Objective

This regional forum aims at sharing knowledge and generating policy dialogue among relevant remittance stakeholders to enhance the efficiency and integrity of the migration and remittance transfer process, through effective regulatory and supervisory systems in the Caribbean region. It allows multiple countries to share their experiences, identify common challenges, learn from each others’ experiences and discuss potential solutions to these challenges. The forum will also provide opportunities for networking.

Audience

Target audience of this forum is: a) national authorities including regulators and supervisors of Remittance Service Providers (RSPs) and staff of Financial Intelligence Units (FIUs) in the Caribbean region, Canada and other interested countries; and b) representatives of RSPs, remittance market analysts and regulatory experts from both within and outside the Caribbean region.

Context

The past discussions on remittances and migration in the Caribbean focused largely on issues related to the Caribbean Diaspora, such as the brain-drain syndrome, the macroeconomic impact of remittances, the use of remittances for investment purposes, overall remittance patterns and trends, and remittance data collection and monitoring issues.

In recent years, however, the regulatory framework for RSPs has been introduced or substantially enhanced in many countries, triggered by the need to address money laundering and terrorist financing concerns. This forum focuses the discussion on regulatory practices within and outside the Caribbean region with a view to share best practices and lessons learned.

The global economic slowdown and its negative impact on remittance flows has prompted a renewed interest on how best to maximize the financial access implications of existing remittance flows, while still mitigating integrity risks arising from money laundering/terrorist financing. This forum will provide a venue to discuss potential best practices relevant to a country’s regulatory and supervisory framework.

Organizers

This Forum was organized by the World Bank (Financial Market Integrity Unit of the Finance and Private Sector Vice-Presidency and the Jamaica County Unit of the Latin America and Caribbean Vice Presidency) and the Government of Canada (Canadian International Development Agency) in association with the University of West Indies, Mona.