforcement remains a top priority for non-compliant behaviour.”

Key failings

Kroll’s report also highlights the four key AML failings from 2016-2021 that regulators across the world have consistently identified through the fines they imposed:

·                     AML management (124 cases)

·                     Suspicious activity monitoring (98 cases)

·                     Customer due diligence (94 significant cases)

·                     Compliance monitoring and oversight (57 cases)

Simm continued:

“Despite the increasing value of fines and consistent enforcement from regulators worldwide, we still see the same key AML failings being sanctioned. This year, the FCA launched criminal proceedings against a bank for inadequate AML systems and controls. Interestingly, a separate bank was fined GBP 102 mn by the FCA in 2019 for the same AML failings.

“The FCA’s decision to exercise its criminal powers is the first of its kind in the UK and a clear warning from the regulator that compliance failures will not be tolerated, on top of the already significant deterrents of mega-fines and reputational damage.”

Global breakdown

Over the past 18 months, a number of global regulators have joined the U.S. in imposing significant fines for AML failures. In 2020, Australia imposed the greatest proportion of the global total (41%), followed by Sweden and Hong Kong. The Netherlands is currently leading the way in 2021, accounting for 59% of the total value of global fines to end of June 2021 following a single fine of $582 million.

Simm concluded:

“These fines show that across the world, regulators continue to put high importance on financial crime enforcement. We can expect to see mega-fines and criminal enforcement continue through 2021 and beyond.

“Domestically, a lot of attention is focused on how the FCA will assert its regulatory powers post-Brexit. We expect the UK’s Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018, which came into force following Britain’s exit from the EU in December 2020, to lead to greater levels of enforcement action in the future.”

Decimal’s first banking partnership for Saarathi expedited loan sourcing and processing for Ujjivan Small Finance Bank during restrictive lockdowns

Decimal Technologies, one of India’s leading fintech firms and Ujjivan Small Finance Bank (USFB) Limited, a leading mass market bank entered into a partnership through which Ujjivan SFB and its channel partners will use Decimal’s digital lending platform – Saarathi. This collaboration will enable the Bank to digitize loan sourcing through its sales force as well as Direct Selling Agents (DSAs). This is part of the Bank’s strategy to strengthen its digital infrastructure which has been on one of it’ s key focus areas.

Launched in 2020, Saarathi is an AI-based, ready-to-use digital lending platform specialising in digitisation of loan origination journeys. Saarathi can be used by bank’s sales channels to source loan files digitally. Unlike any digitisation project, Saarathi requires no upfront capital investment and significantly reduces the time-to-market by 95% (i.e. from 6-9 months to one week).

As part of the partnership, Decimal’s ‘Saarathi’ is enabling 100% digitisation of Ujjivan SFB’s loan offerings, providing a simple user interface and helping to carry out business operations during lockdowns. Saarathi is dispensing verified and trusted channel partners to send digitized loan applications with a detailed risk assessment to Ujjivan SFB. Saarathi is also integrated with Credit Bureau, NSDL, document verifications systems, Google Maps for geo-tagging, bank statement analyser and more, resulting in improved efficiency of credit underwriting for Ujjivan SFB.

Lalit Mehta, Co-founder and CEO, Decimal Technologies, said, “We are extremely delighted to be the technology partner for Ujjivan SFB. This is our first ever banking tie up in this model and through this partnership, we will deploy a robust digital infrastructure to transition loan processes from manual to digital and help the Bank create digital financial solutions through our financial services distribution platform, Saarathi, and elevate the loan delivery process. With this partnership, we want to strengthen Ujjivan’s loan disbursal process with technology integration.”

Speaking of the partnership, Mr. Dheemant Thacker, Head- Digital Banking, Ujjivan Small Finance Bank, said, “This partnership with Decimal Technologies digitizes our loan origination journey through assisted mode and significantly improves TATs without incurring huge capital expenditure, thereby strengthening our overall business operations. We continue to build a robust digital infrastructure to offer greater customer convenience and a superior customer experience through such fin-tech engagements”.

After receiving the green light from the National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE), Hijra Bank, the second fully-fledged interest-free bank in the country has engaged in a highly competitive bidding and selection process which resulted in the selection and signing of an agreement with Path Solutions for the implementation of its AAOIFI-certified core banking platform.

Hijra Bank will be providing interest-free financial services – a strategy to capture the growing market share of the tech savvy devout customers wishing to comply with the principles of Islamic law, as well as those who prefer ethical and socially responsible banking services.

After over a decade of Ethiopians petitioning for Islamic banking products, Africa’s second most populous nation saw this year its second Islamic bank, increasing the people’s confidence in the sector and boosting the country’s financial inclusion plans. Additionally, with Ethiopia’s close proximity to Middle Eastern countries and major Islamic finance jurisdictions, and with the support of IsDB, the introduction of Islamic banking is expected to attract much-needed foreign investment and drive the government’s plan to liberalize its financial sector.

