CrossTech Magazine - 8th Edition October 2022

Greenberg Traurig, LLP

Priscilla D'Oliveira Friedman

Priscilla comes with an extensive background in operations management, strategy, process improvement, consulting and training. She started her career in American Express where she led a variety of teams in the call center industry (executive customer care, dispute resolution network and social media response team).

EDITOR’S LETTER

EDITOR

Hugo Cuevas-Mohr

CO-EDITOR

Priscilla D’Oliveira Friedman

WEB EDITOR

Virginia Martínez

DIGITAL PRODUCT MANAGER

Ana González

CREATIVE MANAGER

Carolina Busnelli

CONTACT US AT María Auxiliadora García help@crosstechpayments.com

The views and opinions expressed in this magazine are those of the authors and contributors and do not necessarily reflect the position of CrossTech, The Platinum Network or IMTC. The content here is for informational purposes only and should not be taken as investment, business, compliance, or legal advice.  Content contained within this publication is not to be reproduced in whole or part without the prior written consent of the company. We welcome quotes of our articles by mentioning “CrossTech Magazine” or #crosstech and share the quote with us using our social media channels.

In the first year of our monthly editions, we have had the opportunity to highlight industry leaders that contribute to building - The magazine of the cross-border payments industry - and strengthen the community sense that brings us all together in this new space.

At CrossTech, we are delighted to see the efforts of each company working to highlight their experts, getting them to be known for what they do best.

After eight editions, we are more than happy to present our first "Women's Special Edition" to recognize the relevance of the work they are doing and how they add to this industry that is fostering all of them and letting us with big expectations of the ones that are to come.

We want to thank all of you, our readers, for being part of this first year.

Enjoy this wonderful issue!

CrossTech

Contact: remittance@bancodaycoval.com.br

FINTEL INSIGHT Revolution or evolution? Digital remittance in Asia Pacific Page 8

CRYPTO NEWS

O essencial a se saber do novo Marco Legal de Câmbio e de Capitais Internacionais do Brasil Page 10

TO KEEP IN MIND Improve your BSA/AML Compliance System based on your personality Page 12

GADGET CORNER Revolution or evolution? Digital remittance in Asia Pacific Page 14

VRT SERIES "Road to World" 2022 Page 24

Page 18

Greenberg Traurig, LLP

YOU ARE READING

Brandi Reynolds - To Keep in Mind Brandi B. Reynolds, CAMS-Audit, CCI, CCCE is Managing Director of AML Compliance at Bates Group. She has more than 17 years of experience in the financial services industry supporting companies in the areas of antimoney laundering (AML) and consumer protection compliance.

Cristina Loustaunau - Crypto News

Cristina Loustaunau is a Co-Founder of "La Zona Tres," an educational project with the mission of being a bridge between protocols and becoming a great community of Web3 communities. Her work in Web3 extends to NEAR Education Stakeholder, who brings blockchain education about NEAR throughout LATAM. Cristina is also a builder strategist of Web3 communities aimed at building educational communities on the blockchain. Marketing Lead at Nativo NFT, a marketplace platform for NFT on NEAR, and Professor at the Technological University of Nayarit.

Deepan Dagur - Fintel Insight

Financial institutions leader with strong sales transformation and business performance track record. Experienced in multi-geography Sales leadership, Cash management, Trade Finance and Supply Chain solutioning, Financial Institutions coverage, Strategy development and B2B product innovation.

REVOLUTION OR EVOLUTION?

DIGITAL REMITTANCE IN ASIA PACIFIC

Cross-border payments are the lifeline of many developing and exporter markets. Asia Pacific is no exception. Research shows that companies want their beneficiaries to receive cross-border payments faster—within 3 business days or less (78%).[1] With Visa Direct, Visa’s realtime* money movement solution, we have seen increased demand for our cross-border payment solutions from the send players in the ecosystem, including banks, remitters, fintechs, online merchants and payment processors.

New demands require new solutions

The impact of COVID-19 has strengthened the demand for digital solutions across the board, and this is especially true for cross-border payments. Cash drop-off and pick-up became increasingly difficult during the pandemic.

Deepan Dagur Vice President, Head of Visa Direct, Asia Pacific at Visa

In a relatively under-banked Asia Pacific region, we understand the power in reaching consumers where they are, be it account, card or digital wallet—giving send partners access to 3B accounts, 2B cards and 4B wallets globally.

At Visa, we recognize the continued role of the account as the endpoint, especially for larger ticket transactions.

