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Hans India
a day ago
- Business
- Hans India
How Legal Entity Identifiers Help Prevent Financial Fraud in Emerging Markets
Imagine trying to fight fraud when you cannot even verify who is involved in the transaction. That is the reality for many financial systems in emerging markets today! The budding digital transformation and global trade participation in emerging economies often brings a lack of transparency in business dealings. Fraudsters often try to exploit these gaps with fake companies and complex ownership structures that are difficult to trace. These situations call for a system to identify legal entities. LEI - Legal Entity Identifier brings clarity to complex financial transactions. You can call it a digital passport for businesses to make it possible to know exactly who you're dealing with. This blog will cover how LEI can help financial fraud prevention in emerging markets and bring transparency to the fraud-resistant financial scenarios. Understanding the Fraud Challenge in Emerging Markets Emerging markets are full of potential and economic growth but still face significant obstacles in fighting financial fraud. These economies often witness rapid digital technology adoption and increased trans-border commerce with budding financial systems. All of that, if not properly managed, can provide fertile ground for fraud. The common schemes include trade-related money laundering, invoice fraud, misuse of shell companies to conceal ownership and more. One of the major obstacles lies in the absence of accountability in corporate structures. A majority of businesses operate under minimal surveillance from the regulator which makes it challenging for financial institutions to carry out due diligence. You can also witness inconsistencies in data sources like Know Your Customer and Anti-Money Laundering frameworks. Many emerging markets heavily depend on informal markets where transactions often go unrecorded and unregulated. This can lead to vulnerabilities and hampers effective monitoring and enforcement. As these markets integrate in the financial system worldwide, the need for standard authentic identity solutions is crucial to decrease the fraud risk and ensure a secure space for the financial system. Ways in Which LEI Helps Prevent Financial Fraud By Establishing Verified Identity LEI serves as an excellent way to prevent fraud as it gives a verified and standardized identity for legal entities. Every LEI links to a reference data which includes official name, registration number, ownership structure and more about the entity. This helps to eliminate the confusion that is often utilized by fraudsters who employ similar or false names to trick investors or financial institutions. In the scenario of emerging economies, many companies might not identify digitally or easily traceable. LEI can serve as a trusted identity anchor in these situations. It helps for Know Your Customer and Anti-Money Laundering procedures by ensuring that financial institutions can distinguish legitimate entities from high-risk or fraudulent ones. Bringing Transparency in Cross-Border Transactions Emerging market economies often depend on international trade and cross-border capital flows. These transactions involve multiple parties from different countries which makes it hard to determine the identities of everyone involved. LEI is a tool for improving financial transparency and confirming the identities of partners from abroad with high certainty. LEI establishes a standard identity framework that applies to all different jurisdictions. This clear identification makes it harder for fraudsters to hide behind fake company names or set up shell companies. It ensures an honest global financial system and makes it more difficult for people to move money illegally across borders. Focusing on Risk Management for Financial Institutions Financial institutions and banks that operate in emerging markets might face a risk of getting themselves exposed to credit and counterparty risks. It happens due to the limited information available about the financial health of a prospective client and credibility. By having LEI in their risk management strategies, they can access the accurate and standardized information about the organizations they are doing business with. This reduces the risk of accepting fraudulent clients and making it easy to detect irregular patterns in transactions. Regulators can use LEI information to detect the clusters of related entities that can expose fraud or money laundering networks that might remain undiscovered otherwise. Regulatory Synergy and Cross-Border Enforcement LEI brings consistent identification of entities across all regulatory bodies and jurisdictions. This supports global cooperation to combat financial fraud. Regulators can connect entities that operate under different names across multiple countries and identify fraud networks with streamlined investigations. LEI makes it simple to exchange data between countries which helps authorities in