In order to protect the funds of our clients and to ensure compliance with the world trade standards ARC PAY OÜ (hereinafter referred as “The Company”) works exclusively in accordance with the legislation on combating money laundering, obtained through criminal activity and countering the financing of terrorism and criminal activities:

– Directive (EU) 2015/849 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 May 2015,

– Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Prevention Act,

– Payment Institutions and E-money Institutions Act.

The Company AML Policy is designed to prevent money laundering by meeting the Estonian AML/CFT legislation obligations including the need to have adequate systems and controls to mitigate the risk of being used to promote financial crime. The Company reserves the right to refuse registration to persons from jurisdictions that do not meet international AML/CFT standards.

To monitor compliance with the legislation, the Company develops Anti- Money Laundering and Know Your Client (AML/KYC) procedures, which are mandatory for compliance by all employees of the Company and policy-defining interactions with persons who enter into an Agreement with the Company and become clients of the Company (hereinafter referred to as the “Clients of the Company”).

The Company compliance shall to ensure that the Company’s activities comply with international standards of Anti-Money Laundering Policy and all documents provided by the Clients are relevant and comply with the requirements of the law.

ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING REGULATIONS

Regulations require the Company to have:

– Policies and procedures to prevent them from being used by money launderers.

– Employees trained in these procedures and in anti-money laundering law.

– Checks and controls to ensure that the policies and procedures are working.

– Have internal and external measures in place for the disclosure procedures for suspicious transactions.

Policies, controls and procedures sets out the requirement for relevant businesses to establish and maintain appropriate and risk-sensitive policies and procedures.

These policies and procedures must:

  1. Identify and scrutinizea) Complex or unusually large transactions

    b) Unusual patterns of transactions which have no apparent economic or visible lawful purpose

    c) Any other activity which could be considered to be related to money laundering or terrorist financing

  2. Specify the additional measures that will be taken to prevent the use of products and transactions that favor anonymity for money laundering or terrorist financing
  3. Determine whether a customer is a politically exposed person
  4. Nominate an individual in the organization to receive disclosures.
  5. Ensure employees report suspicious activity to the Nominated Officer, and
  6. Ensure the Nominated Officer considers such internal reports in the light of available information and determines whether they give rise to knowledge or suspicion or reasonable grounds for knowledge or suspicion of money laundering or terrorist financing.
  7. Financial institutions (which include bureau de change, money transmitters and cheque cashers) must, additionally:a) Establish and maintain systems which enable a full and rapid response to enquiries from law enforcement agencies, and

    b) Communicate the policies and procedures to branches and subsidiary undertakings which are located outside the Republic of Estonia.

The main principles encompassed by money laundering regulations can be described as Risk Based Approach (RBA).

RISK BASED APPROACH (RBA)

A risk based approach is an approach which is a cost effective and proportionate way to manage the risk of money laundering. In implementing a risk based approach, the Company should consider: the risk posed by the Client.

The following customers and behavior should be considered riskier:

  • If the Clients is from a country from FATF, EU lists, OFAC list
  • If the Client’s response is unclear or even there is no response
  • If the Client’s behavior is unusual
  • If the Client illogically changes the transaction model, he/she used
  • If the Client is not reluctant to provide information about the source of the funds for a deposit
  • If the Client attempts to circumvent the requirement to provide the necessary sufficient personal information when registering to use the Company’s products and services.
  • If the Client wants to withdraw funds without concerning the fees much
  • If the Client wants to give bribe, in order to speed up the withdrawal process.
  • If the Client deposits much more money than he/she is expected to have (as per his/her profile)
  • If the amount of the deposited funds does not correspond to his/her profile history.
  • If the Client attempts to make a fund transfer to another customer if there is no coherent economic rationale for the transaction
  • If the Client demands details about the Company’s internal AML/CTF procedures and limits.
  • If the Client withdraws his funds in very short terms (within 24 hours) after depositing and without purchasing any product or service
  • If the Client speaks about crimes or property obtained by such an act.
  • If the Client submits falsified ID or other documents in order to use the Company’s products and services;
  • If a new Client makes a large one-off transaction;
  • If the Client holds a public or governmental position;
  • If the Client is operating in jurisdictions known to have a high risk of money laundering.
  • If the risk posed by the client’s behavior is sufficient.
  • If the Client appears to act on behalf of another person;
  • If the Client shows willingness to bear uncommercial penalties or other risks.

The Company should monitor the risk of money laundering by being aware of patterns of business transactions, including:

  • unusual increase of the business of an existing Client;
  • transactions which are not relevant to the Client’s known activity;
  • unusual increase of the activity at particular points of time; and
  • unfamiliar or untypical types of clients or transactions.

