Businesses that perform certain retail payment activities in Canada, or provide payment services to customers in Canada, may need to register with the Bank of Canada under the Retail Payment Activities Act (RPAA).Whether RPAA registration is required depends on the payment functions a business performs, whether those activities involve electronic funds transfers, where the business [...]
Many e-money and payments firms still aren’t carrying out the audits expected by regulators. That puts them at risk — not just of non-compliance, but of missed issues, poor customer outcomes, and reputational harm. Most regulators expect e-money and payments firms to have the following three core audits in place: • Financial Crime Audit • [...]
Most regulated firms understand the importance of risk assessments. Business-Wide Risk Assessments (BWRAs) and Customer Risk Assessments (CRAs) are well-established parts of a firm’s financial crime framework, helping identify where risks exist and ensuring controls remain proportionate. Many firms consider their financial crime risk assessments robust, supported by documented processes, annual reviews and board [...]
The Bank of Canada has issued a reminder to all payment service providers (PSPs) registered under the Retail Payment Activities Act (RPAA) of their ongoing reporting obligations. The Bank states that these requirements are critical to its supervision of PSPs under the RPAA and support the safety, soundness, and integrity of Canada’s retail payments [...]
Recent proposals and commentary from the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) have highlighted several areas where firms are continuing to fall short of existing AML/CFT expectations. While many of the proposed regulatory changes are not expected to take effect until next year, the findings provide a useful indication of where regulators are already seeing [...]
AML fines often dominate headlines, with regulators across the globe issuing increasingly large penalties for failures in financial crime controls. But while these figures attract attention, they rarely tell the full story. In reality, AML failures have consequences beyond financial penalties. Firms often face operational disruption, heightened regulatory scrutiny, and lasting damage to reputation [...]
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has released its Fiscal Year 2025 Year in Review, summarizing its activities, priorities, and results in protecting the financial system from illicit activity. FinCEN’s mission is to protect the financial system from illicit activity, combat money laundering and terrorist financing, and promote national security by strategically using financial [...]
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has proposed a rule that may significantly change how financial institutions design and manage AML/CFT programs under the Bank Secrecy Act. The proposal marks a shift from volume-driven compliance to a focus on measurable effectiveness in combating financial crime. Key Points: What You Need to Know FinCEN is [...]
Launching a card or e-wallet program offers significant opportunities, but many fintechs underestimate the complexity involved. Securing an issuing bank, completing due diligence, and coordinating multiple partners can cause even well-funded programmes to stall before launch. In this interview, Reiner Vanooteghem, Chief Commercial Officer at Neopay Global, shares his insights. With over 20 years [...]
Safeguarding of client funds continues to be a high priority in the payments markets globally and the new RPAA rules require all Canadian Payment Service Provides to have a written Fund Safeguarding Framework describing their systems and controls; policies and procedures; monitoring and oversight; and other relevant documentation to ensure end user finds are [...]
