Fraudsters are underestimating the power of AI to detect fake IDs, according to a new report from Ondato, a London-headquartered technology company that streamlines Know Your Customer (KYC) and anti-money laundering (AML) processes. 

Based on an analysis of millions of ID verifications carried out for its customers in 2022, Ondato found that ID cards were used in 52% of fraudulent verification attempts - far ahead of driving licences (29%) and passports (18%). According to Ondato, fraudsters most likely underestimate ID cards and incorrectly assume they are easier to duplicate than other documents. While recognizing a fake card is quite difficult to the naked eye, today’s AI-powered ID verification systems now give companies the power to spot the scammers with automated checks.

Opportunities for ID document fraud have grown rapidly in recent years as organisations moved their user onboarding processes online. The Covid pandemic further accelerated this trend. To deal with the threat, governments and regulators have introduced - and regularly updated - requirements to prevent illegal activities, particularly around money laundering for crime and terrorist financing. Criminals are estimated to launder up to $2 trillion globally annually and, in one year alone, global banks were fined $10.4 billion for money-laundering violations. However, strengthening security compliance with AML regulations also creates a burden on onboarding processes which can slow down sign-up and prevent new users from signing in.

Liudas Kanapienis, CEO and co-founder of Ondato, says: “Ondato’s report highlights the frequency of fraud attempts but also the ways in which high-quality AI verification can catch fraudsters out. AI can deal with even sophisticated threats including biometric spoofing and photo and user replay video attacks. To meet the threat, companies need automated AI solutions that protect against fraud and make processes more efficient.” 

Any industry covered by AML regulations is a potential target for fraudsters. As well as banks and other financial institutions, this can include cryptocurrency marketplaces, gambling services companies, lawyers and notaries, accountants and audit advisors, auction houses and antique dealers. The penalties for non-compliance with the European Union’s 5th AML Directive (5AMLD), for example, include fines of up to €5 million or 10% of annual turnover, and intense reputational damage. 

Other key findings in the new report are:

• Brazil and France recorded the highest number of fraud attempts of any country, with one in 20 user and customer onboarding applications based on fake ID.

• Fraudsters typically used cheap mobile “burner phones” in attacks, to get easy, fast access to public networks and disguise their real IP address.

• Mexican documents were the most commonly used in attempted fraud.

• Male users submitted the majority (69%) of forged documents.

Read more about the latest fraud trends: Ondato - Identity Fraud Report 2023.

AMLYZE, a fast-developing RegTech startup that helps fintechs, banks, crypto businesses and other regulated entities fight financial crime and avoid painful regulatory fines, and Skaleet, an international fintech offering a next-generation Core Banking Platform (CBP), have established a new partnership.

This will enable the perfect integration of Skaleet's CBP and AMLYZE anti-money laundering (AML) tool, which includes transaction monitoring and screening, risk scoring, and case management. 

The partnership also includes cooperation between the two leading vendors to share best practices on how financial institutions can launch new, innovative, and secure financial services that exceed customer expectations. 

Financial institutions, especially fast-growing fintechs and neobanks, have discovered the benefits of third-party core banking platforms in recent years, but they also face the challenge of ensuring compliance with anti-money laundering regulations. The number of these has grown to such an extent that there is a clear need to invest in automated and flexible RegTech solutions.

AMLYZE has developed an Anti-Financial crime suite of solutions that satisfies the need to comply with broad regulatory frameworks and strengthen the defensive system of institutions to minimize external risks. This is made possible by bringing together a team of former regulators, supervisors, and heads of compliance with a technical team that is highly experienced in building banking and Fintech solutions. 

Skaleet has developed a unique, cloud-native, SaaS-based technology platform that works seamlessly with AMLYZE, enabling it to offer customers an anti-money laundering capability that is at the same time fundamentally compliant with financial regulations while also highly productive in the detection of suspicious transactions.

Skaleet works with clients to quickly launch innovative financial services anywhere in the world, adapted to the local, technological, cultural, and economic environment. Its evolutive technology allows institutions to constantly adapt to the needs of their clients and remain pertinent in a competitive landscape. 

Jekaterina Govina, Head of Partnerships & Regulatory Affairs and co-founder of AMLYZE, said: "For us, working with a well-established core banking platform like Skaleet is quite intuitive, as a lot of our work has to do with transaction processing. To use an analogy, if Skaleet were a car, we would be the seatbelt, ABS and airbags".

