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Hong Kong Partners With Thailand, Brazil On Cross-Border Tokenisation Initiatives
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) has announced the launch of two separate partnerships with the central banks of and , focused on the use of tokenisation for cross-border payments using central bank digital currency (CBDC).
The central banks will link up their experimental CBDC infrastructures to explore cross-border payment-versus-payment (PvP) and delivery-versus-payment (DvP) settlements for use cases in areas such as trade finance and carbon credits.
The move builds on Hong Kong's Ensemble Sandbox, launched in August this year, which serves as a testing ground for tokenisation experiments across four main areas: fixed income and investment funds; liquidity management; green and sustainable finance; and trade and supply chain finance, including through use of CBDC.
The partnerships also build on a 2019 memorandum of understanding (MoU) on fintech collaboration signed by the HKMA and the Bank of Thailand (BOT), and a 2018 cooperation agreement signed by the HKMA and the Central Bank of Brazil (BCB).
Danish Regulator Orders Cash Handling Company To Improve AML Practices
The Danish Financial Supervisory Authority (DFSA) has an enforcement decision requiring cash-handling company Loomis' Danish arm to strengthen its anti-money laundering (AML) practices.
Following an inspection in March 2024, the FSA identified serious breaches of money laundering prevention requirements, triggering the regulator to mandate immediate remedial actions.
Key issues include Loomis Danmark’s lack of sufficient enhanced customer awareness measures for high-risk clients, which heightens the risk of inadequate understanding of customer relationships.
The DFSA also noted gaps in the company's records on investigations into suspicious activities, which it said may hinder the timely reporting of these findings to Denmark's Anti-Money Laundering Secretariat.
Loomis has now been required to implement enhanced procedures for monitoring high-risk customers and ensuring thorough documentation of all suspicious activity investigations.
UK Government To Expand On Open Banking With New Data Laws
The UK government has the Data Use and Access Bill to parliament, promising an economic boost of £10bn over the next decade through expanded data-sharing capabilities.
The legislation aims to make it easier for consumers and businesses to share data securely with authorised third parties such as banks and utility companies, supporting smart data models that build on the success of open banking.
Open finance is part of this, and the government says that advancements will allow consumers to benefit from personalised financial advice and market comparisons, potentially cutting costs on services such as banking and energy.
The bill is also intended to open up innovation opportunities for sectors beyond finance, encouraging competition and helping consumers find better deals.
"With laws that help us to use data securely and effectively, this Bill will help us boost the UK’s economy, free up vital time for our front-line workers, and relieve people from unnecessary admin so that they can get on with their lives," commented Peter Kyle, the UK’s secretary of state for science, innovation and technology.
India Revokes Authorisation Of UAE Remittance Provider
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has that it has revoked the certificate of authorisation (CoA) of UAE Exchange Centre, a remittance provider and previously a regulated payment system operator (PSO).
The RBI did not give details of the reason for the revocation, other than "non-compliance with regulatory requirements".
UAE Exchange Centre was authorised to conduct inbound, customer-to-customer money transfers as an "overseas principal’ under the Master Direction on Money Transfer Service Scheme (MTSS Master Direction).
Following the revocation, which was confirmed on October 10, the firm can no longer process remittances to recipients in India.