Mohammed Kateeb, Path Solutions’ Group Chairman & CEO said that the synergy of the partnership with Hijra Bank empowers them to deliver impactful technology solutions. “We are excited to collaborate with Hijra Bank and to support them in realizing their vision of bringing Islamic finance to Ethiopia through advanced technology and great customer experience. Hijra Bank will be able to utilize flexible, scalable and highly customizable core banking platform catering to the diverse needs of their individual and corporate customer segments across Ethiopia. We look forward to the successful implementation and to enabling Hijra Bank to effectively compete on innovation in the new open banking era”, he said in a statement.

As a newly established bank, Hijra Bank will have the advantage of capitalizing on the latest version of iMAL from Path Solutions and reap the benefits of the robust growth opportunities of digital banking since more customers in the country are becoming literate of the digital services. The bank believes it is now the perfect timing for their incorporation to gain a foothold in an ever-growing financial market space by meeting the demands of more knowledgeable and sophisticated customers.

Dawit Kenno, the newly appointed acting CEO of Hijra Bank, said, “Along the lines of our vision to be the most preferred interest-free bank in Ethiopia, we need to create a robust foundation to drive growth and to have the agility to innovate continuously, especially with the fast evolvement of financial technology to remain relevant ahead of the competition. Path Solutions understands the vital role of IT in our business to bring value, ensure convenience, functional and service quality and improve profitability. The company’s Islamic banking domain know-how and extensive international experience will allow our bank to launch unique interest-free banking products for the best market fit along with an outstanding customer experience”.

Further details on Hijra Bank are found here www.hijra-bank.com

Majic Wheels, Corp. (OTC Pink: MJWL) ("Majic" or the "Company"), a Delaware corporation, that is positioning itself as a player in the disruptive industries of fintech and software development by means of acquisitions, announces it will be hosting an online presentation of its wholly owned subsidiary CGCX.

The Presentation will be hosted on the
Majic Wheels Corp, Inc. website on
August 22^nd, 2021, at 19:00 Eastern Time

To view the presentation, investors are invited to register on the Majic website here:

https://majiccorp.co

“We are excited to share more about CGCX with shareholders and prospective investors alike. There has been a rising interest in CGCX’s exchange platform and its ecosystem. We couldn’t be more excited to share CGCX’s current achievements and future” said Dr. Vin Menon, founder of CGCX.  

As part of the presentation the Company will be delving into further details about the current roadmap set for the Company’s subsidiary CGCX. Items discussed during the presentation will cover Actual Revenues, Projected Revenues, Business Lines and Planned Upcoming Developments.

Following the online presentation, the Company will be attending a Discord Q&A session to further discuss any questions shareholders may have about the presentation. The Q&A will be hosted on the Company’s usual Discord Channel hosted by Apollo Assets.

Clearpay iQ helps brands capture next generation consumers

Today Clearpay, a leader in “Buy Now, Pay Later” payments (known as Afterpay (ASX: APT) outside the U.K. and Europe), introduced its new merchant analytics platform, Clearpay iQ. With this powerful new tool, brands gain access to valuable customer-centric analytics to help optimise investment and drive growth. 

The Clearpay iQ platform provides:

● Easy Data: AI-powered insights, visualisations, and real-time data delivered in one, highly accessible self-service user interface.

● Single Source of Truth: Brands can evaluate marketing performance, omnichannel shopping volumes, and demographic summaries down to the store level.

● “Next Best Actions”: A recommendation engine offering insightful actions to optimise business performance based on analytics. 

“Our partnership with Clearpay has helped Pandora make data-powered marketing decisions which has improved our ability to target new audiences, which ultimately has led to higher conversion rates and larger AOV, “ said Jennifer Glass, Director of Owned and Paid Digital Marketing of Pandora. “Working together, we have been very successful in capturing new, highly engaged young customers for our business.”

Clearpay Next Gen Index:

Also today, Clearpay introduced the Next Gen Index, its latest quarterly report on global Gen Z and Millennials’ consumer spending behaviors and preferences. The report reveals that Millennial and Gen Z share of spending will increase to 48% by 2030 1 - demonstrating their continued strong influence on the economy as these cohorts reach peak earning years. The report also showed that this generation has an increasing preference for BNPL. In the U.K., BNPL spending has grown by 315% compared to a 4% increase for debit and credit card purchases. 

