Alternative Remittance Systems and Terrorism Financing

Governments, through their regulatory bodies, typically regulate formal financial sector players such as banks, which can leave providers working in informal remittance systems outside regulatory channels. Value transfer services--financial transfers performed domestically or across borders on behalf of clients--are essential to the financial system, and as such, are often offered by both formal and informal actors. Law enforcement and counter-terrorism authorities are evaluating money and value transmission channels for vulnerabilities that may make these channels attractive for illicit use, including the financing of terrorism. Alternative Remittance Systems and Terrorism Financing: Issues in Risk Management aims to help countries bring these informal alternative remittance systems into their counter-terrorism programs, without hindering the ability of those who depend on these systems to send and receive money at low cost.