Hervé Manceron, CEO and Co-founder of Skaleet, added: "Skaleet Core Banking Platform pledges to offer a highly secure and evolutive technology for financial institutions throughout the world. It was therefore natural for us to partner with AMLYZE, an anti-money laundering leading expert, to allow our clients to be fully compliant with regulations".

Advanced Markets, a leading provider of institutional-grade foreign exchange (FX) liquidity, technology and credit solutions, has announced its integration with VertexFX, an award-winning trading solution for global markets. 

The integration of Advanced Markets' liquidity into the VertexFX platform will allow users to access competitive pricing, fast trade execution and deep liquidity, on over 60 currency pairs, through our Direct Market Access (DMA). This will enable traders using the VertexFX platform to benefit from the same high-quality trading experience that institutional clients have come to expect from Advanced Markets. 

Adel Jibrin, the CEO and Managing partner of Hybrid Solutions, said: 

“The integration of VertexFX Trading platform with Advanced Markets is a significant milestone. The partnership will provide VertexFX traders with access to institutional grade liquidity and advanced trading tools that were previously only available to institutional traders. The company is excited about the partnership and believes that it will help VertexFX traders succeed in today's fast-paced financial markets.”

"We are excited to announce our integration with VertexFX," said Anthony Brocco, CEO of Advanced Markets. "By integrating our liquidity with VertexFX, we are expanding our reach to a broader range of clients and providing them with the same institutional grade liquidity that has made us a trusted partner for financial institutions around the world." 

This venture with VertexFX, is the latest in a series of strategic partnerships for Advanced Markets, as it continues to expand its presence in the institutional and retail trading spaces. The company is committed to providing its clients with the most advanced trading technology and services to help them succeed in today's fast-paced global financial markets. 

African Islamic Finance Awards distribution ceremony will be held along with 10th African Islamic Finance Summit which is scheduled on 3rd May 2023 in Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara International Conference Center, The Gambia with the Theme, lets encourage the African Islamic Banking and Takaful Industry. AlHuda Centre of Islamic Banking and Economics (CIBE) is organizing Africa Islamic Finance Awards. Africa is the world’s second-largest and most popular continent after Asia. Africa, in particular, is a region in which Islamic finance could and indeed should thrive.

Awards will be given in recognition to the services providers in Islamic finance and Takaful industry. Categories involve Best emerging personality in African Islamic finance, Best African Islamic finance education & training provider, Best Innovative product in Islamic banking and finance, Best Islamic finance institute and Best African Takaful company and more. AlHuda CIBE has taken responsibility and has announced these awards on an international level in 15 different categories, whose nominations will be received till April 20th, 2023.

Muhammad Zubair Mughal, Chief Executive of AlHuda Centre of Islamic Banking and Economics – United Arab Emirates said that Awards are the token of appreciation for the industry participants which is dedicatedly working for the development of Islamic finance industry to put knowledgeable impact through socio-economic developments. African Islamic Finance Awards are a signature initiative of AlHuda CIBE aimed to recognize and encourage industry stakeholders. He also said that these Award distribution ceremonies will be conducted to highlight the best practices in Islamic banks and celebrate the success of institutions and individuals, aiming to promote social responsibility, Shariah authenticity, and commitment to the Islamic finance industry.  

The main objective of this event is to designate the significance of Islamic finance, its sustainability, impact on economy and society and opportunities for Africa. West Africa is the emerging market for Islamic Banking and Finance, Anglophone countries Nigeria and Francophone Senegal are the hub, those are playing distinguished roles. AlHuda CIBE in reference to its legacy for the promotion of Islamic Finance Industry, by considering the significance of Francophone countries going to host this event in French Language too. It will be a great opportunity for French speaking nations to participate and explore the opportunities for sustainable socio-economic ventures. This event will also be followed by Two Days Post Event Workshop for Islamic Banking and Finance Industry Practical aspects, scheduled on 4th -5th May 2023 in the Gambia. For information please visit https://www.alhudacibe.com/aifs2023/ .

BNP Paribas Cash Management has selected Worldline, a global leader in payments services, to reduce fraud in SEPA Direct Debit transactions. BNP Paribas has implemented Worldline’s solution, which combines the electronic signature of SEPA mandates with Open Banking-based account validation, in Germany, Italy and France, with additional countries to follow in a few months. 

SEPA Direct Debit (SDD) is an automated payment method used to pay one-off or recurring invoices in the Single Euro Payments Area via a signed mandate.

