Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1466490
6 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 1 MAY 2022 NEWS KARL AZZOPARDI INVESTIGATIONS into a sus- pected attack on a dog by a pu- ma and black panther are still ongoing by authorities. In January, two big cats – a pu- ma and a black panther – were found living in a home in Għajn- sielem, after a dog was attacked. Sources close to the investiga- tion had told MaltaToday the animals' owners did not have the relevant permits and docu- mentation to keep them in cap- tivity. Due to the lack of permits, the animals were confiscated but are being kept at the same residence because the Animal Welfare Department does not have the space or facilities to care for them. Police assisting the animal wel- fare department in their investi- gations, confirmed inquiries are still ongoing. "It's not prudent to divulge further information at this stage," a spokesperson said. An Animal Rights Ministry spokesperson confirmed inves- tigations by the animal welfare department are also ongoing. "The Veterinary Regulations Di- rectorate (VRD) carried out an investigation and is collaborat- ing with the Police," she said. The VRD said there were no animal welfare concerns regard- ing the premises in which these animals are kept, "nor any con- cerns regarding the treatment of these [big] cats." "However, the animals are confiscated on site, with regular checks being carried out," she said. The keeping of exotic animals in Malta was thrown under the spotlight in November 2020, af- ter government published new regulations on the sector. For- mer animal rights minister An- ton Refalo had said an impact assessment for the proposed le- gal changes was finalised in Feb- ruary 2021, but the report is yet to be published. The department responsible for zoo regulation hired AIS Environment Ltd to conduct a social, environmental and eco- nomic impact assessment of the proposed zoo legislation. The study cost €8,673. Once the ministry evaluates the assessment in total, a legal notice will be published to over- haul the 2003 Keeping of Wild Animals in Zoos law. Moneybase is Malta's first home-grown banking disruptor Digital banks are considered disruptors in the traditional banking system and now Malta has its own home-grown neobank – Moneybase. Kurt Sansone sits down with Alan Cuschieri, co-CEO at Calamatta Cuschieri ALAN Cuschieri taps his fin- gers on the table, looks at me and asks: "So, where do I start?" He is the prime mover be- hind Malta's first home-grown neobank, Moneybase, which started off as an idea back in 2015. Moneybase is a subsidiary of the CC Finance Group, or as most market investors would know it - Calamatta Cuschieri, a financial services firm with deep roots. The online bank provides a seamless digital experience through an app that can be downloaded on Android and Apple smartphones. Money- base allows users to transfer funds to their phone contacts or third parties, top up and receive funds or even have their salary credited to their account. Registering is done electron- ically and account holders will also receive a physical card for withdrawals from ATMs. The app also offers the possibility of virtual cards. "I started thinking of devel- oping a banking platform in 2015. As a company, we al- ready had CC Trader, which is our bespoke online investor platform that had been oper- ating since 2011 and it only seemed natural to develop an online bank to create a better ecosystem for clients," Cus- chieri tells me from behind the boardroom table inside the company's headquarters along the Birkirkara bypass. Three years after those first thoughts, Moneybase received a financial institution licence from the Malta Financial Ser- vices Authority. The regulato- ry process took a year to com- plete. "We set out to develop a core banking system and eventually hooked up to Mastercard and various other correspondents in a development process that came at an investment of €10 million," Cuschieri says. The company's aim was to develop a fully digitalised fi- nance platform that made it easy for clients to use. Cus- chieri explains that part of the on-boarding process is done through a face verifica- tion system whereby a selfie is matched to a photo of the in- dividual's ID card or passport. "Within minutes, an indi- vidual will have an account and be able to start using it to make bank transfers for goods and services, or send money to friends and family. We went to great lengths to ensure the user experience is fully auto- mated, which is why it took us time to develop," he says. The app and all the digital infrastructure behind it was developed in-house, giving the company flexibility to develop Authorities still investigating puma and black panther attack on dog in Gozo