Global Anti-Money Laundering Standards and Developing Economies: The Regulation of Mobile Money

This article discusses the confluence of international initiatives to counter money laundering and terrorist finance with migrant remittances and the growing use of mobile telephone technology for more than making a call. The experiences of Kenya and the Philippines with mobile telephone-based financial services are outlined as potential models consistent with the 'risk-based' approach now promoted by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), one objective being to encourage the implementation of regulation of m-money services by recognising the development and social-welfare opportunities offered by the technology in the context of a developing economy.