Risk based control procedures include:

  • the Client identification;
  • verifying the Client identification; and
  • additional customer identification or implementing enhanced customer due diligence in the case of higher risk.

If the Company has assessed that the business relationship with a Client pose a high risk it will apply the following additional measures:

Obtaining the information relating to the source of the funds or the wealth of the Client will be required (this will be done via e-mail or phone);

Seek further information from the customer or from Company’s own research and third party sources in order to clarify or update the Client’s information, obtain any further or additional information, clarify the nature and purpose of the Client’s transactions with Company.

When obtaining information to verify the Client’s statements about source of funds or wealth, the Company’s staff will most often ask for and scrutinize details of the person’s employment status or business/occupation. The Company’s staff will ask for whatever additional data or proof of that employment/occupation that may be deemed necessary in the situation, particularly the appropriate confirming documents (employment agreements, bank statements, letter from employer or business etc.).

The Company will conduct ongoing Client due diligence and account monitoring for all business relationships with Clients. It particularly involves regularly reviewing and refreshing Company’s view of what its Clients are doing, the level of risk they pose, and whether anything is inconsistent with information or beliefs previously held about the Client. It can also include anything that appears to be a material change in the nature or purpose of the Client’s business relationship with Company.

NOMINATED OFFICER

A Nominated officer is the person within an organization who is responsible for overseeing all activity related to anti-money laundering matters.

The Nominated Officer’s responsibilities include:

  • Receiving disclosures from employees (also known as Suspicious Activity Report-SAR’s).
  • Reviewing all new laws and deciding how they impact on the operational process of the company
  • Recording all decisions relating to SARs appropriately
  • Preparing a written procedures manual and making it available to all staff and other stakeholders
  • Making sure appropriate due diligence is carried out on customers and business partners
  • Ensuring staff receive anti-financial crime training when they join and that they receive regular refresher training
  • Monitoring business relationships and recording reviews and decisions taken
  • Making decisions about continuing or terminating trading activity with particular customers
  • Making sure that all business records are kept for at least five years from the date of the last customer transaction as per The Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Prevention Act

STAFF TRAINING AND REPORTING

Training on the AML Policy will be given to all new employees before they start work and will be repeated every 12 months as a refresher. The staff has to be instructed in the risks of money laundering/terrorism financing and in the identification and reporting of unusual activities or transactions which may prove to be suspicious. We will also carry out training where there has been a substantial change in the law, and there will be monthly training sessions on various other relevant topics.

The Nominated Officer will provide a monthly review of business activity with the staff, to ensure all procedures and processes have been adhered to with all customer registrations and ensuring that business transactions have been completed correctly.

POLITICALLY EXPOSED PERSONS (PEP)

Politically exposed persons (PEP) are persons that are entrusted with prominent public functions, whether in the Republic of Estonia.

PEPs include:

– is an individual who performs or performed prominent public functions, including heads of state, heads of government, minister and deputy or assistant minister, a member of parliament, or parliament, as a legislative body, a member of the governing body of the party body of the Supreme Court and the Supreme Court Member of the State Control Committee and a member of the supervisory board of the central government, the head of an international organization, the deputy head and a member of the management body or an equivalent person, otorrhea not an official of the central or sub-national level;

– a local public person is a person specified in the above who performs or performed the basic functions of state authority in Estonia, the other Contracting Party of the European Economic Area or the European Union institution;

– a family member is a politically significant person or a local politically exposed spouse or spouse of a person is the equivalent of a person recognized as a politician or a politically exposed person by a child of the person and child of the spouse or equivalent of an addicted person and politically injured or a local senior politician;

– close to a co-worker an associate is an individual who realizes that he is a legal person or person who is the actual owner or co-owner of a politically irradiated person or a local politically significant person or has close business relations with a politically irradiated person or local politically significant persons; an individual who is the sole beneficial owner of a legal entity or legal entity that is known to have been created in the interests of a person with a national or local education.

If the Client is a politically exposed person, family member or known close associate of one, then we must put in place the following enhanced due diligence measures:

– obtain senior management approval before establishing a business relationship with that person,

– take adequate steps to establish the source of wealth and source of funds that are involved in the proposed business relationship or transaction,

– conduct enhanced ongoing monitoring where we’ve entered into a business relationship.

