Press Release

FastBitcoins Joins Hands with Shufti Pro for Screening of their Customers

James Efron
November 18, 2019
3 minutes read
4347

London, UK – (October 2019) Shufti Pro joins forces with FastBitcoins to allow them to provide safe, secure and user-friendly Bitcoin services that enable the Bitcoin economy via their merchant client base. Shufti Pro will provide them a global risk cover through its state of the art AML screening and document verification services.

Shufti Pro is an identity verification and KYC/KYB/AML screening service provider that can verify the identity of people through document verification, face verification, etc. Recently it onboarded a bitcoin business, FastBitcoins and it will verify and perform AML screening on FastBitcoin’s customers in real-time through document verification.

The demand for Bitcoin is growing globally as more people come to understand its worth as a store-of-value. As a result of this, governments around the world are increasing regulatory scrutiny in a bid to maintain fraud-free virtual currencies markets.

By adopting Shufti Pro’s screening services, FastBitcoins is providing duty-of-care to the people trusting its services, when they are required to identify those they are doing business with, ensuring their legal commitments are fulfilled in a manner that is simple and secure for their clients. The services of Shufti Pro delivers true value for its customers.

Danny Brewster, MD at FastBitcoins expressed his confidence in this collaboration and said: “Our success comes down to making sure our customers can buy Bitcoin in the fastest and simplest way possible. Where the requirement to verify customer identity arises, Shufti Pro has ensured we can handle it in a straightforward, user-friendly manner. The main reason we selected Shufti Pro is that they offer a reliable technology at a competitive price for a start-up, we are placing trust in them to keep the data provided by our users safe and secure and it was not a decision that was taken lightly when choosing to work with them.”

Shufti Pro is also excited to onboard FastBitcoins for identity verification and AML screening of their customers. Shufti Pro will provide document verification and AML screening services to FastBitcoins. Mr. Victor Fredung expressed the excitement of his company towards this collaboration and said,

“We’re delighted to have FastBitcoins onboard and look forward to maintaining this collaboration for the longterm. Shufti Pro will deliver its unrivaled risk cover to FastBitcoins through document verification and AML screening of its prospective clients. Our services are best suited for them because we give a truly global coverage in our identity verification services delivered with a high-precision rate.”

About FastBitcoins

FastBitcoins provides a complete solution for business owners looking to make extra income from the Bitcoin revolution. Their point-of-sale technology empowers merchants to expand their product offerings and attract new customers with innovative services based around the world’s most recognized digital currency.

Merchants use their simple handheld terminal to let customers buy and sell Bitcoin, make payments in Bitcoin, and purchase prepaid vouchers from over 5,000 international brands, all with no previous experience required.

About Shufti Pro

Shufti Pro is an identity verification service provider that offers KYC and AML solutions to worldwide clients. Using a hybrid approach of AI and HI technology, Shufti Pro delivers results within 30 seconds with accuracy as high as 98.67%. Having verified users in over 232 countries, Shufti Pro is a pioneer in IDV services to cover a large number of countries.

You can visit Shufti Pro here:

Shufti Pro Limited

1st Floor, 35 Little Russell St, Holborn,

London WC1A 2HH, UK

info@shuftipro.com

www.shuftipro.com

Disclaimer: No warranty is herein provided that the information contained in this document is accurate, up-to-date, and/or complete. In no circumstance(s), does such information constitute legal or any other advice. Any person who intends to use, rely, pass-on, or re-publish the information contained herein in any way is solely responsible for the same. We suggest to verify the information and/or obtain expert advice independently if required.

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Corporate Transparency Act - The Road to Better AML Compliance
About FastBitcoins
According to the latest reports, the United States ranked number 1 for not complying with the anti-money laundering regulations. Around 12 penalties were imposed on the US banks and Goldman Sachs had the highest fine of €3.30 billion (USD 3.90 billion). Given the rise in money laundering activities in the US, the Corporate Transparency Act was structured. Recently, the Senate has passed the act. Financial institutions of the United States have until January, 2022 to report to FinCEN according to the updated laws. Once the Act is in action, the US companies have to report their Ultimate Beneficial Owners (UBOs) to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). In 2022, new Limited Liability Corporations (LLCs) have to report their UBOs and any changes in the beneficial owners will be reported as well. However, any corporations formed before the effective date will have two years for reporting to FinCEN. Let’s dive deeper into the corporate transparency act and how can companies efficiently comply with it.

Read more: Record-Breaking Fines on Banks for KYC/AML Non-Compliance

What is the Corporate Transparency Act?

The Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) directs the FinCEN to maintain a national record of all the ultimate beneficial owners (UBOs) of companies within the US. Any changes in the UBOs must be reported too. The Act focuses on eliminating the shell companies that facilitate money laundering and terrorist financing.
Requirements for Corporate Transparency Act

As per this Act, the term beneficial owner refers to anyone who owns 25% or more equity share, has some substantial control over the company, or receives benefits from the company’s assets. Therefore, verifying these stakeholders is essential for the company.

FATF’s recommendations for best practices on beneficial ownership for legal persons have been best categorised in the Corporate Transparency Act of 2019. According to this Act, companies have to provide the following information about the ultimate beneficial owners to FinCEN.

Complete legal name of the owner

Owner’s date of birth

Current residential or business address

Unique identification number as on the passport, driving license, or the ID card

The company has to submit an annual report of the current UBOs and any changes in the previous year’s owners to FinCEN.
Current Scenario of the CTA

According to the current situation, some sections of the Act need more clarification and specifications to address minor details. The Corporate Transparency Act has not clearly defined beneficial owners as direct or indirect substantial controlling authorities. Any failings in the Act can lead to more challenges for businesses and violations of the Act will lead to heftier penalties.

Anyone who assists in the creation of legal entities like attorneys will be monitored. Previous iterations in the Corporate Transparency Act categorised formation agents as financial entities and made them subject to the AML and reporting obligations of the Bank Secrecy Act. In the current version of the Act, references to formation agents have been removed. However, the rulemaking authority given to the Department of Treasury can expand requirements for business. This will ultimately broaden the scope of potential criminal liability.

Next Steps for the Financial Institutions

Until long-term actions have been decided, here are some short-term actions that must be considered by form corporation and entities:

Assess if your company has reported the beneficial ownership requirements according to the Corporate Transparency Act or not.

Create a checklist of the reporting requirements

Under the Act, every beneficial owner must be identified

Endorse all identity verification documents of every individual that is considered as a beneficial owner

Plan renewal in case of expiration of the documents of UBOs

There must be a risk ranking system that account for variables like country of origin, service provided, and categorize the levels of risk within relationships

A “trust-but-verify” approach must be leveraged if any of the information raises red flags suggested by FATF

There must be a sound process for keeping the reporting mandates in touch. This includes the people responsible for collecting information of beneficial owners and filing with FinCEN

Annual monitoring for tracking compliance is important

Sufficient resources must be allocated for better compliance with the new filing obligation

Penalties for Non-Compliance with Corporate Transparency Act

The CTA has announced hefty penalties for any company that does not comply with the regulations. According to the Act, USD 10,000 must be paid as civil penalties. Furthermore, criminal fines and up to three years of imprisonment have also been announced. In order to comply with these regulations and avoid any fines or penalties, it is better that the US-based companies employ Anti-Money Laundering (AML) screening.

With the help of AML screening, organisations verify all the stakeholders and any high-risk customers can be identified before they become the company’s problem. This screening cross-checks the identity of the person with numerous sanction lists. Lastly, enhanced due diligence checks are also an option that can help your company comply with the regulations.

Summing It Up

The rise in criminal activities has led to amendments in Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) regulations. The new laws are designed to make customer due diligence and identity verification measures as rigid as possible. Criminals should not be allowed to surpass these checks at any cost, and better laws can help companies in this regard. The Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) will be active in January 2022 and businesses have until then to report FinCEN about their Ultimate Beneficial Owners. USD 10,000 civil penalties, criminal penalties, and up to three years of imprisonment is the punishment if any organisation fails to comply with CTA.

The purpose of Corporate Transparency Act is to combat money laundering and terrorist financing. With the help of Anti-Money Laundering screening, companies can ensure enhanced due diligence of all the customers. It will not only help onboard the right customers, but it will also assist your company in better compliance with CTA.
Multi-layered identity verification and background screening of beneficial owners is now inevitable for the US finance sector. All risky entities will be highlighted and reported timely, reducing the risk of money laundering and terrorist financing in the USA.

Want to know more about automated AML screening? Talk to our experts.
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FastBitcoins Joins Hands with Shufti Pro for Screening of their Customers

About FastBitcoins

About Shufti Pro

Requirements for Corporate Transparency Act

Current Scenario of the CTA

Next Steps for the Financial Institutions

Penalties for Non-Compliance with Corporate Transparency Act

Summing It Up

Let’s prove your

customer’s identity

with Shuftipro.

Let’s prove your customer’s

identity with Shuftipro.

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United Kingdom

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FastBitcoins Joins Hands with Shufti Pro for Screening of their Customers

About FastBitcoins

About Shufti Pro

What is the Corporate Transparency Act?

Requirements for Corporate Transparency Act

Current Scenario of the CTA

Next Steps for the Financial Institutions

Penalties for Non-Compliance with Corporate Transparency Act

Summing It Up

Let’s prove your

customer’s identity

with Shuftipro.

Let’s prove your customer’s

identity with Shuftipro.