PSP Lab

25/10/2022

With the deadline to have a plan on how your institution will comply with the new FCA’s Consumer Duty rules approaching next Monday, we have prepared a summary and a guide on the rules that are due to come into force.

We have attended numerous seminars, consulted with industry peers and used our own expertise and prepared the most concise guide for payment and e-money firms, with solely relevant examples. Click on the link below to check out our summary and have the possibility of downloading the guide.

15/06/2022

Did you know that Banking-as-a-service (BaaS) is an industry projected to reach 2.4 trillion USD by 2030? Everyone today is pushing for banking-as-a-service either through the embedment of financial services or fast-tracking alternatives for authorisations.

But have you thought that BaaS is a complex multi-layer arrangement from the AML/CTF perspective?

Indeed, these layers of responsibilities in the BaaS arrangement result in many risks dispersed over different providers. If you wish to learn how to tackle these risks and how to structure your white label banking AML compliance programme- jump to our new article below!



https://psplab.com/white-label-banking-aml-compliance-programme-4-aspects/

29/03/2022

Are you ready to comply with the FCA's new operational resilience requirements coming into force on 31 March 2022?

We know how much you care about your business and how committed you are to compliance. That's why have made a short guide to help you understand the basics of the FCA's new rules so you could double-check whether the operational resilience assessment you have already made corresponds to the FCA standards. Our new article explains 7 steps you should take to comply with the FCA's operational resilience requirements and provides a practical overview of dos and don'ts.

P.S. if you have not been authorised yet you should also read our article as the FCA may request you to provide it with your operational resilience assessment document during the application process.

Learn 7 steps required to comply with the FCA Operational Resilience Framework Assessment requirements explained in our article.

15/03/2022

The cryptocurrency industry is growing rapidly, and with it, the threats of criminal activity increase. To combat this, cryptocurrency exchanges are introducing anti-money laundering programmes that are supposed to eliminate the risks. Nevertheless, there are many myths in the industry and, oftentimes, a lack of understanding of the AML/CTF measures that are required. To fill this knowledge gap, we've prepared an article that outlines why cryptocurrency money laundering is a pressing issue and what can be done to prevent it.

https://psplab.com/crypto-anti-money-laundering-preventing-3-step-process/

Detailed explanation on how crypto anti-money laundering must work to minimise the risks and ensure compliance with AML/CTF obligations.

01/03/2022

Rare opportunity to acquire 100% control in a successful remittance company, operating as a payment institution in Europe.

The company is 4 years old and has been authorised as a payment institution by the Bank of Lithuania to provide Money Remittance and Currency Exchange Services.

The company has passporting in all 29 EEA countries: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Slovenia, Romania, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden.

The company has one safeguarding bank account, 40+ different pay-out partners, supporting 120+ pay-out methods in addition to conventional bank transfers.

The company owns the IP rights in the proprietary core remittances platform which was developed specifically for its business. The core platform has fully automated onboarding, transactions monitoring, Bank of Lithuania reporting module). The core platform is integrated with Ondato and iDenfy remote identification, biometric checks, AML/CTF, PEP and sanction screening applications, automated AML/CTF/Fincrime monitoring. The operations are managed by a small team of professionals, most of whom will be willing to continue their work under the new management.

The company has 46,000 registered clients with verified e-mails, 11,000 verified clients with valid passports/ids. The company has reached breakeven, 2020 profits were EUR87,000, 2021 profits were EUR72,000.

The current owner decided to exit the payments business and concentrate on his other business – bespoke IT platforms and solutions development. Offers circa EUR600,000 from fit and proper investors, whose application for the change of control would be accepted by the Bank of Lithuania, will be considered.

01/03/2022

Rare opportunity to acquire 100% control in a successful remittance company, operating as a payment institution in Europe.

The company is 4 years old and has been authorised as a payment institution by the Bank of Lithuania to provide Money Remittance and Currency Exchange Services.

The company has passporting in all 29 EEA countries: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Slovenia, Romania, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden.

The company has one safeguarding bank account, 40+ different pay-out partners, supporting 120+ pay-out methods in addition to conventional bank transfers.

The company owns the IP rights in the proprietary core remittances platform which was developed specifically for its business. The core platform has fully automated onboarding, transactions monitoring, Bank of Lithuania reporting module). The core platform is integrated with Ondato and iDenfy remote identification, biometric checks, AML/CTF, PEP and sanction screening applications, automated AML/CTF/Fincrime monitoring. The operations are managed by a small team of professionals, most of whom will be willing to continue their work under the new management.

