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MoneyGram Onboards Cryptocurrency Trading, Payment Feature

By
Samuel Nwite
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0

MoneyGram, a global leader in the evolution of digital P2P payments, has become the latest big name in the payment industry to onboard cryptocurrency.

The company on Tuesday announced the launch of a new service enabling consumers to buy, sell and hold cryptocurrency via the MoneyGram mobile app. The new feature is made possible through the Company’s existing partnership with Coinme, a licensed crypto exchange and API-driven crypto-as-a-service provider.

This new and innovative feature gives MoneyGram customers in nearly all U.S. states and the District of Columbia1 the ability to trade and store Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH) and Litecoin (LTC) by using the Company’s leading mobile app, the company said in a statement.

According to MoneyGram, this is the latest crypto-related service launch from a company bringing real-world cryptocurrency and blockchain use cases to life. From on/off-ramp services for digital wallets through partnerships with Coinme, Stellar and G-Coin, to cross-border settlement through Circle’s USD Coin (USDC), to the new ability to buy and store crypto simply by using its app, MoneyGram is pioneering cross-border payment innovation and blockchain-enabled settlement.

“Cryptocurrencies are additive to everything we’re doing at MoneyGram. From dollars to euros to yen and so on, MoneyGram enables instant access to over 120 currencies around the globe, and we see crypto and digital currencies as another input and output option,” said Alex Holmes, MoneyGram Chairman and CEO. “As a next step in the evolution of MoneyGram, we’re thrilled to provide our customers with access to a trusted and easy-to-use platform to securely buy, sell and hold select cryptocurrencies.” 

MoneyGram said it is on a mission to deliver innovative financial solutions that connect the world’s communities. Tuesday’s announcement evidenced the company’s readiness to execute that strategy and best serve its customer base of tens of millions of people.

In line with global regulations, MoneyGram is expected to expand its future selection of crypto coins as the Company explores expansion to other markets in 2023.

MoneyGram is committed to investing in new growth opportunities and expanding past its core products to enhance consumer financial services around the world, the company said.

Holmes said MoneyGram is leveraging the popularity of digital currencies, using its global network to offer customers quality digital payment services.

“As consumer interest in digital currencies continues to accelerate, we are uniquely positioned to meet that demand and bridge the gap between blockchain and traditional financial services thanks to our global network, leading compliance solutions and strong culture of fintech innovation. We are excited for this next chapter in our journey,” Holmes said.

MoneyGram said the partnership which enables people to buy, sell and hold crypto using the MoneyGram app, is made possible through the Company’s existing partnership with Coinme. The two companies have been together since 2021, partnering to expand access to crypto by creating thousands of new locations in the U.S. for consumers to buy and sell bitcoin with cash.

The move by the payment giant comes at a time when the cryptocurrency industry is facing a serious downturn that has seen more than half of its capitalization wiped off. Experts say MoneyGram’s bet on the market indicates that investors still have confidence in the market.

On Money Laundering: Know Your Customers, Investors and Partners

By
Stanley Alieke
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0

A client (excitedly) called me the other day saying that a prospective Nigerian investor wants to invest $2mUSD into their investment and capital venture management company and asked me to prepare the necessary legal paperworks to set things in motion.

Out of due diligence, I  asked him to disclose to me who the prospective investor is. I found out that the prospective investor is a “notorious” Nigerian politician who has a lot of money laundering and public funds embezzlement court cases around his neck. It will be safe to presume that he is likely trying to use my client’s firm to launder some of his alleged stolen funds. This will definitely be the first presumption of anti-financial crime agencies.

It is common knowledge that launderers use mostly real estate companies, financial institutions, startup companies, and investment management companies as a safe haven for money laundering both in Nigeria and around the world. This assertion has even been confirmed by the current Economic and Financial Crimes Commission chairman, Mr. Abdulrasheed Bawa in one of his press briefings.

On that note, institutions (both financial and non-financial institutions) have been charged and are expected to carry out due diligence in identifying the source of funds a prospective partner or investor wants to channel into the organization, also identify the owner of the cash; what does the owner of the cash do for a living, also verify if the cash is obtained from a legitimate or illegitimate source, etc. This is what is known as “Know Your Customers” (KFC) in financial organizations. The

Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has been empowered by the provisions of S. 6(d) of the EFCC act, 2004 “to identify, trace, freeze, confiscate or seize proceeds derived from terrorist activities, economic and financial crime related offenses or the properties the value of which corresponds to such proceeds”.

Therefore, When a company or a firm is used as a conduit to launder money or embezzle funds, the anti-graft agency can come after that company and confiscate the belongings of that company on the ground that the belongings of that company are proceeds of crime. If any funds obtained by illegal means are traced to a company, the EFCC has been charged by the provisions of S.6 of the 2004 EFCC act to confiscate those funds and other funds and properties associated with it.

Subsequently, According to section 5 of the Money Laundering Act, cash-based transactions above the $1000 threshold should be subject to stringent identification procedures. Companies have to pay serious attention to these provisions because ignorance of the law is never an excuse.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission Act, 2004, The Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act 2011, and Anti-Money Laundering and Combatting the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) in Banks and Other Financial Regulations of 2013 are the extant laws regulating financial institutions and designated non-financial institutions (DNFI) in Nigeria on this subject matter and every transaction is to be subjected to the stringent threshold that these legislations have already provided to avoid incurring the wrath of the law.

