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Singapore’s FOMO Pay Forges Collaboration With NotabeneFOMO Pay, a regulated digital payment and banking solutions provider operating under Singapore’s regulatory umbrella, has joined forces with Notabene, a platform tailored for crypto-industry decision-making.Photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya on UnsplashPre-transaction decision makingThe strategic alliance was announced via a blog post published to FOMO Pay’s website on Thursday. Through that communication, FOMO Pay revealed that this collaboration with Notabene will be a key contributor towards the firm’s efforts to elevate its know-your-transaction (KYT) capabilities, ensuring access to accurate and verified business information.A focal point of this partnership lies in amplifying FOMO Pay’s compliance measures, bolstering customer security, and cultivating a foundation of trust in the domains of digital payments and digital assets.Wee Teck Lim, the Head of Compliance at FOMO Pay, emphasized that this partnership mirrors the company’s efforts towards full compliance with global regulations, enhancing anti-money laundering (AML) strategies and decision-making.Responding to regulatory pressureWith a regulatory spotlight on crypto and crypto-related businesses over the past year, market participants are making greater efforts to adhere to national and global compliance rules and guidelines. This move by FOMO Pay not only aids it in adhering to rigorous guidelines but also reinforces the battle against money laundering, terrorism financing, and other such concerns.Pelle Braendgaard, CEO of Notabene, articulated the symbiotic significance of this partnership. He noted that this collaboration stands as a tangible testament to the efficacy of the travel rule implementation, effectively fostering secure and streamlined digital asset transactions. This alignment of missions between FOMO Pay and Notabene, Braendgaard maintains, resonates with their shared aspiration to establish a digital asset ecosystem that is safer and more accessible.FOMO CryptoFOMO Pay, which has been licensed as a payment institution by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), boasts an array of products including FOMO Payment, FOMO iBank, and FOMO Crypto. Through FOMO Crypto, the firm is actively constructing Asia’s inaugural licensed gateway, which will offer a seamless connection between fiat and digital currencies.Notabene is headquartered in New York although it casts its operational net across several countries. The platform claims to empower real-time decision-making, while offering sanctions screening for counterparties and self-hosted wallet identification, all with a view towards enabling digital transactions.Partnership focusIn bootstrapping the business, it appears that FOMO Pay has been relying heavily on engaging in industry partnerships. In 2021 it joined the DBS Digital Exchange (DDex) as a member. Its purpose in doing so was to leverage the institutional grade digital custodian and exchange services offered by DDex, a service extended by DBS Bank, Singapore and Southeast Asia’s largest bank.Last year, the company partnered with Ripple, using Ripple’s On-Demand Liquidity (ODL) solution to support its cross-border treasury flows. Moving away from traditional payment rails towards Ripple’s ODL product meant that FOMO Pay could free up working capital and optimize business cash flow.As further evidence of FOMO Pay’s efforts to maintain regulatory compliance, in July the company partnered with Elliptic, a crypto asset risk management firm, in an effort to enhance its customer onboarding due diligence check process.

