Increasingly, money services business provides and support tourism, business travel and cross-border trade activities in a more globalised world economy. According to a World Bank report, it is estimated that nearly 1 out of 7 persons is a migrant, reflecting the large and diverse diaspora community in the world today. Worker remittances to developing countries were in excess of USD400 billion last year and represent a key source of external resource flows. These flows support economic growth in developing countries, far exceeding official development assistance. More than USD 1 trillion was spent on global business travel expenditure in 2013 and more than 1 billion in international tourist arrivals are recorded each year. In 2013, business activities supported world trade volume of over USD 23 trillion. All of these developments have created new and greater demand for remittance, currency exchange and other financial services that can be offered by money services businesses. The industry itself has also become more diverse. Advancements in technology have enabled new business models, offering new product and service, innovations and forming of new alliances. These enhancements have the potential to further lower cost and increase convenience to consumers. Global money services companies exist alongside niche and smaller companies that focus on serving local communities. This has fostered competition and helped to fill market gaps. Today, money services are provided through a network of branches and agents of money services entities, retail outlets, post offices, banks and mobile channels. Operational standards are also diverse across entities.

First, MSB has an important role in supporting an inclusive financial system and facilitating economic transactions that add to growth and prosperity. However, this role has not been fully exploited. For example, there are still significant number of businesses and migrant workers who still prefer informal remittance channels as their choice. It is timely for MSB providers to reassess their products and services in terms of cost, speed, convenience and trusts so that we can draw this group of users away from the informal channels. I believe innovation is key to achieve this and it has to be facilitated by a regulatory framework that is facilitative. Second, global and national efforts to address risks associated with the financial proceeds from criminal activity have turned the spotlight on the MSB industry. The industry’s long term prospects and its contribution to socio-economic development could be undermined if these risks are not properly understood and sensibly managed. The industry may choose to ignore such risks; regulators are inclined to exaggerate them; customers complain about the inconveniences caused by risks mitigants; and criminals exploit them. The regulatory community and the industry present here today have a responsibility to bridge these gaps in a way that protects the industry from abuse for criminal purposes and the integrity of the financial system and undermine the legitimate expectations by users of financial services. There are 3 areas which we should focus collectively and try to find suitable solutions.