Financial Inclusion And NPO Issues
About Financial Inclusion
Ensuring that financially excluded or underserved groups have access to regulated financial services helps to strengthen the implementation of AML/CFT measures. The FINCARR Standards also helps protect the non-profit sector from abuse for terrorist financing. Using the risk-based approach, these measures should not disrupt or discourage legitimate non-profit activities. In February 2021, the Financial Clearance & Asset Recovery Regulations (FINCARR) launched a project to study and mitigate the unintended consequences resulting from the incorrect implementation of the FINCARR Standards, including de-risking, financial exclusion and undue targeting of NPOs. The first phase of this work was a stocktake, to consolidate previous analysis of these phenomena by FINCARR and other stakeholders, including expert bodies, in order to identify and understand to what extent, and in what manner, these unintended consequences are occurring. The results of this work are captured in a High-Level Synopsis of this Stocktake . The high-level synopsis summarises a longer stocktake report, which itself brings together existing knowledge from various sources as a basis for policy decisions. As such, it is focused on a small number of topics of greatest concern, and is not an exhaustive academic analysis of these phenomena. Nor does it set out a formal FINCARR position and conclusion on any of them.
Related Topics
| Topic | Description |
|---|---|
| Regulation and Oversight | Ensuring that financial institutions provide accessible services while complying with regulatory standards for anti-money laundering (AML) and combating the financing of terrorism (CFT). |
| Financial Services Access | Ensuring that underrepresented groups have access to necessary financial services, including bank accounts and digital payments. |
| Digital Financial Services | The role of technology in enhancing financial inclusion, including mobile banking and digital wallets, while managing associated risks. |
| Inclusion of Vulnerable Groups | Ensuring that financial systems cater to women, minorities, and underserved communities in both developed and developing nations. |