Chinese Payments Giant Alipay Fined in Luxembourg for ‘Serious’ AML Breaches
Hi Payments Fanatic!
Chinese payments giant Alipay has been fined €214,000 by Luxembourg’s financial regulator for “serious” anti-money laundering breaches. The penalty follows an on-site inspection by the CSSF between June 2023 and January 2024.
The regulator flagged failures in transaction monitoring, reporting suspicious activity, verifying customer identities, and oversight of outsourced compliance functions. In several cases, suspicious transaction reports were not filed—including instances linked to counterfeit goods.
The CSSF said delays in processing alerts “undermined” Alipay’s ability to respond to money laundering or terrorist financing risks. While corrective measures have since been introduced, the watchdog described Alipay’s controls as “too generic.”
To be continued...
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GOLDEN NUGGET
🚨 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐃𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐂𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐬 by Travel & Payments 👇Created by Arthur Bedel 💳 ♻️
𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐃𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐂𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐬? - Edition 1
Digital currencies are forms of money that exist solely in electronic form — not as coins or banknotes.
They enable value transfer using digital payment rails and can function as a store of value, a medium of exchange, or a unit of account.
Unlike traditional fiat currencies, which are issued and managed exclusively by governments and central banks, digital currencies span a spectrum: from decentralized cryptocurrencies to fully government-issued digital money.
Their rise is driven by advancements in blockchain technology, tokenization, and programmable finance — creating new models for both retail and wholesale payments.
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐓𝐲𝐩𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐃𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐂𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐬
1️⃣ 𝐂𝐫𝐲𝐩𝐭𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐬 (Decentralized)
𝐃𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: Public, permissionless currencies secured by blockchain networks, without central authority.
𝐊𝐞𝐲 𝐅𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬: Borderless, censorship-resistant, peer-to-peer transactions.
𝐄𝐱𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐬: Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Litecoin (LTC).
𝐈𝐬𝐬𝐮𝐞𝐫: No centralized issuer; secured by decentralized consensus.
2️⃣ 𝐂𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐁𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐃𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐂𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐬 (CBDCs)
𝐃𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: Digital versions of a nation’s legal tender, issued and regulated by a central bank.
𝐊𝐞𝐲 𝐅𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬: Sovereign-backed trust, potential for faster domestic and cross-border settlements, enhanced monetary policy tools.
𝐄𝐱𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐬: e-CNY (China), Sand Dollar (Bahamas), Digital Rupee (India).
𝐈𝐬𝐬𝐮𝐞𝐫: Central bank or designated public monetary authority.
3️⃣ 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦 𝐨𝐫 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐂𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐬
𝐃𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: Closed-loop digital currencies used within a specific platform, ecosystem, or community.
𝐊𝐞𝐲 𝐅𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬: Limited to specific environments, designed for in-platform transactions, loyalty, and engagement.
𝐄𝐱𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐬: V-Bucks (Fortnite), Robux (Roblox), in-game coins.
𝐈𝐬𝐬𝐮𝐞𝐫: Private companies or platform operators.
𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐏𝐚𝐲𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬
Digital currencies are not a niche innovation — they are reshaping the core infrastructure of payments.
They introduce programmability, allowing payments to be embedded into smart contracts, automated workflows, and cross-border settlement layers without traditional intermediaries with the potential to:
► Reduce friction and costs in global value transfer.
► Expand financial access in underbanked markets.
► Enable entirely new payment experiences and ecosystems.
𝐍𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐔𝐩: What are Stablecoins?
Source: Travel & Payments | Vishal Mehta
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