 

The DNAs of Great Companies [video]

By
Ndubuisi Ekekwe
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0

To become an enduring category-king in your business sector, you must possess these four characteristics:

  • Perceptively innovative: you are always innovating. You never rest, always pushing for better products, services and experiences. You outperform competitors with new solutions for unmet needs.
  • Evidently inspired: you inspire your users. You are modern, trustworthy and inspirational, you have a larger purpose, helping people live out their own values and beliefs.
  • Ruthlessly pragmatic: your customers depend on you and you have their backs, making life easier by delivering consistent experiences. You make good on your promises.
  • Customer obsessed: customers cannot imagine living without you. You know what matters to customers, finding new ways to meet their most important. needs.

Join Tekedia Institute school.tekedia.com and master the mechanics of business.

Elon Musk Set to Slash Twitter Workforce by 50%

By
Ojukwu Emmanuel
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0

Following his acquisition of Twitter for $44 billion, reports reveal that Tesla CEO Elon Musk is set to slash the company’s workforce by 50%.

Musk, who is currently acting as an interim CEO at the company has been consulting his team of advisors regarding job cuts and other policy changes, as he plans to inform Twitter staffers of the major layoffs on Friday, Nov. 4.

Heads of teams at the company have been mandated to prepare a layoff list, which would slash their respective teams by 50%. Also, employees will be shortlisted based on their contributions during their tenure at the company.

Recall that immediately after his takeover from the company, Musk fired some top executives such as Twitter’s former CEO Parag Agrawal, CFO Ned Segal, General Counsel Sean Edgett and Head of Legal Policy, Trust and Safety Vijaya Gadde.

The company which has a total number of 7,500 staff, with half of its workforce soon to be slashed, will mean that only about 3,750 employees would be left at the company. However, laid off staff may be offered 60 days’ worth of severance pay, according to the report.

Aside from the slash in the company’s workforce, Musk has also disclosed that he will abolish the remote work model, therefore mandating that every employee is expected to be present at the workplace.

This doesn’t come as a surprise as he had done the same at his Tesla company, where he told his staff members that remote work is no longer available, which he also set expectations for working in the office full-time.

Musk’s decision to lay off 50% of Twitter’s workforce will come as a shocker to some employees at the company, after he had earlier doused tension about 75% job cut, assuring them that he does not plan to do so.

The billionaire denied previous reports that he said he hoped to slash three quarters of Twitter’s workforce during a visit to the company’s San Francisco headquarters.

However, due to his unpredictable nature, a number of Twitter employees voluntarily left the company prior to his takeover, rather than work in a dramatic and unpredictable workplace.

Meanwhile on Twitter, Musk has changed his Twitter bio to read “Twitter Complaint Hotline Operator” and appears to be reveling in his complete control of the company.

“Twitter is simply the most interesting place on the internet,” he tweeted Wednesday. “That’s why you’re reading this tweet right now.”

On the other hand, Musk has not yet disclosed plans of how he intends to reshape the company, but he is clearly on a mission to cut costs at the company, given the outrageous amount he had to pay during his take over deal.

WhatsApp Increases Number of Group, Video Call Users with ‘Communities’ Feature

By
Samuel Nwite
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0

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has announced the launch of new features for its subsidiary platform WhatsApp. The feature dubbed “Communities” comes with polls, expanded room for video calls and chats.

Meta said the Communities was introduced earlier this year and has been in testing since. The company added that it has been working with over 50 organizations in 15 countries to build the Communities.

“Today we’re launching Communities on WhatsApp,” Zuckerberg said. “It makes groups better by enabling sub-groups, multiple threads, announcement channels, and more.”

“We’re also rolling out polls and 32-person video calling too. All secured by end-to-end encryption so your messages stay private.”

The company said “there is more we plan to build and we’ll keep adding features over the coming months.”

The plan is to expand the messaging app’s features as part of Meta’s efforts to widen the scope of its social media products and services in the face of growing competition.

How it works

The Communities tool is designed to organize multiple group chats into one place. This enables a school, neighborhood or office to be joined together with a number of different chats. Administrators can then send messages to everyone in that community.

It will appear as a tab at the bottom of the app. From there, users can start a new community, or join existing ones.

WhatsApp said that this new feature will be available to everyone over the next few months. The Independent quoted the company saying that it had focused on “privacy and security” with the new feature, and said that it offered safety that was not “not found anywhere else”.

“The alternatives available today require trusting apps or software companies with a copy of their messages – and we think they deserve the higher level of security provided by end-to-end encryption,” it said, seemingly referring to alternatives such as Discord and Slack.

Another significant part of the feature is the poll. Users will be allowed to create and take part in polls with their chats. Also, the group video calling has now been expanded to support up to 32 participants.

In addition, the number of users in a group has been increased from a maximum of 512 to 1,024, doubling the group’s size in a potential bid to stand up to rival Telegram which allows a maximum of 200,000 users per a group.

“With Communities, we’re aiming to raise the bar for how organizations communicate with a level of privacy and security not found anywhere else,” WhatsApp said in a blog post announcing the rollout.

“The alternatives available today require trusting apps or software companies with a copy of their messages – and we think they deserve the higher level of security provided by end-to-end encryption.

“Once you’re in a community, you can easily switch between available groups to get the information you need, when you need it, and admins can send important updates to everyone in the Community.”

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