In order to prevent the risk of fraudulent use of someone else’s IBAN during the mandate signature process, a pattern that was responsible for over 60 % of defrauded direct debits in recent years¹, BNP Paribas Cash Management is the first to implement Worldline's Account Validation solution into its existing white-label product named EasyCollect. In doing so, BNP Paribas secures a first-mover advantage and is about to set a new standard in setting up SEPA Direct Debit payments.

By combining the e-signature of SEPA mandates with account validation using Open Banking, Worldline enhances its SEPA Payment Suite and proposes an innovative extension, using Strong Customer Authentication and providing advanced security that eliminates the risk of IBAN misuse during the mandate signature process.

Not only will companies and merchants benefit from this solution as it is a secure and low-risk payment method, but the consumer will also benefit from a better user experience.

Bruno Mellado, Global Head of Payments and Receivables at BNP Paribas: “We were seeking an innovative solution to reduce IBAN fraud in SEPA Direct Debits. We found it with the new account validation functionality of Worldline’s SEPA Payment Suite which is based on the latest innovative technologies through Open Banking opportunities. By implementing it in our existing SEPA Mandate and Direct Debit solution EasyCollect, the risk of SDD fraud will be reduced and customer loyalty will be strengthened, which is a huge benefit for our clients and their customers”.

Alessandro Baroni, Head of Financial Services at Worldline: ‘’Being one of the largest Open Banking providers, we are continuously working on innovative solutions that help our customers to grow and improve their business. We look forward to continuing our long-term partnership with BNP Paribas Cash Management and further build on future products and initiatives’’.

As the ongoing cherry blossom season drives up travel demand, Japan is seeing a strong uptick in the consumption and cross-border digital payment volume of Asian travellers through their home e-wallets.

Connected by Alipay+, a cross-border payment tech solution, leading e-wallets in Asia saw the amount of spending by their outbound travellers to Japan more than quadruple in March 2023*, compared to October 2022 when the country moved to lift the daily cap on inbound arrivals and resumed a visa waiver policy.

March this year is the first cherry blossom viewing season since the government's relaxation of border measures in October. Many tourists visit Japan to enjoy sightseeing and shopping.

Among them, tourists from Hong Kong SAR China, South Korea, and Malaysia led the growth, with most increase in the amount of spending.

Statistics show that the volume of payments made by Korean visitors using Kakao Pay in Japan jumped eightfold, compared to October. Hokkaido, Chiba, Tokyo, Osaka, and Fukuoka are becoming the most popular destinations, where Korean consumers enjoy the convenience of mobile payment using their home app at duty-free shops and outlets on the sideline of their sightseeing journey.

Japan is also a popular destination for Malaysian visitors, as the volume of payments made by Malaysian consumers in Japan using Touch 'n Go eWallet increased sevenfold in March. While most-known cities/prefectures such as Hokkaido, Chiba, Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka topped the destination list, Shirakawa-go, a snow-covered village located in the mountains of central Japan that has become a UNESCO World Heritage side, also gained popularity among Malaysian visitors.

The prefecture where visitors from Hong Kong shopped the most was Fukuoka Prefecture, which is geographically close and easy to visit, following Tokyo and Osaka. Hong Kong consumers enjoy mobile payment most at outlets, department stores, and electronics stores.

Nuapay (EML Payments Limited’s (ASX: EML) Open Banking business) has been recognised for its exceptional Authenticated Mandates solution at the Merchant Payment Ecosystem Awards in Berlin, Germany, where it was awarded the coveted Best Use of Open Banking for Payments accolade.

MPE's Best Use of Open Banking award recognises innovative payment solutions, enhancing customer experience through secure transactions between end-users and merchants. Independent experts evaluated the nominees' criteria, highlighting Nuapay's fintech leadership.

Nuapay's Authenticated Mandates, introduced last year, revolutionised the payment landscape by capturing e-mandates and authenticating customers through Open Banking technology. It simplifies recurring payments for businesses while improving security and reducing fraud when collecting via direct debit.

Nuapay's CEO, Brian Hanrahan, was thrilled with the award and said, "This is a significant win for us, as the Merchant Payment Ecosystem conference and awards ceremony is a major event in the European fintech industry. I want to acknowledge the team's dedication to providing innovative Open Banking solutions that save businesses time, money, and resources. This award is a testament to our progress and reinforces our commitment to driving the future of payments."