In this connection, by concluding the Agreement with the Company, the Client shall fully and unconditionally accept the terms of this policy, agrees with the following rules and undertakes to observe them:

  1. The company develops a list of documents that the Client must provide to verify the identity, namely:
    1. For the individuals:
      1. Color copy of the passport (the first, second page with photos, as well as a page with registration data), or a color copy of the document that is proper for confirming the identity of the Client according to the legislation of the country of which the Client is a resident.
      2. At the request of the Company can request additional documents: may be provided a copy of the driver’s license; receipts for payment of services or Utility Bill (for confirmation of the Client’s residence). Also the verification process includes mandatory confirmation by the Client of its telephone number.
    2. For legal entities:
      1. Certificate of Incorporation;
      2. Articles of Association/memorandum;
      3. Certificate of Incumbency/ Certificate of Good Standing;
      4. Proofs of identity for directors and shareholders (10%+). Usually passport or national identity cards;
      5. Proofs of address for directors and shareholders (10%+). Usually utility bill from last three months.

If another legal entity is a shareholder of a legal entity, the documents specified in clauses 1.2.1.-1.2.5 shall be submitted with respect to this shareholder.
We realize that some of the above documents may not exist in some jurisdictions. In that cases, please send the best local equivalent.

  1. The Company undertakes and has the right, without obtaining the prior consent of the Client, to exchange with any financial institution or law enforcement agency any information about the Client, in accordance with the requirements of the applicable law, and the Client gives the Company its consent to these actions. In order to comply with this clause, the Company keeps any information about the Client’s payment transactions for at least five (5) years.
  2. The Client assumes the obligation to comply with legal acts, including international ones, aiming the combating illegal trade, financial fraud, money laundering and legalization of criminal money.
  3. The Client undertakes to exert maximum efforts to exclude direct or indirect complicity of illegal financial activities and any other illegal transactions.
  4. The Client guarantees the legal origin, legal possession and the right of use of the funds transferred to the account.
  5. In case of detection of suspicious transactions on the Client’s account, the Company reserves the right to conduct an internal investigation, block or close the Client’s Trading account, cancel any payments made and suspend operations on the account before the end of the official investigation. In making a decision the Company is guided by the provisions of applicable law or established practice.
  6. The company may without any permissions from the Customer or notifying the Customer, inform regulating and/or law enforcement agencies of Estonia about any suspicious transactions.
  7. The Company reserves the right to carry out customer diligence verification of its users and their operations in the system. Enhanced customer review will be carried out periodically as part of our on-going risk management. In addition, any attempt to abuse The Company or its platform will result in immediate account suspension and informing the responsible organizations.
  8. The company has the right to request additional information about the Client. Also the Company reserves the right to block the Client’s account for the duration of the investigation, in case the client refused to provide additional information requested by the Company.
  9. During the investigation, the Company has the right to request from the Client copies of additional documents confirming the identity of the Client, as well as copies of bank cards used to replenish the account, payment, as well as other documents confirming the legal possession and legal origin of funds. In case the client provides copies of documents, the Company has the right to demand the provision of originals of documents for review.
  10. The Company will carefully check Clients identified by applicable law as being in high risk countries.
  11. The Company’s refusal to conduct transactions that are suspicious from the Company’s point of view shall not result for the Company’s civil liability arising for failure to fulfill its obligations to the Client.
  12. The Company is not obliged to inform the Clients and other persons about the measures taken to counteract the legalization (laundering) of proceeds from crime and the financing of terrorism, with the exception of informing Clients about the suspension of the operation, refusal to comply with the Client’s order to perform operations, the need for the Client to provide documents.
  13. This Anti-Money Laundering Policy is an integral part of the Agreement. By concluding the Agreement the Client confirms that it has acknowledged the provisions of this policy and will follow the listed requirements.

ANNEX FOR ACQUIRING

In order to protect the funds of our clients and to ensure compliance with the world trade standards, works exclusively in accordance with the legislation on combating money laundering, obtained through criminal activity and countering the financing of terrorism and criminal activities the Company supports cards with 3D-secure only.

The Company additionally collects and stores Customer’s information on their payment card as well. Payment card details with photos will be asked to upload before the cryptocurrency purchase. The provided documents will be investigated in 24 hours. The customer will be informed about the results by the e-mail.

For the Customers verification (KYC 2 level) The Company requires the following documents:

  • the front side photo of your payment card with 6 first digits and 4 last digits visible, back side photo with CVV/CVC hidden. Card should not be cropped or modified.

The account will be unverified (KYC 1 level) until the above listed documents will be presented and checked. According to the customers’ level of verification, the different limitations to use service are applied. The detailed chart is presented in the Fees & Limits.

All collected information is completely confidential and can be disclosed only to the local or other compliance regulators. The company reserves the right at any time without informing in advance and without disclosing any reason, suspend the operation of Customer account. The company must notify the Customer about the matter just after account suspending.