Simultaneously, we are experiencing demand for alternative endpoints. In a relatively under-banked Asia Pacific region, we understand the power in reaching consumers where they are, be it account, card or digital wallet—giving send partners access to 3B accounts, 2B cards and 4B wallets globally.

As our proprietary network, we have effectively delivered funds to cards as an endpoint for some time.

Our 2019 acquisition of Earthport, which is fully integrated as Visa Direct Push to Account, has added accounts to our global endpoint reach.

In large developing markets such as India, Indonesia, Vietnam, and the Philippines, consumer products such as shampoo are

often sold in small affordable “daily-use” sachets—with empirical data showing that a reduction in unit cost drives a dramatic increase in unit sales.

Digital remittances are showing a similar trend. The average unit cost of a digital remittance has gone down, both in terms of transaction cost and FX spreads. With this, we have seen a corresponding increase in the number of transactions.

This trend will continue, highlighting the need for send partners to be equipped to process larger volumes of lower ticket transactions.

As the number of tickets increases, so does the imperative for Straight Through Processing, high authorization rates, and the ability to handle client enquires at scale.

WOMAN IN WEB 3.0

CRISTINA

LOUSTAUNAU

Educational Stakeholder NEAR Hispano

Educational Marketing Lead & Stakeholder

Web 3.0 community strategist

Marketing Lead at Nativo NFT NFT marketplace platform to promote Latin cultures in LATAM and Hispanic countries.

Founder of a Web 3.0 project "La Zona Tres"

A virtual space aiming to increase educational impact, marketing, and blockchain development projects and to build bridges between protocols. In other words, to become a community of communities within Web 3.0.

"Driving efforts to bring blockchain education to LATAM and Hispanic countries."

NEAR PROTOCOL THE FUTURE OF WEB3

Cristina Loustaunau

Web3 is the name that various technology specialists have assigned to a new type of internet service built using decentralized blockchains, that is, shared ledger systems that use cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum.

However, some critics believe that web3 is little more than an effort to rebrand everything related to cryptocurrency, with the aim of shedding some of the industry's cultural and political baggage and convincing people that the blockchain is the next natural phase of computing.

But the rise of Web3 also reflects the amount of capital, talent, and energy that is being poured into crypto startups after years of a cryptocurrency bull market.

Web 3.0 enables a future in which distributed users and machines can interact with data, value, and other counterparts

through a peer-to-peer network substrate without the need for third parties. The result: a human-centric, privacy-preserving composable computing fabric for the next wave of the web.

Currently in the cryptocurrency space, there are two dominant currencies, each with a different purpose. Bitcoin was the first prominent cryptocurrency created and has been king, while Ethereum is ranked number two.

Bitcoin and its alternatives (Litecoin, Dogecoin, Monero, Bitcoin Cash, etc.) are used more as inflation hedges, treasury assets, and as currencies.

Ethereum and its alternatives (Binance chain, Cardano, Solana, Tron, NEAR, etc.) are mainly used as smart contract platforms to build and create applications, while native tokens are used for gas fees to transact on the internet. net.

Why NEAR will be the next blockchain capable of becoming the future of Web3

Today there is a wide variety of Blockchains known as Layer 1 (or layer 1) that have been developed seeking to overcome the shortcomings presented by Ethereum which have become increasingly evident, especially the cost of transactions, which at times makes prohibitive use of the network, as well as how fast Ethereum can process transactions and the number of transactions it can process per second.

Some of these Blockchain Layer 1 include: Avalanche, Cardano, Polkadot, Solana, EOS, Cosmos and NEAR Protocol.

the market. future of Web 3.0, Blockchain technology and at the center of the crypto scene and all the decentralized applications (dapps) that are being developed and will be developed from here on using said technology.

According to the developers of the protocol, applications can be deployed in a few minutes.

Now, we are going to focus on the strengths and characteristics that make NEAR Protocol stand out among the different Blockchain options that currently exist (such as those mentioned in the previous paragraph) and that position it as one of the protocols to take into account in

NEAR Protocol is a secure and decentralized platform to create blockchain-based dApps that are capable of managing digital assets and identities.

According to the developers of the protocol, applications can be deployed in a few minutes. The main mission of the NEAR project is to make the process of developing, using and maintaining dApps as simple and fast as possible.

Therefore, NEAR will facilitate communitydriven innovation and allow people all over the world to benefit from it.

