International guidance for money transmitters and their supervisors

In many countries, remittances received from abroad are essential to the recipients’ welfare. But money transmission can be a high-risk business, and even though money transmitters around the world are required to comply with a detailed framework of anti-money laundering (AML) laws and regulations, they still can be misused by criminals.

However, the nature of the nonbank money transmission business does pose more risks to  a country’s financial system than perhaps use of a more traditional bank account. Concerned about their own potential liability should a money transmitter have regulatory problems, banks have been dropping money transmitters that have been clients for years and/or not establishing accounts for new ones. The money transmitter needs a bank account to operate, and if their access to the banking system is cut off, they are out of business and the people that may suffer in that instance include family members in other countries who need that money for their very survival.

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