Licenses and Regulations

Zenus Bank is licensed and regulated by the Office of the Commissioner of Financial Institutions (OCIF) in Puerto Rico, USA as an International Financial Entity pursuant to Act No. 273 of September 25, 2012, as amended (the “IFE Act”).

For more details please visit the OCIF website, using Zenus Bank’s license number #IFE-061, or company name: Zenus Bank International Inc.

The Office of the Commissioner of Financial Institutions of Puerto Rico is an office of the Department of Treasury of Puerto Rico that supervises and regulates Puerto Rico's financial sector to ensure its safety and soundness, as well as to oversee a strict adherence to all applicable local and federal laws and regulations such as Bank Secrecy Act, U.S. Patriot Act, and sanctions by the U.S. Treasury Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC), among others.

The OCIF as a regulatory body is similar in function to the State Banking Departments found in the 50 states. However, being Puerto Rico a commonwealth territory, its functions, and legal enforcement are broader. It is empowered to issue banking licenses under Puerto Rico law that are not under direct federal supervision, such as International Banking Entities and International Finance Entities. The OCIF follows examination guidance issued by the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC), a formal interagency body empowered to prescribe uniform principles for the examination of financial institutions in the U.S., including institutions regulated by the Federal Reserve Board of Governors and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC).

Zenus operates as a ‘full reserve bank’ this means, unlike other banks, we do not give your money out to other clients in the form of loans, overdrafts or credit. We see this as the safest form of banking and means the money you hold with us is in our bank, all of the time. Additionally, in the unlikely event that anything should happen to Zenus Bank we hold significant insurance policies to ensure we are always able to provide you access to all of your funds.

FinCEN

FinCEN is a bureau of the U.S. Department of the Treasury. FinCEN's mission is to safeguard the financial system from illicit use, combat money laundering, and promote national security by collecting, analyzing, and disseminating financial intelligence and strategic use of financial authorities.

FinCEN serves as the FIU for the United States and its territories and is one of more than 100 FIUs making up the Egmont Group, an international entity focused on information sharing and cooperation among FIUs. An FIU is a central, national agency responsible for receiving (and, as permitted, requesting), analyzing, and disseminating to the competent authorities' disclosures of financial information:

• concerning suspected proceeds of crime and potential financing of terrorism or required by national legislation or
• regulation to combat money laundering and terrorism financing.

As one of the world's leading FIUs, FinCEN exchanges financial information with FIU counterparts around the world in support of U.S. and foreign financial crime investigations.

The basic concept underlying FinCEN's core activities is "follow the money." The primary motive of criminals is financial gain, and they leave financial trails as they try to launder the proceeds of crimes or attempt to spend their ill-gotten profits. FinCEN partners with law enforcement at all levels of government and supports the nation's foreign policy and national security objectives. Law enforcement agencies successfully use similar techniques, including searching information collected by FinCEN from the financial industry, to investigate and hold accountable a broad range of criminals, including perpetrators of fraud, tax evaders, and narcotics traffickers. More recently, the techniques used to follow money trails also have been applied to investigating and disrupting terrorist groups, which often depend on financial and other support networks.

Under OCIF Account & Records requirements, Zenus Bank is required to segregate all retail client funds from our own funds. This means that we must take steps to ensure that the clients’ money is held in a separate account away from any accounts used to hold money belonging to the firm. The purpose of this separation is to prevent the use of client money by the firm for its own account at all times.

5.1. The best of processes

In line with obligations of our regulations we have detailed business policies and procedures to comply with applicable state and federal laws, the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA), and the USA Patriot Act. We file reports of monetary transactions or suspicious activity, as required by BSA and the USA Patriot Act, when necessary, and have in practice the rules and procedures necessary in the business to comply with the provisions of OFAC.

We also aim to comply with Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) (Dodd-Frank) rules.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control ("OFAC") of the US Department of the Treasury administers and enforces economic and trade sanctions based on US foreign policy and national security goals against targeted foreign countries and regimes, terrorists, international narcotics traffickers, those engaged in activities related to the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and other threats to the national security, foreign policy or economy of the United States.   

OFAC administers a number of U.S. economic sanctions and embargoes that target geographic regions and governments. Some programs are comprehensive in nature and block the government and include broad-based trade restrictions, while others target specific individuals and entities. It is important to note that in non-comprehensive programs, there may be broad prohibitions on dealings with countries, and also against specific named individuals and entities.  

Created in 2010, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau which has broad authority to administer, enforce, and implement federal consumer financial protection laws. Here at Zenus, we strive to comply with the followings:

5.2. Electronic Fund Transfer Act (Reg E)

The Electronic Fund Transfer Act establishes the basic rights, liabilities, and responsibilities of consumers who use electronic funds transfer and remittance transfer services of financial institutions that offer these services.

5.3. Gramm Leach Bliley Act (Reg P)

The privacy provisions of GLBA govern the treatment of nonpublic personal information about consumers and requires notice to consumers about what information financial institutions collect, how that information may be shared and with whom, and when and how consumers can restrict information sharing. In addition, a second part of the statute requires steps to safeguard customer information.