airtel ; government agencies being equipped with point of sale ( pos ) systems ; such initiatives serve to show the willingness of different partners towards the digitising of the country ’ s national payment system. we continue to encourage others to follow suit. this one - day workshop on digital payments will cover the economic and social benefits of electronic payments, as well as strategic considerations in developing an effective payment system that will facilitate the growth of electronic payments in a country. all of you present here today are representing organisations and decision makers, whose roles are critical to the successful implementation and management of an effective payment system in the country. as i conclude this morning, it is my sincere hope that you will all leave here with a greater understanding of electronic payments, the benefits that it provides, as well as the specific role of the various stakeholders in the payments industry. once again, it is my pleasure to welcome you to this workshop, and i look forward to the fruitful deliberations. thank you.

caroline abel : beneficial ownership guidance and training workshop for banks and other financial institutions welcoming remarks by ms caroline abel, governor of central bank of seychelles, at the beneficial ownership guidance and training workshop for banks and other financial institutions, beau vallon, 11 july 2024. * * * representatives of the regulatory authorities, facilitators from the eu global facility on aml / cft, participants, good morning. it gives me great pleasure to welcome you all to the fourth day of the week - long training workshop on enhancing beneficial ownership transparency - a topic of growing importance globally. as you know, a beneficial ownership law was one of two key pieces of legislation that came into force in august 2020. the enactment of the bo act and the aml / cft act was part of efforts to align the country's legal framework to international standards and protect the integrity of our financial system. while enacting these two laws marked a significant milestone, the commitment and collaborative approach of the relevant authorities and reporting entities to ensure their enforcement and effectiveness is even more critical. much has been done to date, but we must acknowledge that there are still areas for improvement. the beneficial ownership guidance and training workshop for targeted stakeholders demonstrates the ongoing commitment to implement the necessary measures and build capacity. at this juncture, i would like to commend the collaborative efforts of the respective teams from the financial intelligence unit, the financial services authority and the central bank - the three institutions mandated to ensure sectoral aml / cft supervision - for spearheading this week's training programme, with the invaluable technical assistance of expert facilitators from the european union's global facility on aml / cft. ladies and gentlemen many legal entities worldwide are trying to operate in secrecy, using complex and opaque ownership structures to facilitate illicit activities such as tax evasion, corruption, money laundering, and terrorism financing, highlighting the critical importance of beneficial ownership transparency. although geographically isolated, seychelles is as vulnerable to such risks as any jurisdiction, hence the need to build resilience and maintain the integrity of our financial system. effective customer due diligence to identify who ultimately owns, benefits from, or controls a legal entity or arrangement is vital to improving the assessment of potential risks and employing risk - based supervisory approaches. these efforts assist in 1 / 2 bis - central bankers'speeches detecting unusual or suspicious transactions, thus preventing our financial system from being used as a vehicle for illicit financial activities. beneficial ownership