Tag: Know Your Customer (KYC)

The world of financial services is changing – for the better. A multitude of virtual banking and payment options, cardless and accountless services, and now, Banking as a Service (BaaS) are making financial inclusion the norm instead of a privilege.

The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) recently announced their intention to declare cryptocurrency as a financial product, which is in line with current worldwide trends as well as the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) which published a draft declaration of crypto assets as financial products in 2020.

Recently, the FBI announced that more companies have been reporting people applying to jobs using deepfakes. Imposters use video, images, recordings, and stolen identities pretending to be someone else to get a remote IT position.

I quickly realised during my accounting articles that technology would have a massive impact on the profession and that I would have to continuously upskill to keep up. Even today, things are changing so fast, one can never just sit back and rely on existing knowledge - I now cultivate a habit of continuous learning.

Knowing who the ultimate beneficial owner (UBO) of an entity is before engaging in any type of business deal, is a critical task that is often overlooked. This is particularly true in today’s increasingly stringent regulatory environment, in which organisations are increasingly expected to understand who they are doing business with to help fight fraud.

The way customers are engaging in today's new digital world has changed and is still evolving rapidly. We use technology to open bank accounts, work online and buy products. Technologies empower people to behave differently, which has led to digital disruption and a much more empowered consumer.

Non-compliance with anti-money laundering (AML) regulations can result in heavy financial penalties and could expose your clients and business to potential harm, with Financial Intelligence Centre Act (FICA) fines of up to R10 million in your personal capacity and up to R50 million as a company.

Several extensive investigations around the globe into the activities of banks have revealed massive failings in the fight against money laundering. The research showed that more and more criminals are exploiting the financial system and laundering their black money by means of quick and immediate remittances.

Digitalisation was already a key theme in the growth strategies of financial services providers before the global COVID-19 pandemic struck. The need to innovate in response to shifting customer demands around engagement and experience, rising industry disruption from digital-native challenger banks or pivots from major digital-native businesses, and the need to respond to a dynamic regulatory environment has spurred digital transformation and entrenched an innovation agenda across the industry.

The deadline for accountable institutions to meet the amendments of the Financial Intelligence Centre Act, No. 38 of 2001, as amended by the Financial Intelligence Centre Amendment Act, Act 1 of 2017 (FICA) legislation, which was introduced to counteract money laundering and the financing of terrorism, is fast approaching on April 2, 2019.