Nuapay's Authenticated Mandates simplify recurring payments by seamlessly integrating collection, reconciliation, and customer journeys with simple API integrations. This enhances the user experience, reduces failed payments, and streamlines the payment process, ultimately lowering business costs and improving growth and customer satisfaction.

Anapaya, a Swiss networking technology provider, today announced its partnership with Finastra, a global provider of financial software applications and marketplaces, to provide Swiss banks with access to the Secure Swiss Finance Network (SSFN). By adopting Anapaya’s Scalability, Control, and Isolation on Next-generation Networks (SCION) solution, Finastra’s Swiss Service Bureau customers will be able to benefit from a more resilient and secure data communication network by using the same networking technology as the SSFN.

In 2024, the SSFN will replace the 20-year-old Finance IPNet service as the Swiss National Bank and SIX Group's standard networking solution. The SSFN is a controlled and secure network which allows connected users to communicate with SIX and other financial market infrastructures. The network is powered by SCION, the first clean-slate internet architecture designed to provide route control, failure isolation, and explicit trust information for end-to-end communication.

"As cyber threats become more prevalent, strengthening security is a major focus for all institutions,” said Andreas Helbling, Country Head, Switzerland at Finastra. "With the SFFN, our customers in Switzerland can feel confident that data exchanges are facilitated with the highest level of security, performance and functionality. Anapaya’s robust technology enables us to continue delivering our mission-critical services with added protection.”

Finastra is one of the largest global services bureaus and has a major presence in Switzerland. It provides hosted SWIFT and direct connectivity to banks, clearing houses, local payment networks and beyond. SCION will support Total Messaging, its financial messaging platform that provides a gateway and workflow engine for market infrastructure, instant payment, and payment service provider (PSP) connectivity.

"Institutions no longer have guaranteed safety online - it just doesn't inherently have all of the capabilities needed to protect your data," said Martin Bosshardt, CEO at Anapaya. "We believe that SCION is the crucial answer to today's cybercrime challenges. Finastra's decision to move to the SSFN proves that prominent organizations think the same."

Paperclip, Inc. has three solutions named in this year’s T3 (Technology Tools for Today) Inside Information Advisor Software Survey. The annual FinTech software report recognized Paperclip’s SAFE, Internet eXpress and VCF solutions for gaining market share.

T3 is a trusted resource for financial advisors, sharing the latest news plus in-depth reporting on financial services technology.

“The FinTech community has trusted Paperclip with its content management for more than three decades,” said Mike Bridges, President and COO of Paperclip. “And now they can rely on us to secure their data with SAFE® encryption-in-use.”

SAFE ensures that data is always encrypted, even while it is queried or in use. This level of encryption is revolutionary for financial services companies that need to secure sensitive information while ensuring it’s still accessible.

“One takeaway from the 2023 T3/Inside Information Technology Survey is that advisors still are not doing enough in the area of cybersecurity, said Joel P. Bruckenstein, CFP®, founder of T3. “There are numerous excellent solutions that advisors should consider when looking to improve their cyber readiness. Paperclip is one of the firms that has been working with advisors to keep advisor and client data secure.”

Paperclip’s SAFE® encryption-in-use solution, which launched in 2022, was listed in the Cybersecurity Resources section of the report showing a 150% increase in market share and a jump in ratings from 2022.

“Cybersecurity is obviously an important category in any advisory firm’s tech stack, not only from a regulatory standpoint but also because it protects against some of the most frightening forms of business risk,” the report stated. “But the market penetration statistics—albeit slightly on the rise—tell us that profession-specific cyber tools are not getting the attention they deserve.”

In addition to Paperclip SAFE, Paperclip’s Virtual Client Folder (VCF) and Internet eXpress were featured for the first time in this year’s report within the Document Management and Processing Tools sections, respectively.

“The goal of this annual survey is, and has always been, to help advisors and members of the fintech community answer their most basic and important questions about technology in the financial advisory space,” according to the report. “Pulling data from the previous survey, we can also measure which software/solutions are gaining market share, and track changes in user satisfaction ratings.”

The survey results were revealed at the T3 Technology Tools for Today Conference held in Tampa last month. The survey included participation from 3,309 advisors and planners.

“Paperclip listened to our customers to create solutions that help their businesses run more smoothly,” Bridges said. “We’re confident that with our current solutions and new innovations, we will continue to grow our market share in the FinTech space.”