BCRA launches risk profiles to flag accounts linked to fraud and illegal gambling

The Central Bank of the Argentine Republic (BCRA) has rolled out a risk-profile system to strengthen controls on digital transfers and help identify accounts tied to fraudulent schemes and illegal gambling. For banks and PSPs, the point is simple: the central bank is adding another layer to transaction monitoring, onboarding, and KYC checks.

1. The tool will be built using public information and will be made available free of charge to banks and payment account providers. The BCRA says the system is part of its broader effort against fraud in electronic payments.
2. The central bank will provide information to immediate transfer administrators, who must use it to build a risk profile for each person. Those administrators will then distribute the indicator free of charge to financial institutions and payment service providers that offer payment accounts (PSPCP).
3. Banks and digital wallets will be able to use these profiles in three places: transfer monitoring, new customer registration, and the periodic reviews required under Know Your Customer (KYC) rules. In other words, the file does not replace existing controls; it feeds them.
4. The BCRA said the rollout will be gradual, but it did not specify stages, additional deadlines, or which public data will be included in the risk profiles. The disclosure also says the system is meant to add a “systemic view” to existing analytics models used to detect suspicious activity.
5. One explicit goal is earlier detection of accounts that could be used to move funds to other accounts connected to illegal gambling. The system will look for “unusual transactional patterns,” and the BCRA says the information will be handled with a “confidential and responsible” treatment.

For high-risk operators and their PSPs, the important part is not the branding around the tool; it is the operational impact. Argentina is now pushing more centralized data into fraud screening, which means onboarding and payment flows may face an extra layer of review when patterns look off.