responding to complicated and multinational financial crimes more efficiently. This is particularly beneficial for emerging markets looking to align with international financial standards and to bring effective participation in the global financial system. Supporting Digital Transformation in Governance When emerging markets begin to digitize the public sector, LEI gives an authentic layer of legal identity to business entities on digital platforms like tax systems and regulatory filings. They ensure that only verified businesses can use government systems which minimizes fraud in subsidies and contracts. LEI encourages open data initiatives that bring more accountability and oversight. With its integration into electronic governance systems, nations can focus on increasing transparency and fight corruption. This can let them have more effective and secure public and financial infrastructures. Challenges in LEI Adoption in Emerging Markets Perceived Complexity and Cost: Small businesses often view LEI as an additional bureaucratic burden or unnecessary expense, majorly when they are not mandated locally by authorities. Regulatory Gaps: Many emerging economies do not ask for LEI or its enforcement in various industries. This results in unintended use and low incentives to ensure compliance. Limited Infrastructure: In some regions, you can find, digital systems for entity registration and verification are under development which makes LEI issuance and maintenance process more difficult. Overcoming These: Government and Regulatory Mandates: Financial regulators and central banks require LEI in certain transactions like high-value payment or cross-border transactions. These specific mandates ensure compliance and help to build momentum. Public Awareness Campaigns: Educational programs can help understand the LEI and emphasize their advantages in enhancing compliance and reducing the fraud risk. Incentivizing Adoption: Banks and governments can provide benefits, including faster onboarding times or fewer documentation requirements for organizations that hold active LEI. Simplifying the Process: Collaborating with local registration bodies and including LEI in existing national business registers can speed up the process of issuance and update. Conclusion In the fight against financial fraud, LEI gives a powerful solution by assigning every legal entity a globally recognized ID. It shines a light on the often tricky world of corporate ownership and financial activity. Knowing your counterparties can make or break a deal which makes LEI not just helpful but essential.
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Business Standard
3 days ago
- Business
- Business Standard
Fintech firm Decentro initiates reverse-flip process from Singapore
This comes at a time when the Bengaluru-based firm is raising about ₹30 crore as part of the Series-B funding round led by InfoEdge Ventures Ajinkya Kawale Mumbai Listen to This Article Fintech firm Decentro has initiated its reverse flip, starting the process to shift its jurisdiction from Singapore to India within the next 12 months, a senior company executive said. This comes at a time when the Bengaluru-based firm is raising about ₹30 crore as part of the Series-B funding round led by InfoEdge Ventures along with Groww founder Lalit Keshre's fund Stargazer Growth, and existing investors. The latest round of funding will enable the company to scale its existing line of products, including Know Your Customer (KYC) and onboarding, debt collections, and payments. 'I feel the (flip) can be done
India.com
5 days ago
- Business
- India.com
PM Kisan 20th installment BIG Update: 20th installment releasing in…, check who can get PM-KISAN benefits, how to apply as new farmer and other details
The 20th instalment of the PM-KISAN scheme is likely to be given to farmers in June 2025, as per some media reports. But the government has not officially confirmed the date yet. The last payment, which was the 19th instalment, was given in February this year. PM-KISAN, or Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi, is a scheme started by the central government in 2019. It gives financial help of Rs. 6,000 every year to eligible farmers. This amount is given in three parts i.e. Rs 2,000 every four months. The money is directly sent to the farmer's bank account. According to the payment schedule, the next Rs. 2,000 instalment is due between April and July 2025 and if reports are to be believed, it might be sent out in June, but the exact date and location of the official release have not been announced yet. What farmers need to do to get the next payment: Complete e-KYC (Know Your Customer) Link Aadhaar card to their bank account Make sure their land records are updated and verified How to do e-KYC: e-KYC is compulsory for all farmers who are registered in the scheme. You can do OTP-based e-KYC by visiting the official website: You can also visit your nearest CSC (Common Service Centre) for biometric e-KYC. Make sure all these steps are completed in time to receive your Rs. 2,000. Who