NMTA_Bulletin_Vol_39

Industry News and Trends

Banks Dabble in International Money Transfers

September 04, 2006... By Gethan Ward... Gallatin News Examiner - Gallatin, TN, USA... "All banks … may be being conservative and rather do a front-end test to make sure what we're doing fits the Bank Secrecy Act guidelines," said Bob Byrd...

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B of A Ending Ties with Top Remitters (Paid subscription required) August 23, 2006... By David Breitkopf... American Banker

Bank of America Corp.'s decision to cut its ties with the top two remittance companies - Western Union Financial Services Inc. and MoneyGram International Inc. - shows the intensity of banks' concern over a long-simmering issue. Federal regulators have sent mixed signals, on the one hand urging banks to continue to work with remittance companies but also insisting they pose a high risk of money-laundering activity and require greater scrutiny.

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ICBA Fights Lowering of Wire Transfer Threshold

August 2006... BankNet 360 - New York, NY, USA... and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network yesterday, saying it opposes reducing or eliminating the threshold for recordkeeping on money wire transfers.

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Who Must Report Suspicious Transactions?

August 22, 2006... Vive Le Canada - Canada... Money services businesses include alternative money remittance systems, such as Hawala, Hundi, Chitti, etc. Money services businesses...

http://www.vivelecanada.ca/article.php/20060821232802907

Coleman, Kennedy Seek Hearing on Money Transfer Regulations August 25, 2006... By Frederic J. Frommer... Biloxi Sun Herald - MS, USA... Minnesota, Coleman and Kennedy wrote, "One way these immigrants have supported their friends and family back home is through cash remittances." The lawmakers...

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Check out the following link to Senator Coleman‟s and Congressman Kennedy‟s press release. –ed.

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Also see:

Minnesota Somalis Fear Loss of Money Transfer Businesses

August 22, 2006... By Gregg Aamot... Pioneer Press - St. Paul, MN,

USA... summer. Several major banks that have been providing

accounts for the businesses - known as hawalas - say they won't do

that anymore. ...

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ABA Asks Treasury Paulson to Block Wire Transfer Reporting Plan August 02, 2006... Easy Bourse (Communiqués de presse) - Paris, France By Damian Paletta. Washington -(Dow Jones)- A top bank industry trade group asked US Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Wednesday...

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ABA Calls For US Treasury to Scrap Wire Transfer Database

Plan

August 08, 2006... Finextra – UK... The American Bankers' Association (ABA) has called for the US government to block a massive data

collection project that would require banks in the country to...

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Opinion

Please note that any opinion expressed is not necessarily the opinion of the NMTA. –ed.

Five Ways to Transfer Money Abroad

August 22, 2006... By Neil Faulkner (TMFVertigo)... Motley Fool UK - UK Every idiot in the world but for us Brits seems to be able to do cheap money transfers. The world...

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Sending Money Home

July 21, 2006... By Adolfo Pesquera... San Antonio Express (subscription) - San Antonio, TX, USA... neighborhoods. Remittance companies like Barri have been growing for about five years along with Texas' immigrant communities. "Immigrants...

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Cost of Remittances Strains Immigrants

July 19, 2006... By Carolyn Said... Kitsap Sun (Subscription) - WA, United States... Unfortunately, even while lowering remittance costs has become a priority, tough new Patriot Act laws designed to stamp out money laundering have made it harder than ever for small players to provide remittance services...

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