It started with AI

2017

Illia Polosukhin and Alexander Skidanov started NEAR.ai to explore synthesis, proclaiming, “Singularity is NEAR!” They tried to pay contributors through Ethereum but quickly found out it was not fit for the job.

A brief history of NEAR

The vision was born Foundation established

They decided to build their own blockchain – the NEAR protocol was born. This was the origin of the vision to give developers an easy path for building decentralized applications that could easily scale.

Advantages of the NEAR project

Progressive security. Users do not need passwords or browser extensions to register and access applications. Instead, only an email and password are required.

Smart contracts compatible with Web Assembly Virtual Machine (WASM), RUST and Javascript SDK.

Detailed application templates can be used to use one.

Scalable, high-performance blockchain applications can be deployed in minutes.

Fees are 10,000 lower than Ethereum.

LEARN MORE

The NEAR Foundation was created as a nonprofit organization fostering NEAR’s ecosystem growth and protocol development.

NEAR Mainnet launched

NEAR mainnet was launched in April 2020, and became completely communityoperated in September 2020. A vote to enable token transfers passed in October 2020.

First phase of sharding started

Sharding is the unique technology that enables the NEAR blockchain to scale effortlessly.

After two funding rounds in 2022, NEAR has the means to support further the protocol development and ecosystem growth.

NEAR TOKENOMICS

Like all public Proof-of-Stake networks, the NEAR Protocol incentivizes its decentralization with its own coins called NEAR. When validators process transactions, they receive NEAR as reward, just like Bitcoin miners.

In turn, by processing transactions and receiving NEAR, validators issue new tokens into NEAR's circulating supply.

This token issuance rate is called inflation, quite similar to when the Federal Reserve stimulates the economy with trillions of dollars.

NEAR closed a $500m funding round 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 READ COMPLETE ARTICLE

NAVIGATING THE MONEY TRANSMITTER LICENSING PROCESS

Determining if you are a money transmitter and then navigating the licensing requirements can be a daunting task. This guide is meant to ease the pain of that process with some helpful tips as well as great resources.

What is a Money Transmitter?

Essentially, anyone who operates a money services business (MSB) that moves money from one business to another or one person to another is a money transmitter.

According to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”), a money transmitter is anyone who transmits money over certain thresholds for others as a normal part of doing business. This may include individuals or business that:

Process traveler’s checks

Exchange or deal in currency, potentially including virtual currencies

Cashing checks

Process money orders Transmit money in other ways

Money transmitters are a part of the broader category of MSBs.

What does the State Licensing process involve?

While registration with FinCEN is straightforward, state licensing requirements have been found to be extremely difficult to navigate.

The details of the money transmitter license process vary from state to state. Below is a list of common requirements in many states:

Complete state’s license application(s) Provide personal and business financial statements

Provide proof of meeting a given net worth requirement

Agree to a background check Pay application and license fees

Brandi

Reynolds

|Managing Director, AML & Compliance, Bates Group

TO KEEP IN MIND

Provide business plan

Provide compliance program

Obtain surety bonds

Other state-specific requirements

Do virtual currency businesses need a license?

The short answer is maybe. The best way to know for certain is to obtain a legal analysis. State requirements vary, and one wrong mistake can result in conducting unlicensed money transition.

The current regulatory framework relating to cryptocurrency is still a gray and rapidly evolving area for both regulators and businesses.

It can be difficult to determine if certain licensing requirements extend to virtual currency companies because laws have yet to be updated or are being created. Additionally, one aspect of the business may require a license but not another.

Additional Resources

Below is a list of helpful resources as you start your journey into money transmitter licensing or maintenance of your existing licenses. Originally published March 3, 2022

Learn more about Bates’ services for Money Services Businesses (MSB), FinTech and Cryptocurrency firms.

FINCEN NMLS

BATES GROUP

LEARN MORE

GADGET CORNER

CrossTech

NFT GOLF GAMES

Marketplace Metaverse

You can now play in the comfort of your room and earn money at the same time! Mit software is launching a new NFT Golf in the modality "Play to earn" permiting the user to earn rewards while enjoying the activities and simulations within the metaverse. The latest innovation in blockchain games is based on the simulation of sports, especially aimed at fans, with tokens and assets ranging from collectible cards, to players, teams and playing fields. KNOW MORE

In this edition, we present a compilation of technological devices aimed at making your life easier with a touch of fun, emotion, and a practical way of doing things and getting the best experience you deserve.

Enjoy!

