AML/CFT Regulations: Balancing Security with Access

April, 2006     Jennifer Isern

Across the world, new measures are being introduced to combat money laundering and the financing of terrorism. Once the concern primarily of banks, governments have expanded regulations and requirements for compliance since the late 1990s. Now all financial service providers, including those working with low income communities, are or will be affected. As a result, the new international framework and national measures for anti-money laundering (AML) and combating the financing of terrorism (CFT) could have far-reaching effects. The introduction of new or tightened AML/CFT regulations may have the unintended consequence of reducing the access of low-income people to formal financial services.