Compliance That Makes Sense

Do you think that Stablecoins are E-money? Listen, as Yana discusses what E-money and Stablecoins are and how they are used. Yana explains how most stablecoins do not meet the requirements to be called E-money and the difference between issuing E-money versus using and accepting E-money. Yana is hoping this conversation will clarify what E-money is and how Stablecoins may or may not be considered E-money, plus much more on this Compliance That Makes Sense episode. 

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Today's episode:

• [00:34] Hello, my friends, and welcome back!
• [01:22] Yana shares her new favorite activity.
• [03:19] Yana believes that all compliance professionals should use the rules of shooting a gun daily.
• [04:42] Yana shares the definition of what E-money is.
• [06:56] Yana discusses how most stablecoins do not meet the requirements of E-money.
• [08:21] She speaks about another reason stablecoins can't be called E-money.
• [11:01] If you design your product not to meet E-money conditions, does it mean it is safe?
• [12:46] Yana talks about the important distinction between issuing E-money and using and accepting E-money.
• [14:10] Yana discussing paying someone through PayPal.
• [17:05] What makes you an E-money issuer?
• [19:10] Bye for now!

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• Follow Yana on Instagram and check out our new training calendar for the latest workshops and trainings.

Have you heard about the new Crypto regulations that are coming? Yana explains what they are and what they mean for Crypto companies. She believes the regulation will harmonize requirements from country to country with a single regulatory regime that will cover different types of crypto services. Yana shares that half of the regulatory document covers different kinds of stable coins, and she goes into detail about why that is important. Listen as Yana shares some core lessons and takeaways from her reading of the regulatory draft on this episode of Compliance That Makes Sense. 

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If you enjoy this episode, please share it with friends, leave comments and reviews, and join the conversation. 

Today's episode:

• [00:34] Hello, my friends, and welcome back!
• [01:00] Yana explains the new EU-Wide regulations.
• [02:02] The idea of the regulation is to harmonize requirements.
• [03:31] Half of the document is describing different types of stable coins.
• [04:30] Yana discusses significant e-money tokens.
• [06:07] One major takeaway from the document is in crypto custody because until now, there have been no specific requirements.
• [09:03] Yana shares another thing she believes is important to know for the time being.
• [10:42] Yana circles back to the e-money stable coins tokenized asset idea.
• [13:30] Yana expects that most stable coins will be divided into one of two categories.
• [16:30] Yana feels like this will come into force in a year.
• [18:53] Yana hopes this has been helpful. Stay tuned for a future episode continuing this conversation.

Show links:

• Follow Yana on Instagram and check out our new training calendar for the latest workshops and trainings.

Are you looking for ways to make more money in compliance? Listen, as Yana discusses how people working in compliance, risk, internal control, or audit professionals who work in FinTech can make more money. Yana shares the pros and cons of three different ways she believes you can make more money as a compliance expert. Changing jobs, becoming an independent board member with another startup, and becoming a paid advisor or a co-founder of a new startup. Listen to Yana's opinions and see if you agree on this episode of Compliance That Makes Sense. Want more - subscribe to Yana’s super popular newsletter everyone is talking about!

If you enjoy this episode, please share it with friends, leave comments and reviews, and join the conversation. 

Today's episode:

• [00:34] Hello, my friends, and welcome back!
• [01:15] Yana shares the first way she believes you can make more money.
• [04:00] They like to believe that the next opportunity will allow them to stay for a long period.
• [05:39] Yana discusses her main objection to changing jobs.
• [07:39] Becoming an independent board member with another startup is the second way you can make more money.
• [11:08] There might be some exposure and liability if you don't have good oversight, but the experience can be a learning opportunity.
• [13:34] Yana believes compliance know-how is not always on the list when looking to grow a startup, you must argue how you can add value.
• [16:24] The third way is to become a paid advisor or co-founder for a new startup and help them grow.
• [17:09] Yana shares the pros and cons of this option.
• [19:56] Yana says that compliance experts don't normally have a lot of free time, making the time count.
• [22:39] Thank you for listening.

Show links:

• Follow Yana on Instagram and check out our new training calendar for the latest workshops and trainings.

Have you been thinking about investing in Bitcoin? Listen, as Yana discusses the announcement that PayPal recently made in Europe about their partnership with bitFlyer. Yana also explains what that another announcement means for PayPal customers in the U. S. and how it affects you if you want to buy cryptocurrency. Yana also explained why this announcement is a good thing for PayPal customers interested in getting involved with cryptocurrency but never knew where to start and for the FinTech industry, so listen to her discussion on this episode of Compliance That Makes Sense.

If you enjoy this episode, please share it with friends, leave comments and reviews, and join the conversation. 

