Alternative Remittance Systems and Terrorism Financing : Issues in Risk Management

Terrorism can endanger innocent human life and tear the very threads that hold society together, namely, trust and security. Governments have mobilized a variety of tools in response, ranging from the political to the economic. In attempting to prevent and detect terrorist financing and other forms of material support, those offering financial services have been required to heighten their vigilance of potential terrorist abuse of those services. While protecting financial services from potential abuse, care should be taken not to deny access to those services to those most in need. Dejection and social exclusion are very often conducive to terrorism; therefore, ensuring inclusion of the disenfranchised and creating possibilities for their advancement are key parts of the broader, long-term struggle against terrorism and extremism. The paper begins with a brief description of alternative remittance system (ARS) models and their prevalence. It then covers their potential relationship with terrorist financing, citing cases where ARS have been abused for terrorism financing (TF) purposes. Ways in which countries may control these risks and indications of their effectiveness are covered next. The final chapter provides recommendations on how best to mitigate the risks while ensuring legitimate access to financial services via ARS.

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Vaccani, Matteo
Format: Publication biblioteca
Language:English
Published: World Bank 2012-03-19T09:32:36Z
Subjects:ACCESS BARRIERS, ACCESS TO FINANCIAL SERVICES, ACCESSIBILITY, ACCOUNT BALANCE, ACCOUNT HOLDER, ACCOUNTING, ACROSS BORDERS, ADB, ADVERTISEMENT, ADVERTISEMENTS, AFFORDABILITY, AFFORDABLE COSTS, ALTERNATIVE REMITTANCE SYSTEM, ANNUAL REMITTANCES, ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING, ARBITRAGE, BACKBONE, BALANCE OF PAYMENTS, BANK ACCOUNT, BANK TRANSACTIONS, BANK TRANSFERS, BANKS, BEST PRACTICES, BLACK MARKET, BONDS, BORDER TRANSACTIONS, BORDER TRANSFERS, BUSINESS ACTIVITIES, BUSINESS RELATIONSHIP, BUSINESS VOLUME, BUSINESSES, CAPITAL FLIGHT, CASH DEPOSITS, CASH FLOW, CASH FLOWS, CASH WITHDRAWALS, CELL PHONE, CENTRAL BANK, CLAIMANT, COMMODITIES, COMMUNICATION SERVICES, COMPETITIVE MARKET, COMPETITIVE PRICES, COPYRIGHT, CORRUPTION, CREDIBILITY, CURRENCY EXCHANGE, CUSTOM, DEPOSIT, DEPOSITS, DIASPORA, DIRECT DEPOSIT, DISBURSEMENT, DISBURSEMENTS, DUE DILIGENCE, E-MAIL, ECONOMIC ACTIVITY, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, ECONOMIC SUPPORT, ETHNIC GROUPS, EXCHANGE CONTROLS, EXCHANGE RATE, FINANCES, FINANCIAL CHANNELS, FINANCIAL CRISES, FINANCIAL FLOWS, FINANCIAL INFRASTRUCTURE, FINANCIAL INFRASTRUCTURES, FINANCIAL INSTITUTION, FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS, FINANCIAL MARKET, FINANCIAL MARKETS, FINANCIAL MEANS, FINANCIAL RESOURCES, FINANCIAL SECTOR DEVELOPMENT, FINANCIAL SERVICE, FINANCIAL SERVICES, FINANCIAL SUPPORT, FINANCIAL SYSTEM, FINANCIAL SYSTEMS, FINANCIAL TRANSACTION, FINANCIAL TRANSACTIONS, FIXED COSTS, FOREIGN ASSETS, FOREIGN CURRENCY, FOREIGN EXCHANGE, FOREIGN EXCHANGE CONTROLS, FOREIGN EXCHANGE TRANSACTIONS, FOREIGN MARKETS, FORMAL FINANCIAL INFRASTRUCTURE, FORMAL FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS, FORMAL FINANCIAL SECTOR, FRAUD, FUNDS TRANSFER SYSTEMS, GPS, IMAGE, INCOME, INFORMAL CHANNELS, INFORMAL REMITTANCE, INFORMAL REMITTANCE SYSTEMS, INFORMATION SHARING, INNOVATION, INSPECTION, INSPECTIONS, INTERNATIONAL BANK, INTERNATIONAL BEST PRACTICES, INTERNATIONAL