The company has 46,000 registered clients with verified e-mails, 11,000 verified clients with valid passports/ids. The company has reached breakeven, 2020 profits were EUR87,000, 2021 profits were EUR72,000.

The current owner decided to exit the payments business and concentrate on his other business – bespoke IT platforms and solutions development. Offers circa EUR600,000 from fit and proper investors, whose application for the change of control would be accepted by the Bank of Lithuania, will be considered.

16/02/2022

From all of the news echoing daily, it is evident that crypto has gone already quite far in proving that it is here to stay, but still, there are some issues that need to be addressed. Specifically, money laundering is one of the topics attracting discussion from different sides citing statistics, metrics and whatnot. Nevertheless, it is handy to look at the issue from a practical perspective- hence, we've prepared an article that covers in detail the 3 main steps involved in crypto laundering and explains what are its implications.

https://psplab.com/cryptocurrency-money-laundering-risk-a-3-step-process/

Cryptocurrency money laundering risk- the best explanation of the 3 step process with some practical examples.

01/02/2022

Embedded finance can take many forms, from payments processors that are built into mobile operating systems to insurance offerings that are integrated into the software of a car. The benefits of embedded finance are many. For businesses, it can mean lower costs and greater efficiency. For consumers, it can mean a better, seamless experience when paying for goods or services. And for fintech companies, it means reaching a larger audience and getting their products and services into the hands of more people. There are many different types of fintech products and services, and the applications for embedded finance are endless. Building upon our previous article titled “What Is Embedded Finance? 5 Eye-opening Reasons Why You Should Know” and in response to enthusiastic feedback received from our readers, we have written this follow-up article. In it, we discuss embedded finance sectors, specific embedded finance companies, and embedded finance use cases while having in mind 30 real-life examples.

Must-read article about embedded finance use cases in four different areas (payments, BNPL, Insurance, wealth management) from 30 hot embedded companies.

21/12/2021

Core banking software is the business engine of any Electronic Money Institution, providing a variety of payment services from payment account to currency exchange and prepaid cards. The development or purchase of ready-made software is likely the most important strategic decision you will ever make when developing your EMI. There are many factors to consider while choosing one, starting with whether it should be developed from scratch by your own team, or licensed from a third party as a white-label solution, and ending with the functionality and versatility. To assist you in answering these questions and outline what modern core banking software, suitable for the EMI, should have, we wrote an article that covers 26 important considerations to take into account before making your decision. This article covers the main pain points of pretty much any EMI and outlines how they could be remedied. Moreover, it provides practical tips on how your current software could be improved to become the best core banking software on the market.

Learn what are 26 key considerations which you must have in mind while choosing or developing the best core banking software.

08/12/2021

The future is now. The industry has grown by leaps and bounds over the past decade, and the pace of change is accelerating. Last ten years we have seen the rise of non-bank PSPs and other types of non-bank financial service providers. However, the new trend is about non-financial companies embedding financial services into their business model (most of the time this will be done with the help of licensed services providers). Regardless of whether it is feasible for your business to change its business model to enter the embedded finance industry or not, you should still know the basics of the concept. In our article, we have explained what embedded finance is and why more and more companies will choose to embed financial products into their offerings. Click on the button below to expand your knowledge of the industry.

https://psplab.com/what-is-embedded-finance-5-reasons-to-know/

Embedded finance is now a hot topic for those who know at least something about FinTech and are seeking to expand their business and further monetize their

19/10/2021

Failing firms in the financial service sector have caused severe damage to trust. Some of the recent administration cases involving payment and e-money institutions have taken years to resolve, with customers left without access to their money for prolonged periods and receiving reduced monies after deducting the cost of distribution. Reflecting on these issues, the government has recognised it as a systemic problem and passed the Payment and Electronic Money Institution Insolvency Regulations 2021 that establishes a special administration regime for payment and e-money institutions.

To help you understand what has changed, we have prepared an article that describes the main objectives and measures outlined within the aforementioned regulations. This detailed overview will be helpful to each firm in order to understand what is important even whilst being solvent in order to avoid the worst practices that can lead to devastating damage to the shareholders' and management's reputation.

https://psplab.com/special-administration-regime-payment-and-electronic-money-institution-insolvency-regulations-2021/

Detailed explanation and overview of the special administration regime under the Payment and Electronic Money Institution Insolvency Regulations 2021.