A recent survey of South Korean crypto investors showed a modest shift toward a more positive short-term view on Bitcoin, although market data since the poll was released has yet to strongly support that outlook. The regular survey, conducted last week by CoinNess and Cratos, found that 44.8% of Korean respondents expected Bitcoin to rise or surge this week, up from 35.2% in the previous survey.Photo by Jievani Weerasinghe on UnsplashThe share of respondents expecting Bitcoin to move sideways fell to 28.3% from 33%, while those forecasting a decline or sharp drop decreased to 26.9% from 31.8%. The figures indicate that bullish responses increased from the previous week, while neutral and bearish responses declined. However, with several days having passed since the survey was released, Bitcoin’s price action has so far offered a more cautious picture. At the time of writing, Bitcoin was trading at $77,085.07, down 1.14% from a week earlier, according to CoinMarketCap. The survey also showed that investors remain wary of the broader market environment. Asked how recent macroeconomic uncertainty and market volatility had affected the difficulty of crypto investing, 40.5% said it became “much more difficult,” and 35.3% said it became “somewhat more difficult.” That means roughly three-quarters of respondents said crypto investing has become harder than before. Another 16.6% said conditions were little changed, while 7.6% said investing became easier. GIWA Chain targets cross-border financeWhile retail investors appear cautious about the near-term market backdrop, major Korean firms are continuing to push ahead with blockchain projects tied to cross-border finance. Dunamu, the operator of Upbit, South Korea’s largest crypto exchange, said it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Hana Financial Group and POSCO International to develop services for overseas remittances, payments, and corporate treasury management. The project brings together Dunamu’s layer-2 blockchain, GIWA Chain, Hana Financial Group’s foreign exchange network, and POSCO International’s global supply-chain platform. The companies said the collaboration will focus on faster international transfers, more efficient corporate fund management, and new digital finance services. The firms also plan to test whether some processes currently handled through the SWIFT network can be moved onto GIWA Chain. Coinone sanctions put on hold by courtOn the regulatory front, a court has temporarily halted enforcement of sanctions against crypto exchange Coinone, after the Korea Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) ordered a fine and partial business restrictions over alleged anti-money laundering (AML) violations. The measures had been set to take effect on April 29. According to the Maeil Business Newspaper, the court said the stay would remain in effect until May 29 while it considers Coinone’s request to suspend the sanctions. It stressed that the decision was provisional and did not constitute a final ruling on the request. Earlier this month, the FIU, South Korea’s financial intelligence agency under the Financial Services Commission (FSC), imposed a KRW 5.2 billion ($3.52 million) administrative fine on Coinone for alleged violations of the country’s financial transactions law. The regulator also ordered a three-month restriction on virtual asset transfers for new customers, covering both deposits and withdrawals. 

Taiwan police uncover $320M crypto money laundering operationTaiwan police have recently exposed the largest cryptocurrency money laundering case in the nation’s history, involving 320 million USDT (approximately 10.5 billion New Taiwan dollars).Photo by DrawKit Illustrations on UnsplashCross-border laundering operationIt emerged on Tuesday that the Electronic Investigation Team of the Criminal Bureau initiated their probe after uncovering a fraudulent scheme related to a counterfeit Taishin Securities mobile software last year. This led them to a merchant with the surname Qiu, the alleged mastermind behind this operation who was suspected of laundering substantial sums through virtual currency.Qiu is believed to have maintained connections with overseas gambling and fraud groups, engaging in cross-border communication with illicit organizations in countries including Hong Kong, Malaysia and the Philippines.Their investigation revealed that Qiu had been conducting transactions involving 320 million Tether US dollar stablecoins since February of the previous year. In June, law enforcement apprehended Qiu during one of his visits to Taiwan, along with four alleged accomplices.High value goodsDuring the operation, authorities seized high-value assets from Qiu, including a Lamborghini Urus, a Lexus LM and three Audemars Piguet watches, with a combined market value exceeding TWD 13 million. The lavish lifestyle maintained by Qiu, evident from his luxury cars and high-end watches, serves as a stark reminder of the extensive underground economy driven by money laundering.Evidence from the operation suggested Qiu’s involvement in handling illicitly obtained Tether coins worth approximately TWD 70 million. Further investigations uncovered that Qiu regularly sold virtual currency and converted it into cash to effectively obscure the money’s origins, accomplishing the goal of laundering.In piecing the activities of the group together, police determined that victims were instructed to transfer their funds to fictitious accounts. In that way, the money found its way to crypto exchanges and individual crypto traders under the direction and control of the group.Qiu would also retain a 1% profit margin from the laundered amount. Several other individuals were implicated in this extensive operation, including a foreign affairs officer named Liao and two other individuals named Chen and Huang. Each of these individuals is presently under investigation, with varying levels of bail and restrictions imposed.The intricate web of transactions and the substantial amount laundered by Qiu have surpassed previous records held by the Electronic Investigation Team. As investigations continue, law enforcement is determined to uncover the full extent of this operation and trace the entirety of the money flow.Taiwan’s legislators are currently working on producing a regulatory framework for crypto in the country. The only regulatory aspect that is covered right now is oversight relative to anti-money laundering (AML) and know-your-customer (KYC) regulation. In 2018 Yang Chin-long, Taiwan’s central bank Governor, called for a need to regulate crypto on the basis of existing AML rules, with the authorities subsequently following through on that measure.In July 2022, the country’s Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) penned a letter to the banking sector, banning the purchase of digital assets via credit cards.