TP-LINK ROUTER

AXE16000 Quad-Band Wi-Fi 6E

The TP-Link Archer AXE300 router is the solution for the home-office era. Professionals working from home will maximize connectivity and security in one single click. It is powered by a 2.0 GHz quad-core processor and offers a 6 GHz band, bringing more bandwidth, faster speeds, and near-zero latency. Plus, the 8x antennas provide maximized Wi-Fi connectivity coverage, supporting more than 350 devices to be connected. The router offers protection with HomeShield to prevent unauthorized access to the networks.

QR CODE TRACKER STICKERS

Labels that connect owners to those who found an item

This will be your best-friend gadget if you are in a hurry all the time and forget things everywhere. The sticker has a QR Code that can be scaned by people who find the lost items and it will show a phone number to connect with the owner, set a meeting and give it back. If you want more privacy, you also have the option to set up a virtual phone number or email address specifically to aid recovery.

MARINA OLMAN-PAL

XT. Tell us about your professional trajectory and the role you have within your company.

MO. I began my legal career focusing my practice on bank regulatory compliance matters and was fortunate to be mentored by a leading lawyer and an authority on anti-money laundering laws and regulatory compliance.

After a three-year sabbatical to stay at home with my two young children, I joined Greenberg Traurig as a practice group attorney and once again was fortunate to work alongside another leading lawyer in financial services.

Having worked on numerous complex transactions and regulatory matters in the fintech and banking sectors throughout my career, many with multi-jurisdictional components, I developed a solid fintech, payments and bank regulatory compliance practice, with a focus on Latin America.

Born in Argentina, my native Spanish is a major advantage when working with clients and local partners in the region. Being Latin American, I connect naturally with our clients and counterparts, and understand the idiosyncrasies of the region.

With my cultural background and native Spanish, I am able to effectively guide our Latin American clients through the legal and regulatory frameworks applicable to their business in the U.S. and, in outbound matters, work effectively with local partners to guide our U.S. clients in ensuing compliance with laws and regulations in the region.

My career has progressed quickly at GT, where

Good leaders are passionate, committed and courageous. The best leaders I know can identify and support the strengths and talents of their team members, and build teams that collaborate and are committed to achieving common goals.

I was elevated to shareholder in early 2022. My work has been recognized by The Best Lawyers in America, Corporate Law, 2023, and The Legal 500 Latin America Guide, "Latin America: Mexico," Banking & Finance, 2023. I have also been selected by the National Law Review as a “Go-to thought Leader” in AntiMoney Laundering matters.

XT. What elements have marked your trajectory in Greenberg Traurig, LLP?

MO. At Greenberg Traurig, I’ve had endless opportunities to further develop my practice and grow professionally.

Due to the collaboration between our offices and attorneys, and our firm’s diverse client base, I have worked on a broad range of complex and innovative fintech, banking, digital assets and payments matters.

With the support of the firm, I am also involved in fintech and banking industry groups, participating in industry committees, speaking on panels and publishing articles on legal and legislative developments. This year, I was given the opportunity to lead our Miami office’s financial services practice. The firm has trusted my experience and knowledge in this highly specialized practice area and has provided me with the tools and support I need to ensure our practice continues to grow. This has been one of the most challenging and most exciting moments in my career.

XT. What do you consider are the main qualities of a leader in the

process of achieving goals and objectives?

MO. Good leaders are passionate, committed and courageous. The best leaders I know can identify and support the strengths and talents of their team members, and build teams that collaborate and are committed to achieving common goals.

As a Hispanic woman in a leadership role, I view mentorship as a responsibility, particularly when it relates to mentoring other women. I recognize that I would not be where I am today without the mentorship I have received throughout my career. Mentorship must involve support, accessibility and opportunities for growth. Thus, I strive to continuously connect with my team and keep an “open door” policy for questions and brainstorming. This is important not

only to help my team succeed with their assignments, but also to guide them through the intricacies of starting and advancing their careers at an AM Law Global 100 law firm.

XT. What does "success" mean to the company? What does it mean to you?

MO. Success at Greenberg Traurig means supporting our clients in meeting their business goals by delivering excellent service and value through our collaborative platform.

For me, it’s been very rewarding to see how the firm’s model has supported the growth of our fintech practice.

Since I joined the firm, our fintech client base has grown from early-stage disruptors and middle-market firms to sophisticated multinational and Fortune 500 companies that are at the forefront of the industry.