can get PM-KISAN benefits? To receive the 20th instalment of ₹2,000 under the PM-KISAN scheme, a farmer must meet these conditions: Be a citizen of India Own cultivable (farming) land Be a small or marginal farmer (usually with up to 2 hectares of land) Must not be an income taxpayer Must not receive a monthly pension above Rs. 10,000 Must not be an institutional landholder (like a company or trust owning farmland) How to check status or apply for PM-KISAN: Go to Click on 'Know Your Status' Enter your registration number or other required details To check if your name is in the list of eligible farmers: Visit the same website Click on 'Beneficiary List' Select your state, district, sub-district, block, and village Click 'Get Report' to see the names To apply as a new farmer:
Techday NZ
15-05-2025
- Business
- Techday NZ
NTT DATA unveils Smart AI Agent Ecosystem for business growth
NTT DATA has announced the launch of its enterprise-grade Smart AI Agent Ecosystem, which focuses on helping clients transform their business operations through intelligent automation and strategic alliances. The new offering features industry-specific solutions and a patented plug-in that enables existing Robotic Process Automation (RPA) bots to function as autonomous intelligent agents. This development comes alongside an expanded alliance network as NTT DATA seeks to deliver what it terms "assured outcomes" to clients across multiple sectors. "The rapid evolution of AI presents both immense opportunities and challenges for businesses. At NTT DATA, we have developed the comprehensive capabilities needed to guide our clients through these transformative times and empower them to shape their future with the power of AI," Yutaka Sasaki, President and Chief Executive Officer, NTT DATA Group, said. NTT DATA has already deployed hundreds of Smart AI Agent instances to support complex processes and decision-making across healthcare, automotive manufacturing, finance, supply chain, logistics, and marketing. The company intends to continue expanding its AI agent offerings, addressing more advanced use cases and broadening the scope of its solutions. In healthcare, current AI agents are used for tasks including autonomously classifying, prioritising, and summarising insurance appeals and making decisions regarding medical necessity. Future plans include agents focused on early interventions, medication compliance, payer validation, and fraud prevention. Within the automotive manufacturing sector, agents are currently analysing regulatory warning letters and citations, while future agents aim to carry out root-cause analysis of defects, initiate recalls or corrective actions, and conduct compliance reviews. For finance, agentic AI solutions support banks and partners in meeting client validation requirements such as Know Your Customer (KYC), providing fraud detection, and minimising payment vulnerabilities. In supply chain and logistics, agents contribute to partner selection, ensure secure business with AI start-ups, facilitate the deployment of AI pilot projects, and monitor performance and return on investment. NTT DATA is developing domain-specific agents for procurement management as part of its ongoing roadmap. Marketing applications involve multi-agent systems that connect to hyperscaler platforms, autonomously build user and psychographic profiles, and generate targeted ad recommendations. According to the company, these systems adapt over time and have supported increased sales and revenue in multiple industries. "Agentic AI is the next transformative wave that will impact every sector, far more than what we have seen with Generative AI so far. It's not just about boosting creativity or productivity. It's about unlocking new capabilities that can take initiative, make decisions and collaborate with humans in entirely new ways. With our deep expertise in responsible innovation, trailblazing alliances, and visionary clients, we're excited to lead this future — building the foundation for a reimagined human-machine hybrid workplace and a bold new business landscape," Abhijit Dubey, Chief Executive Officer of NTT DATA, Inc., said. The Smart AI Agent Ecosystem is structured to support clients through every stage of AI adoption. It offers managed agentic services, embedded AI solutions tailored to industries and shared business functions, and a platform featuring integrated tools, utilities, accelerators, best practices, and a marketplace for agents and models. The ecosystem's infrastructure spans public and private cloud, network, and cybersecurity services. The company underlines that these services have been developed with a focus on responsible AI, emphasising security, governance, and compliance throughout the offering. "We've been leveraging NTT DATA's end-to-end Agentic AI Services for Hyperscaler AI Technologies to explore both pro-code and low-code agentic AI experiences. With their step-by-step advisory approach and outcome-focused strategy, we're now exploring powerful multi-agent models and identifying new use cases to