FIU: new reporting procedures for suspicious transactions (SOS) in the remittance sector

For some time now, the analysis of the SOS transmitted by the money transfer (MT) sector, which since 2016 has taken advantage of the automatic uploading of SOSs from CSV files for its reporting activity, has highlighted the emergence of new operating procedures that provide for the use of the online channel (websites and smartphone apps) for access to services in place of physical points and the settlement of transactions by means of payment other than cash (e.g. payment cards, bank transfers, etc.).

In particular, the review has shown that some intermediaries have implemented platforms through which clients place money remittances online. Different corporate and organizational models exist and the AML/CFT risk assessment processes relating to remittances made through physical points are sometimes integrated with information relating to transactions carried out online, also thanks to the information exchanges maintained by intermediaries within the groups to which they belong, which in several cases also include legal entities established in other countries.

In order to allow the transmission of the above-mentioned information details, from March 8, 2022, an evolutionary intervention was made available on the aforementioned CSV loading function. For the attribute “CUSTOMER AGENT STATUS”, the insertion of the code “W3” has been enabled. This code populates, in the RADAR data schema, the foreign status of the transaction with the fictitious value “990 – online” and makes optional the VAT number of the customer’s agent and, with the exception of name and surname, the customer’s identification data.

To consult the documentation:

FIU press release new reporting procedures for suspicious transactions (SOS)

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