• Cross-border retail payments are increasingly important as an enabler for global economic growth, yet are relatively unrepresented. The G-20 Initiative is committed to promoting best practice including a reduction in fees to send money home. • Unintended consequences of recent regulation are inhibiting payments service providers from serving this market. • Transaction banking at the forefront of change – no better time to organise and campaign for improvement at industry level. • Technology racing ahead of regulators – need to create better connectivity between the two. • Non-bank money transfer providers are on the increase. Money transfers services an increasingly wider range of purposes: • Remittances – sending money home • Person to Person transactions • Business to Business transactions • Development of aid, inward investment and in the round, international development Where services fail to provide, the market place shifts to the vast informal sector Why MTI? Representative bodies in country tend to be local if they exist at all. No body has existed until now to handle the international cross-border transfers - a rapidly growing industry. Money Transfer International’s role is, on behalf of the payments industry; • To highlight the unintended consequences • Help regulators to optimise relations • Encourage innovation • Sustain industry core values MTI is international Inclusive – on all sides of the payments sector MTI’s role
Consequently there is a clear role for a trade body whose focus centres on international funds movement and trade. MTI task is: • To assist Regulators with encouraging non-regulated cross border transfers to move to electronic and therefore transparent methods • To help find the balance to exclude illegal transfers such as funding of terrorism or international financial crime – at the same time safeguarding the legitimate transaction • To bring new sources of services to the market, hence assist suppliers of payments services to reach their target markets • To articulate best practice ie. Cost, speed, transparency, governance • To show case technology where it can enable the above aims. MTI’s Steering Committee is lead by Paul Smee, Director of UK Payments Council. Christian Udechekwu, Director MTI West Africa, and Stuart McKinnon, formerly Director of the Irish Payments Council are also members. They are supported by MTI Board Members, Neil Burton, Earthport, plc, Mark Smith, Travelex plc, Pieter Heyn, Oracle, Martin Wilson, former CCO Vocalink and CEO Lady Olga Maitland
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