NOW Money selects ThetaRay to prevent financial crime on its banking app

By Leandra Monteiro

NOW Money, the GCC’s first mobile banking solution focused on financial inclusion, and ThetaRay, a provider of AI-powered transaction monitoring technology, announced a collaboration to implement ThetaRay’s cloud-based AML solution to monitor cross-border payments and support in the prevention of financial crimes and money laundering on the FinTech’s payments platform.

NOW Money selected ThetaRay’s advanced SONAR anti-money laundering solution with combined transaction monitoring and sanctions list screening to stay a step ahead of financial crime by uncovering both known and unknown money-laundering crimes, as well as preventing attempts to violate sanctions in real time.

The agreement highlights ThetaRay’s expansion in GCC financial institutions, amid continued realisation of the Abraham Accords that were signed in September 2020 to normalise relations between Israel and the UAE, Bahrain, Sudan, and Morocco.

“There is a huge opportunity in the Gulf to provide mobile banking services and financial education to millions of people who are unbanked or underserved. Our mission is to create a world where everyone has instant and equal access to financial services they can, and want, to use,” said Noel Connolly, CEO of NOW Money. “ThetaRay’s AI technology using advanced machine learning will enable NOW Money to process unlimited volumes of transactions, expand business into high-risk areas, and gain trust of financial partners and regulators worldwide.”

International money transfers are an important method of bringing money into low-income countries and unbanked communities. However, those countries can represent a high proportion of high-risk jurisdictions and remittances can be considered as a potential conduit for financial crime for illicit funds.

“We are honored to partner with GCC fintech leader NOW Money to create trust in the fast-changing digital financial world and make the world a better place by eliminating financial injustice against migrant workers,” said Mark Gazit, CEO of ThetaRay. “A Gulf fintech choosing AI technology from ThetaRay marks another milestone in the Abraham Accords. We look forward to accelerating collaboration with additional financial institutions in the region.”

ThetaRay’s SONAR solution enables FinTechs and banks to implement a risk-based approach to effectively identify suspicious activity and create a full picture of customer identities, including across complex, cross-border transaction paths. This allows the rapid discovery of both known and unknown money laundering threats, and up to 99% reduction in false positives compared to rules-based solutions.