Although fintechs process financial transactions as part of their service offerings, most of them are not banks. Instead, they partner with a sponsor bank who moves the actual money between parties. This approach allows the fintech to focus on what they do best without having to jump through hoops to become an official bank. However,…
WARNING: This article contains spoilers about seasons 1 and 2 of Ozark. The Netflix original series Ozark dramatically depicts the life of Marty Byrde, a financial advisor who slips deeper and deeper into the world of money laundering for a Mexican drug cartel. The first two seasons of the show had a fantastic story and were incredibly well produced. Season…
Multiple major European banks are facing allegations of failing to prevent money laundering from taking place through their banking services. This growing scandal was first uncovered through US investigations into Latvia’s ABLV bank and Malta’s Pilatus Bank. As the investigation has continued, many other major banks have been pulled into the scandal. The banks under…
In her December 3rd, 2018 remarks to the ABA/ABA Financial Crimes Enforcement Conference, U.S. Treasury Department undersecretary Sigal Mandelker emphasized the importance of adopting new technological advances for the detection of illicit financial activity. “Private sector innovation, including new ways of using existing tools or by adopting new technologies, can be an important element in…
The video game Fortnite has experienced a meteoric rise in popularity, reaching over 125 million players in less than a year. In May 2018, less than a year after the game’s release in July 2017, the game raked in a record $318 million in revenue in just one month. While the game is free to play, there is…
The global online gambling and betting market is hot. So is the competition to win new players. With a global market expected to reach €81.73 billion by the end of 2024–a combined annual growth rate of 10.8% from 2016–the pressure to convert customers is high and the reward for those who win is significant. And…