Ropali Group steps up efforts vs dirty money

June 23, 2023 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — The Ropali Group of Companies’ Agribusiness Rural Bank Inc. (Agribank) has partnered with leading global fintech provider, Kiya.AI as part of its cybersecurity improvements and anti-money laundering efforts.

The bank subscribed to Kiya.AI’s Anti-Money Laundering (AML) System to facilitate easier tracking, flagging, and detection of suspicious activities as part of its regulatory compliance.

Agribank president and CEO Danny Boy Antonio said the partnership with Kiya.AI would add value to the existing improvements in the bank’s compliance unit as this complements the bank’s long-term goal of offering customers a safer banking experience.

“We look forward to leveraging Kiya.AI’s expertise in enabling 360-degree customer profiling, eliminating false reporting, and streamline compliance operations,” Antonio said.

Rajesh Mirjankar, CEO of Kiya.AI said the company is committed to complementing the ongoing efforts of Agribank to empower and serve its customers against the constantly evolving threats of money laundering.

“We believe that cutting-edge, real-time financial monitoring technology can deliver the change needed to fight today’s sophisticated fraud and money laundering cases. Given the dynamic nature of the financial crime and regulatory landscape, we recognize that ensuring AML compliance is a continuous process, and we will fine tune and continue to strengthen our collaborative efforts together with Agribank,” he said.

Agribank chief compliance officer Norberto Tan said  it has been the bank’s aim to find the right system provider to collaborate with.

Kiya.Ai is a global digital solutions provider serving financial institutions and governments worldwide. Its expertise includes financial services, digital payments, governance, risk and compliance solutions along with market-ready processes that empower financial institutions to be equipped with future-proof strategies to serve an ever growing digital-first community.

It operates in 50 countries and has some 500 clients.

Agribank is a rural bank that is part of the Ropali Group of Companies with operations dating back to 1978 in Sta. Fe, Nueva Vizcaya.

At present, the company has 21 branches nationwide offering deposits and loan products at competitive rates.

The Ropali Group of Companies, a mid-sized conglomerate focused on motorcycles and agriculture machinery, is headed by its founding chairman, businessman Roberto Alingog.