Today's episode:

• [00:34] Hello, my friends, and welcome back!
• [01:15] Two months ago in Europe, Paypal announced that they would partner with bitFlyer.
• [02:43] Yana says that PayPal will not be buying and selling any cryptocurrencies.
• [04:04] Yana explains what will happen if a PayPal customer wants to buy bitcoin.
• [05:30] This is good news because many customers of PayPal will now be able to hold bitcoin inside of their account.
• [06:31] It's limited news because the only way to sell what you buy from PayPal, you can only sell back to them.
• [07:02] This also applies to deposits and withdrawals of bitcoins.
• [08:22] Yana speaks about the limits per day, per month, and per year that PayPal has issued.
• [09:57] Are smaller players going to be squeezed out by larger players? Or is there still room for smaller companies?
• [12:07] Yana discusses the statement PayPal has made that through PayPal, their merchants will accept bitcoin for merchant transactions.
• [13:53] Yana talks about how this is a huge opportunity for the FinTech industry.
• [15:38] Thank you for listening!

Show links:

• Follow Yana on Instagram and check out our new training calendar for the latest workshops and trainings.

Do you know what CBDC is? Listen as Yana discusses what has happened recently in the CBDC space, what the powers that be have determined, and whether cash would still be distributed. Yana speaks about the issues the CBDC and international authorities have with distributing digital money, the need for some kind of stable coin that will allow people to pay and get paid instantly, and what it would mean for FinTech. Yana has great insight into this issue, so listen to her discussion on this episode of Compliance That Makes Sense.

If you enjoy this episode, please share it with friends, leave comments and reviews, and join the conversation. 

Today's episode:

• [00:34] Hello, my friends, and welcome back!
• [01:28] Listen as Yana shares what has happened recently in CBDC.
• [03:50] Yana speaks about the issues governments had getting money to people during the pandemic.
• [05:55] Central Banks and other international authorities don't like cash payments because they're a heavy operation to manage.
• [07:05] Yana shares its biggest issue with giving people digital money.
• [10:11] Yana explains what this means for FinTech.
• [13:16] Yana believes that regulatory attention to stable coins will grow, and she will expand on it in a different episode.
• [13:53] Thank you for listening!

Show links:

• Follow Yana on Instagram and check out our new training calendar for the latest workshops and trainings.

Are you hesitant to hire a compliance expert because you are not sure if you need one? Listen as Yana discusses when it's time to hire a compliance person into your FinTech team and what happens if you unnecessarily delay this decision. Hiring someone from your team that is not a compliance expert to write compliance documents takes forever, can make your company look immature and cause delays. Hiring a compliance expert can keep your company from making mistakes that can potentially get you in trouble and much more on this episode of Compliance That Makes Sense.

If you enjoy this episode, please share it with friends, leave comments and reviews, and join the conversation. 

Today's episode:

• [00:34] Hello, my friends, and welcome back!
• [01:38] Yana speaks about the most common issue she sees happening with startups.
• [03:45] One of the common mistakes she sees a lot is using marketing slang and doesn't describe details in the way it is expected.
• [04:55] Another strategy that isn't working is to just do nothing about hiring compliance professionals.
• [06:31] Hiring consultants instead of a compliance expert is expensive and slow.
• [08:42] Yana says hiring a big four is not a safe bet if you want speed and progress.
• [10:08] Is crowdsourcing information a good way to bypass hiring a compliance expert?
• [12:13] Yana recommends hiring a compliance person when you have to do it by law or if you aren't required by law, but you regularly need to submit documents to others.
• [13:43] It's necessary to hire a compliance expert if you have 20 or more active customers at any given time.
• [15:17] Thank you for listening!

Show links:

• Follow Yana on Instagram and check out our new training calendar for the latest workshops and trainings.

Do you know what constitutes reputational risk? In this episode of Compliance That Makes Sense, Yana discusses reputational risk, and she believes her view on this topic might not be very popular. Listen, as Yana shares some examples she has seen and some examples of what others might call reputational risk, but she disagrees with them. At the end of the episode, she plans to give some clarity on both spectrums, so sit back and listen to Yana's insights and see if you agree with her take on reputational risk.

If you enjoy this episode, please share it with friends, leave comments and reviews, and join the conversation. 

Today's episode:

• [00:34] Hello everyone, and welcome back!
• [01:22] Yana defines what she believes is a true reputational risk.
• [04:21] She also gives an example of what she doesn't believe is reputational risk.
• [04:33] Yana shares some potential reputational risks some companies make.
• [06:08] Yana speaks about the point she is trying to make.
• [07:35] What about controversial figures? Yana shares her views on this question.
• [09:41] Listen as Yana gives an example of what she doesn't believe is reputational risk, but others do.
• [13:13] If you look at Yana's example from a purely legal perspective, all the people violated their financial provider's terms, but the intention was good.
• [15:17] Reputation is something that may have a long-term impact, negative or positive.
• [17:22] Yana thinks in the absence of the profound and clearly defined reputational risk; the moral and ethical consideration is personal.
• [18:16] The first question a compliance person should ask themselves is whether this is legal.
• [19:33] See you next week, bye for now!

