Zeepay implements ThetaRay's SONAR anti-money laundering solution

The SONAR system relies on an advanced form of AI called ‘artificial intelligence intuition’ to help make decisions with no bias or thresholds. The product offers fintechs and banks a risk-based approach to identify suspicious cases and create a full picture of customer identities including across complex, cross-border transaction paths. According to ThetaRay, this can allow for the discovery of both known and unknown money laundering threats, with a peerless 95% detection rate and a 99% reduction in false positives compared to rules-based solutions.

Ghanian mobile financial services company Zeepay will implement SONAR in order to detect financial crime for its remittance transactions. The company previously relied on a rules-based monitoring solution but decided to replace it with an AI-based system that can detect the newest and most sophisticated financial crime schemes.

Zeepay officials have stated in the company press release that ThetaRay’s solution offers a seamless user interface with intuitive and dynamic features. Regarding the AI feature, they mentioned that it can help improve actionable alerts by reducing false alerts related to remittance transactions.  

According to remitscope.org, Ghana’s diaspora mainly resides in Nigeria and bordering countries. However, outside the continent, these migrants live in Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the United States. According to the same source, international remittances account for over 5% of the Ghanaian economy, with an estimated 600,000 families relying on them. 

Ghana is the second-highest receiver of remittances in sub-Saharan Africa (after Nigeria). An estimated USD 4.5 billion was sent to Ghana in 2021, which is equivalent to 6% of its GDP according to World Bank figures.

Other companies that use ThetaRay’s SONAR

In October 2022, digital payments hub MFS Africa has decided to implement ThetaRay’s SONAR SaaS solution in order to protect its network against financial crimes as it expands globally. Officials from MFS Africa revealed that moving from a rules-based solution to an AI platform represents a major improvement in compliance. 

In July 2022, Brazilian foreign exchange specialist Travelex Bank has announced it will implement ThetaRay’s SONAR AML solution for transaction monitoring. The collaboration also included real-time sanctions screening for Travelex’s international payments. Apart from helping Travelex Bank to detect attempts to launder money or circumvent financial sanctions through its system, SONAR can also allow the company to roll out new products and services in compliance with regulations in Brazil.