WASHINGTON, Jan 15 (Reuters) -

Block Inc ( SQ ) has agreed to pay a fine of $80 million to

a group of 48 state financial regulators after the agencies

determined the company had insufficient policies for policing

money laundering through its mobile payment service, Cash App.

The multi-statement settlement would also see the fintech

firm bring in an independent consultant to review its Bank

Secrecy Act and anti-money laundering program, and report back

to the states on any deficiencies. The company has also agreed

to take corrective actions internally, according to the

Conference of State Bank Supervisors, which announced the

settlement.

In a statement, a Block spokesperson said the issues were

principally related to Cash App's prior compliance program, and

the company has significantly increased investment in compliance

and risk management.

"We share our regulators' commitment to addressing

industry challenges and will continue to invest across our

operations to help promote a safe and healthy fintech

ecosystem," the spokesperson said.

Block's mobile payment platform, Cash App, had 56 million

monthly users as of December 2023, according to recent public

filings. The app saw over $248 billion in inflows in 2023.

The state regulators did not offer specifics about the

shortcomings, but simply said they had identified issues with

the company's compliance program.

(Reporting by Pete Schroeder;)