Payone is said to have done too little for money laundering prevention

We all often pay cashless, whether on the Internet or via a reader at the cash register. One of the largest handling of these payments is the Frankfurt company Payone. According to her own statements, she handles more than five billion payments a year. For customers such as Aldi, Rewe and Karstadt. According to the information, a total of more than 270,000 companies use the payment service. For example, the savings banks advertise their corporate customers for Payone with slogans such as “All payments from a single source”, “free customer service” and “increase the conversion rate”.

Now Payone has gotten into the Ruch that corporate customers, for example, from the porn, dating and gambling industry have not checked enough for suspicion of money laundering. The report said that dubious clients have not been meticulously checked for their seriousness. Financial supervision Bafin, auditor and a bank had criticized the handling of Payone with the shady dealers. In various, partly internal reports, the payment processor would sometimes be accused of “serious deficits” in compliance with diligent duties according to the money laundering law.

Background: Financial companies are legally obliged to prevent money. You have to employ employees specially appointed by the financial supervision, so -called money laundering officers. These have to report suspected cases of money laundering – regardless of the business policy of your management. Bafin can check that at any time. And that did that too.

Payone is said to have taken on questionable customers of the Wirecard bankruptcy group years ago. That is said to have made Bafin aware. The authority prohibited Payone business with hundreds of so -called high -risk documents two years ago. The “Spiegel” now wants to have indications that some of these customers are now looked after by the Payone majority owner Worldline, i.e. sister companies of the company.

Upon request, Payone informs the “Spiegel” of “implementing a number of corrective measures”, including mechanisms to prevent future business with risky customers. “This was done in accordance with the increasing regulatory requirements and in close cooperation with the supervisory authority.”