Amid the boom of cashless payments in the Philippines, digital financial services firm PayMaya has signed an Information-Sharing Protocol (ISP) agreement with the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) to help the government in its efforts to prevent and combat financial crimes in the country.
The ISP between AMLC and PayMaya is expected to serve as a bilateral agreement and cooperative framework for more efficient communication and collaboration to prevent and mitigate financial crimes in the country.
“As we continue to enforce the country’s laws against money laundering and terrorism financing, collaboration with the private sector has become more crucial. We truly appreciate the support of PayMaya for this initiative, especially now that more Filipinos are employing cashless transactions,” said Mel Georgie B. Racela, executive director of the AMLC.
Through the ISP, the AMLC and PayMaya will collaborate in areas of information-sharing and capacity building to help strengthen the integrity of the Philippine financial system.
“As digital payments adoption continues to accelerate among Filipinos, the safety and security of the financial accounts of our customers are paramount. Financial services providers have the responsibility of safeguarding this trust. At PayMaya, we are reaffirming our full commitment in ensuring that transactions made by our customers and partners in our various platforms are safe and secure to maintain their overall trust in our systems,” said Shailesh Baidwan, president of PayMaya.
PayMaya has stepped up its efforts to combat financial crimes in its system by deploying anti-fraud detection tools, implementing a more stringent KYC process, and actively informing its users on how to avoid being victimized by fraudsters and other unscrupulous individuals.
In a recent Senate Committee hearing regarding bills pending that will address human trafficking and online sexual abuse and exploitation of children, PayMaya likewise reiterated its commitment to support legislation and proactively cooperate with government agencies to combat these crimes.
Aside from financial fraud, the ISP between AMLC and PayMaya can help mitigate other crimes including online sexual abuse and exploitation of children, human trafficking, terrorism financing, swindling or estafa, and donation scams, among others.