align with our business objectives and to reimagine how we operate," Pankaj Shah, Vice President, Chief Information and Digital Officer at Hyster-Yale Materials Handling, Inc., commented. NTT DATA recently formalised a strategic collaboration with OpenAI, with plans to establish an OpenAI Centre of Excellence (CoE) to accelerate the rollout of generative AI services using OpenAI's APIs. These services are being developed for industry-specific and functional applications and will be made available globally. The company's ecosystem supports alliances with both large technology providers and start-ups. Notable collaborations include Rafay Systems, whose platform supports NTT DATA's delivery of developer-friendly, scalable Platform-as-a-Service AI infrastructure, and whose agent platform is integrated into NTT DATA's Digital Workplace Services for enhanced service desk operations and personalised user support. The Agentic AI Services for Hyperscaler AI Technologies provide cloud-managed services that help organisations leverage AI capabilities across platforms such as Microsoft Azure, AWS, and Google Cloud. NTT DATA's approach is designed to simplify multi-agent workflows, with the flexibility for transferability between cloud environments. NTT DATA's newly-patented plug-in solution is specifically intended to support organisations wishing to update their automation capabilities without being hindered by technological debt. The solution enables RPA bots to operate as intelligent agents under existing governance and security policies. "AI is causing a massive shift similar to the early days of the internet — reshaping how we work, solve problems and create value. We're not just watching this future unfold — we're driving it. At NTT DATA, we're delivering clients real, measurable impact from AI solutions already, and this patented, transformative plug-in is just one more proof point of what's possible when innovation meets execution," Abhijit Dubey added.
Epoch Times
15-05-2025
- Business
- Epoch Times
Australia's Largest Bank Quizzing Customers for Details on Cash Withdrawals
Commonwealth Bank customers have raised concerns after being quizzed about their intentions when withdrawing large amounts of cash. Banks have asked more detail questions about cash transactions with customers (including deposits) in response to government pressure to deal with money laundering concerns. Australian businessman Louis Christopher, co-founder of real estate data agency SQM Research, labelled some of the inquiries 'disgusting.' He claimed he received an email asking for information on how he created his wealth, why he was making cash withdrawals, if he was holding cash at home, and why he had made certain payments to third parties. He shared copies of further correspondence from CommBank, including a warning that his accounts could be restricted or closed within seven days if he did not respond. The bank also threatened to stop his ability to use automatic teller machines and bank cards. Related Stories 2/24/2025 4/30/2025 The correspondence cited Australia's Know Your Customer (KYC) obligations, which require financial institutions to verify customers' identities and understand the source of their wealth in order to comply with anti-money laundering laws. 'They were going to suspend all my accounts this week if I didn't tell them the answers ...,' Christopher The Epoch Times has contacted AUSTRAC—the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre—for comment. Other customers have also spoken out. Australian academic Eva Bernat said on X she hired a lawyer after CommBank initially refused her request for a large cash withdrawal. While Bernat was able to access her cash after lodging complaints, she said CommBank still demanded receipts to verify her purchases. 'People are leaving banks in droves, to no one's surprise,' she said. Bernat has lodged an official complaint with the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA), a dispute resolution service for banking customers. AFCA has also been contacted for comment. Former Queensland Premier Campbell Newman said there was no point trying to stamp out financial crime by imposing red tape on honest businesspeople. 'The [anti-money laundering] laws as they stand are draconian, authoritarian, and give banks an excuse to act quite unreasonably,' he said. Australian $50, $20, and $5 banknotes, and Australian Medicare card in a wallet in Sydney, Australia on March 25, 2025. LisaA CommBank spokesperson said the bank was required to comply with the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006. 'All banks operating within Australia are required to collect, verify, and maintain customer identification information,' the spokesperson said. 'In the same way that we need to comply with regulations when a customer first opens an account, we also need to comply with current law regarding the maintenance of their identification information. 'Ensuring we have a customer's most up-to-date and correct details also helps us to keep them safe and protect them from fraud.'
