Among the five companies that were fined, Remsea had the highest fine of 280,000 yuan. This involves violations between August 2020 and August 2023. This company provides collection and payment services to enterprises.
The HKMA said that the authorities expect senior management of financial institutions to play an active role in implementing adequate anti-money laundering and combating terrorist financing controls and to ensure that rectification measures continue to be effective.
The five companies hold licenses that can provide cross-border remittance services, namely Remsea, Arcade Plaza Traders, J-Dee Remittance Services, Mobile Community Tech and OxPay SG.
OxPay SG is a wholly-owned subsidiary of OxPay, a Kelly board listed company, and was fined RMB 110,000 for specific omissions in customer due diligence and customer screening procedures from May 2021 to November 2022.
The HKMA said: "To further provide guidance to the industry, the HKMA will release a document listing common problems found in recent reviews of major payment institutions, regulatory expectations of the HKMA and areas that need to be improved."
Remsea was fined 280,000 yuan, with the highest amount among the five companiesAccording to the HKMA statement, OxPay SG failed to check whether the customer has a beneficial owner. In addition, before cross-border remittance transactions, it failed to compare the customer and its beneficial owner with relevant information sources to identify whether there is a risk of money laundering.
The HKMA pointed out that the failure to conduct sufficient customer due diligence has weakened the ability of major payment institutions to effectively evaluate and mitigate the risks involved in money laundering and terrorist financing involved in customers. In addition, the failure to provide information about the remittance sponsor and payees related to cross-border wire transfers also undermines the transparency and traceability of capital flows.
Omissions include not checking whether there is a beneficial ownerThe Monetary Authority of Singapore imposed a total fine of RMB 960,000 on five major payment institutions for violating the HKMA's regulations on anti-money laundering and combating terrorist financing.
Authorities said that these major payment agencies have developed rectification plans and the HKMA will closely monitor their progress.
Hao Payment issued a statement on Friday night saying that the company attaches great importance to compliance obligations and expressed regret for the omissions. “Although there is no evidence of intentional misconduct or financial losses, OxPay SG fully recognizes the importance of sound anti-money laundering and combating terrorist financing controls to maintaining the integrity of the financial system.”
In addition to failing to check whether the customer has any beneficial owners, Remsea has not been able to obtain the customer's residence address. As a remittance initiator, Remsea also failed to include information about the remittance initiator in the information or payment instructions for cross-border wire transfers.
Hao Payment also pointed out that since the authorities launched the review, OxPay SG has taken specific measures to strengthen anti-money laundering and combat terrorism financing capabilities and appoint a new management team.
The HKMA said in a statement issued on Friday (June 27): "In general, these violations put these major payment institutions at risk of being used in the financial crime pipeline."