Show links:

• Follow Yana on Instagram and check out our new training calendar for the latest workshops and trainings.

Today Yana discusses why she believes that compliance professionals are paid less than other people in the company. Often, compliance is put in a category with things you must do because the government requires it, like paying taxes. It then puts the burden on the compliance officers to prove their value and how they can add to the company's bottom line. Listen as Yana shares how she priced her services and showed her value when she got into compliance, plus much more on this episode of Compliance That Makes Sense.

If you enjoy this episode, please share it with friends, leave comments and reviews, and join the conversation. 

Today's episode:

• [00:34] Hello everyone, and welcome back!
• [01:24] Yana believes that companies often pay compliance people less, and she shares why.
• [02:13] It's hard to quantify how much value compliance adds.
• [03:46] You end up triggering different incentives and logic about compliance if you try to compare it to something people have to do, like paying taxes.
• [04:33] Yana discusses how she priced her services when she got into compliance.
• [05:39] Yana shares an example of how she can quantify her value with the company.
• [07:35] Bye for now!

Show links:

• Follow Yana on Instagram and check out our new training calendar for the latest workshops and trainings.

"Timing is everything with this project." Today Yana discusses one of the most frequently asked compliance questions she hears; how soon can you get me a compliance license, and what the process looks like? People worry about this question because they want to plan when to launch products when hiring employees and marketing personnel. Listen as Yana gives a quick and brief overview of what is important and what is not important at each stage plus much more on this episode of Compliance That Makes Sense.

If you enjoy this episode, please share it with friends, leave comments and reviews, and join the conversation. 

Today's episode:

• [00:34] Hello everyone, and welcome back!
• [01:56] Listen as Yana shares the most common misconceptions ever.
• [02:36] Timing counts, but your team's credibility doesn't help in the early days.
• [02:49] Hiring big four consultants or a famous legal firm will not help you be approved quickly.
• [03:57] Do you believe that license applications need a lot of money to be successful?
• [05:24] Yana suggests that a FinTech license application will be more successful when managing it as a lean and agile project.
• [06:13] Listen, as Yana shares the three distinct stages in any FinTech application process.
• [07:23] Yana discusses the pre-application stage and what is important.
• [10:11] Yana shares what you don't need at this pre-application stage.
• [12:16] Yana speaks about what happens when your application has been submitted for review.
• [13:22] How do you know when you are making progress?
• [15:07] During application, the regulators want to know if you are making progress on your end.
• [16:22] Every license application that Yana has seen runs into a roadblock.
• [17:41] Yana says, don't give up, don't move to a new country. Listen carefully to the feedback and agree to simplify the product or remove the issues that cause concerns.
• [19:42] Yana discusses the post-application stage, and sometimes you can't launch your product immediately.
• [21:00] In some cases, some conditions need to be audited. 
• [23:16] Yana shares the key components and milestones important for the license application stages.
• [23:52] Thank you for tuning in!

Show links:

• Follow Yana on Instagram and check out our new training calendar for the latest workshops and trainings.

Welcome to the first episode of Compliance That Makes Sense. Listen as your host Yana Afanasieva discusses compliance, where it was five years ago versus where it is now. Yana shares the changes she has seen over the years and the three main pain points experienced by compliance professionals. Yana also gives her opinion on how to scale compliance as a function and prepare it for the future. This is an eye-opening discussion on all things compliance; you don't want to miss this first of many exciting conversations to come.

If you enjoy this episode, please share it with friends, leave comments and reviews, and join the conversation. 

Today's episode:

[00:36] Welcome to the show, everybody!

[00:58] Yana discusses compliance as a function and where it was, compared to where it is now.

[02:44] Yana speaks about the changes happening in the last five years, with automation being one of them.

[03:26] Two-factor authentication in Europe has become the norm.

[04:00] Another change is how people rely more on public information, news, adverse media scanning, and social media for compliance decisions.

[05:02] Yana believes that large institutions and their compliant and risk team feel empowered to say no more frequently.

[06:09] Yana shares the three main pain points being experienced by compliance professions.

[08:36] Listen as Yana explains why compliance professionals do what they do.

[10:32] Yana shares her personal observations of companies that start and then finish the registration process.

[12:28] Yana discusses where she sees compliance as a profession is going.

[12:55] Yana describes the key problems in Fintech.

[13:45] Yana shares her opinion on how to scale compliance as a function and prepare it for the future. 

[14:35] Thanks for listening!

Show links:

• Follow Yana on Instagram and check out our new training calendar for the latest workshops and trainings.