Compliance & Governance

Ascendant’s comprehensive “Know Your Client” and “Due Diligence” programs together with state-of-the-art technology to monitor and detect illicit activities helps to protect Ascendant and our clients from being exploited by the criminal element and the subject of regulatory investigations.

Ascendant maintains financial services licenses to receive, hold and transmit client funds and conforms with all laws in the jurisdictions it operates in. These licenses can translate into peace of mind for all of our clients and partners because they ensure the safety and soundness of client funds.

Ascendant maintains surety bonds to protect client funds in the states Ascendant is licensed in

Ascendant maintains shareholders’ equity in an amount prescribed by the state

Ascendant holds client funds in a regulatory trust until the transaction is completed. Funds held, always remain the property of the client

Ascendant provides financial and transactional reports on an ongoing basis to state regulators

Ascendant maintains strong internal controls and risk management supported with policies, procedures, training and detection and reporting capabilities

Ascendant undergoes regulatory examinations by the state Department of Banks and Financial Institutions

Ascendant registers bi-annually with FinCEN and FinTRAC, government agencies that safeguard the financial system from illicit use and combats money laundering and promotes national security.

Ascendant complies with the Bank Secrecy Act, and U.S.A. PATRIOT Act, and the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act and its regulations in Canada, by having a sound compliance program to detect and prevent money laundering, terrorist financing and other illicit financial crimes such as fraud and theft.

Corporate Governance and Board of Directors

Having good corporate governance practices have contributed significantly to Ascendant’s success with our clients, partners (i.e. banks) stakeholders and regulatory bodies. Members of the Board of Directors are seasoned business leaders with diverse backgrounds, experience and education. In overseeing the activities of Ascendant, the Board formally meets on a quarterly basis. Members of the Board are:

Mr. Tony Ma

CHAIR

Mr. Ma is on the Board of Directors and Chairman for both AscendantFX Capital Inc and AscendantFX Capital USA Inc. Mr. Ma has comprehensive experience in the foreign exchange and payments industry. He is majority shareholder, President and CEO of Vancouver Bullion and Currency Exchange, a company that he incorporated in the Province of British Columbia in 1989. VBCE offers foreign exchange hedging products and facilitates payments for small and mid-sized businesses; its annual trades total $3-5 billion.

In addition to the above, Mr. Ma’s business interests include commercial real estate, fine dining restaurants and gold bullion trading. Mr. Ma studied electrical engineering for four years at Concordia University in Montreal, Quebec.

PRESIDENT

Jason brings more than 15 years’ experience in the financial services industry. Until his departure, Jason held the position of Vice President, Global Corporate Development at Custom House Ltd, which was acquired by Western Union in September 2009. Jason specializes in business development and led marketing, communications, product development, partnerships and mergers and acquisitions for Custom House globally. He initially developed sales and marketing strategies as well as operational management policies and processes for successful entry of Custom House in the US market and was instrumental in the on-boarding of sales and operational teams in international markets. In addition, Jason led the consumer payments call center and operational services that supported the on-line channel. His expertise with advanced technology and commitment to customer-driven products has allowed him to play an instrumental role in the development and global implementation of Custom House’s online foreign exchange services.

Jason’s financial services career includes positions at Thomas Cook where he rapidly advanced to become, in succession, North American Trading Manager, North American online Product Champion and Global Online Director. He was responsible for identifying, defining and overseeing overall product strategy and development for achieving sustained online business growth and product profitability.

As a key member of the global marketing team and the primary owner of Thomas Cook’s financial services web site and e-commerce channel strategy, Jason received the British Telecom innovation in E-Business Award, and the Hitachi innovation in E-Commerce in the Financial Sector Award.

VICE PRESIDENT

Bernard has over 25 years of experience in legal and regulatory compliance overseeing financial propriety. He is responsible for ensuring that the company and its employees meet and exceed the industry’s legal and compliance requirements in every jurisdiction of operation. Until his departure in December 2009 as SVP, Chief Compliance Officer at Custom House Ltd (Western Union Business Solutions) a high growth company that specialized in foreign exchange trading and commercial payments, Bernard directed a team of compliance professionals, business risk consultants and legal experts in the development and maintenance of processes and systems to manage business risk and for legal compliance globally. By overcoming barriers to entry, Bernard guided the company through stringent regulatory and financial services licensing requirements in the countries the company operated in. The compliance and risk programs contributed substantially to the success and growth of the company and its sale for $370m.

As VP, Director Forensic Investigations for Deloitte & Touche LLP, he built a successful forensic practice and developed and implemented an AML compliance service line for Canada. Retired from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in 1999, Bernard held a variety of positions from Operations leader of several international investigations of criminal organizations to unit Commander in Commercial Crime, directing major financial investigations of fraud, corruption, bribery, and enterprise crime. Bernard was instrumental in the implementation of the RCMP’s proceeds of crime program and consulted by Department of Justice in the development of new and revised laws.

Bernard has a BA in Political Science & Economics from University of Alberta, and an MBA from Royals Roads University

TREASURER

Before serving on the Ascendant board in 2011, Stephen was the President of Force10 Networks Greater China, a USA company based in San Jose, California. Prior to that, Stephen was Chief Operating Officer of Greater China Nortel. Stephen has led and managed business units with annual revenues exceeding $1billion and with more than 1000 employees. Furthermore, Stephen served on the board of directors for joint ventures between Nortel and Chinese enterprises. Stephen specializes in developing both North American and overseas markets in Asia and the Greater China region.

In addition to being a member of the Board of Directors, Stephen will act as an advisor to the President and CEO.

SECRETARY

Kevin has been operating in various capacities in the foreign exchange industry for over 15 years. He is currently the Vice President of Sales at Vancouver Bullion and Currency Exchange which competes as one of the top five currency dealers in Canada with respect to volume traded. Kevin has been instrumental in creating sound operational and credit policies without sacrificing growth resulting in a 400% increase in volume traded (5 billion USD currently traded annually).

Kevin has been able to launch sales and marketing campaigns to various new segments including launching a successful business to business offering. He has also been instrumental in selling a new online platform contributing to aggressive growth and customer retention.

Kevin has extensive board experience as he currently sits on the board at AscendantFX, Vancouver Bullion & Currency Exchange and the Canadian Liver Foundation.

Legal & Compliance

Ascendant is committed to complying with all laws with respect to the transactions we process and legal compliance and risk management are driven throughout the organization.

Why your money is safe with Ascendant:

Privacy and Security

Ascendant is committed to protecting your personal information. We will collect, use and disclose your personal information only as permitted under the law to provide you with the best possible service.

Canada Privacy notice

USA Privacy notice

California Privacy notice

EU US Privacy Shield

UK Privacy notice

Regulatory and Legal Disclosures

Ascendant is required to maintain financial service licenses to receive, hold and transmit client funds by state banking/financial institution regulators in the majority of states it does business in. In a select few states, Ascendant is exempt from licensing.

Complaint Resolution Policy

Ascendant is committed to fair, effective and efficient resolution of any complaints received from our clients.

Our dispute resolution procedure is designed to:

Corporate Governance and Board of Directors

Mr. Tony Ma

CHAIR

Mr. Jason Mugford

PRESIDENT

Mr. Bernard Beck

VICE PRESIDENT

Mr. Stephen Tsui

TREASURER

Mr. Kevin Ma

SECRETARY

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