Sumsub Partners with MarCoPay to Combat AI-Enabled Fraud for Filipino Seafarers

Sumsub has partnered with MarCoPay to enhance fraud prevention and regulatory compliance for the Philippines' maritime workforce. By integrating real-time verification and transaction monitoring, the collaboration addresses the stringent requirements of the Anti-Financial Account Scamming Act (AFASA) while tackling a significant rise in AI-driven deepfake attacks targeting the region's globally mobile seafarers.

What was announced

MarCoPay is integrating Sumsub’s verification and compliance suite to secure its electronic platform, which serves Filipino seafarers and their families. The partnership focuses on aligning MarCoPay’s operations with the Philippines’ Anti-Financial Account Scamming Act (AFASA). These regulations, which took effect in June 2026, require financial institutions to implement enhanced real-time monitoring and robust fund-recovery controls. To meet these standards, MarCoPay is deploying Sumsub’s document-based identity verification, which supports over 14,000 types of identity documents from more than 220 countries and territories. This global reach is essential for a workforce that frequently crosses international borders.

The implementation includes proprietary Liveness Detection technology that creates a 3D FaceMap of users. This system authenticates genuine users in seconds while defending against deepfakes and AI-enabled impersonation by referencing the FaceMap for future logins and transactions. Furthermore, MarCoPay will utilize AML Screening to manage sanctions, politically exposed person (PEP) lists, and adverse media checks through a single workflow drawing on 50,000 data sources. The collaboration also introduces Sumsub’s AFASA Fraud Management Bundle. This specific toolset enables rule-based fraud detection and dynamic risk scoring, allowing MarCoPay to identify suspicious transactions and facilitate the fund-recovery processes mandated by Philippine law. These measures arrive as deepfake attacks in the Philippines increased 61% year-on-year in 2025, according to Sumsub’s own research.

The companies involved

MarCoPay operates as a specialized electronic platform based in the Philippines, specifically designed to provide seafarers and their families with a secure digital ecosystem for managing and transferring funds. The company focuses on speed and reliability for a globally mobile workforce, positioning itself as a critical financial link for the world’s leading supplier of maritime labor. By combining accessible payment services with rigorous fraud prevention controls, MarCoPay aims to maintain financial security in a high-risk digital environment. Sumsub is a global verification provider that offers a unified platform for identity verification, fraud prevention, and compliance. The company’s infrastructure is designed to handle the entire customer lifecycle, from initial onboarding to ongoing transaction monitoring. Sumsub has established a significant presence in the fintech sector, providing tools that allow businesses to scale internationally while adhering to localized regulatory frameworks. Its technology stack is particularly focused on combatting emerging threats such as AI-generated fraud and deepfakes, utilizing proprietary biometric data and extensive global databases to verify users across hundreds of jurisdictions.

What FF News has reported before

FF News has extensively tracked Sumsub’s expansion and technological developments. Recently, the company launched a Sumsub Launches KYA Module to Prevent Unauthorized AI Agent Actions, addressing the risks associated with autonomous digital entities. The firm also recently Sumsub Integrates IPinfo Intelligence to Strengthen Fraud Prevention and Regulatory Compliance to bolster its fraud prevention capabilities. In the digital asset space, Sumsub joined the Sumsub Joins Fireblocks-Led OTL Initiative to Standardize On-Chain Identity and Compliance to help establish open standards. Additionally, FF News covered a report highlighting how European Banks Failing to Stop Fraud at Instant Payment Speeds, Sumsub Report Finds, a finding that underscores the global pressure on financial institutions to improve real-time monitoring.

What this means

The implementation of AFASA in the Philippines sets a high regulatory bar that other Southeast Asian nations may soon follow. By mandating real-time monitoring and specific fund-recovery protocols, the legislation puts significant pressure on niche fintechs to adopt enterprise-grade security or risk heavy penalties. The 61% surge in local deepfake attacks indicates that traditional document verification is no longer sufficient; the industry is now in an arms race against AI-enabled fraud. This partnership suggests that for specialized platforms like MarCoPay, the "build vs. buy" debate for compliance infrastructure is over—outsourcing to global specialists is becoming the only viable way to maintain pace with both sophisticated criminals and aggressive regulators.