“Gen Z and Millennials are driving change at the intersection of culture and commerce - so it's no surprise they have been key adopters of Clearpay and BNPL more generally," said Rich Bayer, UK Country Manager at Clearpay. “Having built our business by connecting this next generation of shoppers to the best brands in the world, Clearpay is in a strong position to help its retailers navigate this demographic by providing unparalleled insights into the world's hardest to reach customer cohorts.”

Clearpay’s Next Gen Index also found that in the UK spending by Gen Z and Millennials has recovered faster than older generations, up an average of 7% for Gen Z frompre-pandemic levels. Small business spending is also increasing among Gen Z and Millenials, up an average of 900% since early 2020 and making up two-thirds (70%) of all Clearpay spend on small businesses. While the majority are still spending on Fashion, the Home and Recreation categories are growing fast, up 300% year-over-year. 

Bhairav Trivedi, CEO Crown Agents Bank comments, "Global events over the last two weeks in Afghanistan and Haiti have been life-changing for many people. While very different situations, both countries are in crisis and the need for humanitarian aid is at a breaking point.

Crown Agents Bank is committed to delivering funds to those affected, moving money where it is needed most. It is more important than ever that aid providers, UN agencies and International Non-Governmental Organisations (INGOs), can deliver crucial relief swiftly to countries in crisis.

These events bring to the fore why the world needs to get better at transacting across borders. To truly deliver aid in an efficient manner, financial institutions need to join us in working with local on-the-ground experts to open up the channels we can use to deliver fast payments when they matter the most."

“The last 18 months have presented serious challenges for SMEs across the country, with many businesses simply struggling for survival, and so it’s very encouraging to see SME confidence on the rise, with over half now expecting to grow. With lockdown restrictions now lifted, SMEs are in a better place to plan for the future and are looking to external finance as a way to do this. 

“However, challenges still remain. As the economy opens up and businesses fully reopen, they will be facing difficult decisions, both practical and financial and will need somewhere to turn to. This is where government and industry have a vital role to play, in communicating the support available to SMEs and how it can help businesses thrive beyond the pandemic. The alternative finance industry will be paramount to SME recovery, in providing businesses with the finance they need at speed.”

Bitfinex, a state-of-the-art digital token trading platform, is now available in Turkish, providing greater accessibility for the exchange’s growing customer base.

Eligible Turkish-speaking customers can trade crypto and obtain access to margin funding on Bitfinex’s highly liquid markets. A Turkish version of Bitfinex will provide a more seamless and comfortable experience for customers who prefer using Turkish online.

“We are delighted to add Turkish to the suite of language services already available on the platform,” said Claudia Lagorio, COO at Bitfinex. “This forms part of our commitment to making our state-of-the-art platform accessible to our growing global customer base.”

Educational content is now available in Turkish on Bitfinex’s Knowledge Base, enabling Turkish speaking users to enhance their understanding and knowledge of crypto and blockchain technology.

Turkish is the sixth language to be supported on the Bitfinex platform, following English, Russian, traditional and simplified Chinese and Spanish. Supporting Turkish on Bitfinex further illustrates Bitfinex’s ongoing commitment to l enabling more customers to obtain access to Bitfinex in their preferred language.

Service available to hundreds of thousands of MuchBetter users 

MuchBetter, the award-winning payments company, today announced its availability via Google Pay™, meaning MuchBetter Android users can now make in-store contactless and online payments using Google Pay™. Android is the world’s most popular smartphone operating system and Google Pay™ is among the top payment platforms. The integration means that a significant proportion of MuchBetter’s one million customers will benefit from the simplicity and security of the Google Pay™ service. 

MuchBetter has chosen to make its Prepaid Debit Mastercard© available on Google Pay™ now due to the increasing popularity of contactless payments, with limits in the UK soon to be increased to £100. Likewise, the deal also further increases customer choice and gives users more opportunities to pay with MuchBetter for day-to-day payments. Google Pay™ will complement MuchBetter’s long list of payment options, which today includes P2P transfers, online, mobile and card payments. MuchBetter also powers popular contactless wearables like the Winwatch smartwatch, CashCuff smartshirt and Tovi Sorga’s new range of contactless accessories. 

To use Google Pay™, MuchBetter customers must download the Google Pay™ app from the Google Play Store and add their MuchBetter card details. They can then pay with Google Pay™ using their MuchBetter funds wherever they see a contactless logo in physical stores, or during the checkout process for online or in-app purchases.    

“There are so many ways to pay with MuchBetter now,” said MuchBetter co-founder and CEO, Israel Rosenthal. “We created the business with choice and flexibility in mind, ensuring that users could pay for whatever they want, however they want – always with a secure, seamless experience. It’s why MuchBetter is becoming the payment method of choice for our customers, whether that is for P2P transfers, card, contactless or online payments. We hope Google Pay™ will enhance our payment options even further.”