Australian banks welcome new Federal Government action to crackdown on financial crime

Australian banks strongly welcome the Federal Government’s announcement of two key measures aimed at curbing financial crime and better protecting consumers.

New powers for AUSTRAC to ban high-risk cryptocurrency ATMs and expanding access to Visa Entitlement Verification Online (VEVO) checks by banks will build on ongoing efforts to safeguard Australians from scams and crack down on money mule activity.

ABA CEO Simon Birmingham said cryptocurrency ATMs were a key tool used by criminals to launder money as well as syphon money from scam victims.

“Banning or more tightly regulating crypto ATMs will help close off a channel that criminals exploit to launder money and funnel money from scams,” Mr Birmingham said.

“Every dollar that an Australian is coerced into feeding into a crypto ATM is a dollar fed into a black hole from which there is virtually no means to help scam victims get their money back.

“For those who legitimately wish to dabble in the crypto markets there are other ways to do so without feeding cash into a crypto ATM.

“Banks commend the Government for taking this action to crack down on the ability of criminals to use crypto ATMs and urge the swift introduction and passage of the necessary enabling legislation.”

Mr Birmingham also said allowing banks to access more information about a person’s visa status was a sensible and collaborative step in helping to stamp-out money mule activity.

“International students and non-permanent residents are often targeted and recruited by criminals to act as money mules to hide and move stolen money or illegal crime proceeds around,” Mr Birmingham said.

“Giving banks the ability to check visa details when they detect unusual account activity will be a valuable additional tool for banks to stifle the ability of criminals to steal money from Australians.

“This will help build on ongoing efforts and measures by banks to identify and shut down mule accounts which are a key part of many scammers’ business model.”