Jun 24, 2015, 2:51pm EDT Updated Jun 24, 2015, 7:00pm EDT
Miami-based FIBA took a step into the tech world Wednesday, unveiling its Institute for Financial Education: A Global Center of Excellence.
About 50 people attended the unveiling’s event at the FIBA (Florida International Bankers Association) offices in Brickell, including Barry Johnson, president and CEO of the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce and Larry Williams, president and CEO of the Beacon Council. Others checked in virtually via live streaming.
The international bankers association will use the 60-seat tele-education center to host webinars, training sessions, certifications and more around the globe, all from the comfort of its Miami offices.
Washington, D.C.-headquartered Casaplex installed the state-of-the-art live-streaming video and audio system at FIBA’s center over six-months. The system allows users to conference in to the center in real time, and participate in FIBA’s educational offerings, said Derek Goldstein, CEO and co-founder of Casaplex.
A contingent of FIBA-certified bankers in the Dominican Republic attended the live-stream event virtually, including FIBA’s lead instructor for anti-money laundering compliance certification, Ana Maria De Alba.
“With this new [live-stream] option, FIBA can have the same trainings in Miami reach all the places in the world,” De Alba said.
FIBA was founded to bring together and educate bankers domestically about international banking, and bankers in the Caribbean and South American countries about banking in the U.S.. But the association has blown past those borders and developed into a global organization with outreach and educational efforts in other parts of the world.
The institute’s inaugural session will be hosted Thursday, and that event sold out within hours to FIBA members, said David Schwartz, president and CEO of the organization.
“Our goal, our mission, is to bring financial education to the world,” Schwartz said.
The event was capped at 60 participants in the Miami office, who will learn about the Internal Revenue Service’s Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act. The training will also stream globally to select locations, and FIBA is already planning a second training on FATCA (Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act.)
“There is a lot of demand for training,” Schwartz said. “At the end of the day everyone wants to do business here. To do that you have to comply with the rules and regulations here. We can bring that training to them.”
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