ECONOMICS, INTERNATIONAL POLICIES, INTERNATIONAL REMITTANCE, INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS, LARGE TRANSACTIONS, LAW ENFORCEMENT, LEGAL FRAMEWORK, LICENSE, LICENSES, LOCAL BANK, LOCAL BUSINESS, LOCAL ECONOMY, LOCAL GOVERNMENTS, LOCAL MARKET, LONG-TERM COSTS, LYON, MARKET FAILURES, MARKET PLAYERS, MARKETING, MATERIAL, MIGRANTS, MIGRATION, MOBILE PHONE, MONEY LAUNDERING, MONEY TRANSFER, MONEY TRANSFER OPERATORS, MONEY TRANSFER SERVICES, MONTHLY REMITTANCE, MULTINATIONAL, NATURAL RESOURCES, NET LOSSES, NETWORKS, NEW TECHNOLOGIES, NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS, OUTREACH, PAPER REQUIREMENTS, PAYMENT SYSTEMS, PEER PRESSURE, POOL OF FUND, POOL OF FUNDS, PROOF OF IDENTITY, QUERIES, RADIO, RECIPIENT COUNTRIES, REGULATORY ENVIRONMENT, REGULATORY FRAMEWORK, REGULATORY FRAMEWORKS, REGULATORY OVERSIGHT, REGULATORY PRACTICE, REGULATORY REQUIREMENTS, RELIABILITY, REMITTANCE, REMITTANCE CHANNELS, REMITTANCE COMPANIES, REMITTANCE CORRIDOR, REMITTANCE CORRIDORS, REMITTANCE FLOWS, REMITTANCE INFLOWS, REMITTANCE PROVIDERS, REMITTANCE RECIPIENTS, REMITTANCE SECTOR, REMITTANCE SENDING, REMITTANCE SENDING COUNTRIES, REMITTANCE SERVICE, REMITTANCE SERVICE PROVIDERS, REMITTANCE SERVICES, REMITTANCE SYSTEMS, REMITTANCE TRANSFER, REMITTANCE TRANSFERS, REMITTANCES, REMITTERS, RESULT, RESULTS, RISK ASSESSMENTS, RISK MANAGEMENT, RISK MITIGATION, RISK PROFILE, SEARCH, SELF-REGULATION, SERVICE PROVIDER, SERVICE PROVIDERS, SETTLEMENT, SETTLEMENT SYSTEMS, SOCIAL EXCLUSION, SUBSIDIARY, SUPERVISION, TARGETS, TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE, TECHNICAL RESOURCE, TELEPHONE, TERRORISM, TRANSACTION, TRANSACTION COSTS, TRANSACTION VOLUME, TRANSFER MECHANISMS, TRANSFER MONEY, TRANSFER OF GOODS, TRANSFER SERVICES, TRANSFER SYSTEM, TRANSMISSION, TRANSPARENCY, TREASURY, UNION, USER, USERS, USES, WIRE TRANSFERS, WITHDRAWAL,
Online Access:http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/main?menuPK=64187510&pagePK=64193027&piPK=64187937&theSitePK=523679&menuPK=64187510&searchMenuPK=64187283&siteName=WDS&entityID=000333038_20100105002008
http://hdl.handle.net/10986/2399
http://hdl.handle.net/10986/5916
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Summary:Terrorism can endanger innocent human life and tear the very threads that hold society together, namely, trust and security. Governments have mobilized a variety of tools in response, ranging from the political to the economic. In attempting to prevent and detect terrorist financing and other forms of material support, those offering financial services have been required to heighten their vigilance of potential terrorist abuse of those services. While protecting financial services from potential abuse, care should be taken not to deny access to those services to those most in need. Dejection and social exclusion are very often conducive to terrorism; therefore, ensuring inclusion of the disenfranchised and creating possibilities for their advancement are key parts of the broader, long-term struggle against terrorism and extremism. The paper begins with a brief description of alternative remittance system (ARS) models and their prevalence. It then covers their potential relationship with terrorist financing, citing cases where ARS have been abused for terrorism financing (TF) purposes. Ways in which countries may control these risks and indications of their effectiveness are covered next. The final chapter provides recommendations on how best to mitigate the risks while ensuring legitimate access to financial services via ARS.