Greenberg Traurig is now recognized as one of the leading firms in the fintech and digital assets sector, ranked in Chambers and Partners in the U.S., Japan, Mexico and Poland, as well as the Legal 500s’ Fintech U.S. Guide.

Success as a fintech attorney means evolving with the industry by staying abreast of legislative and regulatory developments, and understanding the development of new financial products and services models, and the technology that supports them.

Adaptability to change is critical in this practice area and I love the intellectual challenge that comes with it.

XT. What inspires you to move forward in/with your company?

MO. Greenberg Traurig has a culture that is centered on diversity, collaboration, teamwork and client service.

At the firm, I can collaborate with a diverse, knowledgeable and deeply experienced team to provide my clients a full-service experience and help them navigate through transactions and legal and regulatory frameworks applicable to their business.

This, together with the invaluable support and friendship I receive from my team, colleagues and mentors, inspire me to continue growing and moving forward within the firm.

DIAMOND

D1 - UNITELLER

D2 - BANTRAB

PLATINUM SPONSORS

P1 - VISA

P2 - DAYCOVAL

P3 - TRAVELEX

P4 - INTER

GOLD SPONSORS

G1 - NUVEI

G2 - TERRAPAY

G3 - FLUTTERWAVE

G4 - CROSSTECH CONSULTING

SILVER SPONSORS

S1 - CAPITAL COMPLIANCE EXPERTS

S2 - FRENTE CORRETORA DE CAMBIO

S3 - INTERNATIONAL SURETIES

S4 - NAIRAGRAM

S5 - MAYA TECH

S6 - THUNES

S7 - SECURECASH S8 - COMPLY ADVANTAGE

BRONZE SPONSORS

B1 - TREVISO

B2 - BALUWO

B3 - ALACER GROUP VELOCITY

B4 - EASTERN POINT

B5 - GT LAW

B6 - CASHBOX

B7 - BOZ

B8 - CROSSTECH MAGAZINE

Rick St. Onge State of Washington

Munir Khan SecureRemit Group

Andrew Ittleman Fuerst Ittleman David & Joseph

This course will focus on the here and now requirements as well as the current regulatory environment. We will have case studies and lessons learned from those found to be less than compliant by regulators. We cover the current and ever-evolving policy making decisions and regulator expectations, both state and federal, directly impacting those offering cryptocurrency financial products and services. We'll share lessons learned and valuable insights from the perspective of regulators, examiners, and other industry stakeholders, while providing attendees with actionable takeaways and realistic expectations for the months and years ahead.

Carly Howard K&L Gates

Priscilla D'Oliveira

Friedman CrossTech

Fredo Pen Nuvei

Hugo Cuevas-Mohr CrossTech

Alberto Guerra UniTeller

Nabil Kabbani Neofie

Alex Pereira PMI Americas

Erick Schneider CrossTech

CAROLYN DICHARRY

DANIEL WEBBER

JORGE MONDAL

HUGO CUEVAS-MOHR

ANDREW ITTLEMAN

MARINA OLMAN-PAL

DARIO GAMBOA

RONALD MAZURSKY

ERICK SCHNEIDER

BRANDI REYNOLDS

NABIL KABBANI

ROBIN GARRISON

KATHY TOMASOFSKY

JOÃO CAMPANELLI

ALBERTO GUERRA

PRISCILLA D'OLIVEIRA FRIEDMAN

CARLY

HOWARD

LICELY SANCHEZ

DANIEL WOOD

AMY GREENWOOD-FIELD

ZORY MUÑOZ

JOE CICCOLO

ROBIN ORTNER

RICHARD MESZAROS

OUR TEAM

Hugo Cuevas-Mohr President & CEO CrossTech

Claudia Ávila Director of Conferences and Sales

Ma. Fernanda Valera María A. García

Jennifer Holguín Lead Consultant

Isabel Cortes UK Consultant

Virginia Martínez

IT Consultant

Marcela Molina Sr. Designer

Ana González

Digital Events Coordinator Customer Service Digital Product Manager & Content

Carolina Busnelli

Juan Posada Business Analyst

Diana Jofre

Creative Manager & Content Executive Assistant

We are thankful to all our staff and the supporting team of collaborators who help us develop our conferences in each of the cities and regions we select to host them. Without their help, it would be impossible for us to give all the participants in our in-person and virtual events the unique experience we strive to give everyone attending.

Check our next destinations and join us!!

Priscilla D'Oliveira Friedman COO CrossTech