The Second Largest S Korean Exchange to Integrate AML Solution

South Korean cryptocurrency exchange platform Upbit, the country’s second largest, has announced it will be incorporating an enhanced Thomson Reuters due diligence solution in an effort to counter money laundering.

Upbit claims its move to integrate the World Check solution is an industry first. The solution, per Thomson Reuters, a Canadian multinational mass media and information firm, helps “prevent businesses from inadvertently being used to launder the proceeds of crime or association with corrupt business practices.”

Upbit says it will use the solution to identify potentially problematic or high-risk clients, checking client data against databases that are refreshed on a daily basis.

Media outlet SporBiz quotes Lee Seok-woo, the CEO of Upbit parent company Dunamu, as saying, “We will build a sturdy system for transparent, safe cryptocurrency. Upbit will be setting the bar for the rest of the industry.”

Seoul has previously introduced anti-money laundering guidelines, requiring financial institutions to ban anonymous cryptocurrency-to-Korean won transactions.

Upbit’s newest rival, meanwhile, CoinBit, officially launched on April 30. The exchange, which will trade in 50 currencies to begin with, says it hopes to double that number by the year’s end – and features security architecture designed by KT, one of the country’s biggest telecoms companies.