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Serbia has become one of the largest remittance-recipient countries in the world. It is estimated that in 2004 Serbia received US2.4 billion dollars in remittances from Serbian workers in Germany, the United States, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, and other countries. This amount represented 12 percent of Serbia’s GDP. This report provides an overview of remittance flows from Germany to Serbia and analyzes why a large part of remittance transfers take place outside financial institutions. The study presents a series of recommendations on needed policy changes to facilitate the transfer of remittance flows from the informal channels to licensed or registered financial institutions, thereby maximizing the developmental impact of remittances, reducing remittances fees, improving data collection practices, and strengthening the regulation and supervision of themoney transfer industry.

Remittance inflows play a crucial role in Nepal's economy. Officially recorded remittances already amounted to almost a quarter of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2009. The 2008-09 global economic crises resulted in slower growth of remittance inflows in Nepal, leading directly to lower disposable income. This is a telling reminder of the importance of promoting a supportive environment for remittances. Nepali migration continues to increase as workers seek greater economic opportunities abroad. In this quest, Qatar is one of the important migration destinations for Nepali migrant workers. This report analyzes the migration and remittance transfer processes in the Qatar-Nepal Corridor in order to provide policy recommendations that would help improve the scale and impact of remittance transfers from Qatar to Nepal, and enhance the efficiency and integrity of migration and remittances in the corridor. The report identifies challenges in the migration process from Nepal to Qatar (related to high migration costs and their financing) and constraints in the remittance transfer process from Qatar to Nepal, which together limit the development and poverty reduction impact of remittance flows to Nepali households. As this report highlights, the Qatar-Nepal remittance corridor has several distinctive features. First, the majority of remittance flows from Qatar to Nepal are being transferred through officially regulated remittance channels. One of the reasons for this is actually the second feature of this corridor, namely, the officially managed migration process from Nepal to Qatar (as a result of which the majority of migrants are documented workers). The third feature is the contrast between the high competition and low prices of remittance services in this corridor on the one hand, and the contradictory rules and high costs incurred during the migration process on the other hand. Finally, as a by-product of the complex migration process which involves multiple players, financial transfers through informal mechanisms take place from Nepal to Qatar in order to pay the commissions of manpower agencies and middlemen.

Several economies in the Caribbean region, especially from the lower income group, are highly dependent on remittances. Between 1991 and 2006, the combined flows of total remittances reaching the Caribbean have seen almost a 17% average annual growth rate, surpassing USD 6billion in 2005 and overtaking ODA and FDI into the region. In addition, remittances represent more than 20% of the domestic gross domestic product (GDP) in some Caribbean countries and have played a significant role in lessening both balance of payment deficits and the impact of natural disasters to which the region is particularly vulnerable. Given the importance of such remittance flows, this study undertakes an analysis of the various dynamics underlying the Canada-Caribbean remittance corridor, including Caribbean migration issues, remittance market landscapes and regulatory frameworks. This study is intended to assist Canadian and Caribbean national authorities in their mandate of providing incentives for the continued growth and competitiveness of their remittance industries, while protecting remittance markets from being abused by criminals.

This report on the U.S.- Honduras remittance corridor describes the remittance regulatory and market environment, financial inclusion strategies by financial institutions, transnational economic activities, and the impacts of remittances on the Honduran economy. Six areas provide the focus of this report: (i) regulatory reforms for the remittance market are urgent in order to improve clarity in regulations as well as to include money transfer companies in the regulatory framework; (ii) money service businesses will benefit from an examination of state regulation and their subsequent harmonization and coordination; (iii) rural areas need to improve distributive infrastructure to better reap the benefits of the remittance flows; (iv) financial education and awareness for Honduran migrant communities are critical components with the overall remittance flow equation; (v) the regulatory environment of remittance flows would be greatly enhanced through the promotion, inclusion, and expansion of proper identification; and (vi) public policies can be directed to building an environment for diaspora investments in the community and local business developments for exports to Honduran communities abroad.

Purpose This paper aims to present a real case of inter-company fraud where the Group’s Bank lent money to a Group company and was never repaid. The company generates its own cash, but instead of repaying its debt to the Bank, it funds other Group companies. Considering the Bank as being a public depository institution and its illiquid situation, the case presents a fraud within the Group. In this regard, the paper is considered to be an exemplary case for the accounting literature. Design/methodology/approach The paper analyses one of the Group Company’s audit reports for the years 2003 and 2004 and explains the type of frauds committed by the Company’s management. The study approximates the total US dollar figures that were inappropriately transferred to the other Group’s companies in 2003. Findings The study examines the real case and discusses the reasons that led to the Group’s bankruptcy. Lack of governmental controls may lead to bankruptcy of banks that have been abused by its owners by transferring loans to other group companies exceeding the legal limits observable by the banks. Practical implications Auditors, accountants and accounting lecturers, as well as professors, talk about fraudulent accounting practices. The study explains a specific accounting fraud case in a group of companies. It explores the type of inter-company money transfers without a valid base. The author is of the opinion that readers with an accounting background will benefit from reading the case. Social implications Economics is the study of allocation of scarce resources to the best use. Public’s savings must be directed to the companies that produce the value added to the society. On the other hand fraudulent money transfers within the group companies involving bank(s) may distort this allocation. Public money-deposits might be wasted by dishonest business owners. The study is aimed to disseminate this information to public in general. Originality/value The case study has been built on a real audit report from Turkey. The names and the locations of the companies have been changed, and the figures have been approximated in US dollar terms. The events and findings on the audit reports have not been changed, and each fraudulent event has been individually discussed.

This study reports on recent development and future potential for U.S.-based Guatemalan workers cross-border retail transfers to be more formal, cheaper, and disposed to the cross-sale of financial products and services. It also presents the key features of remittances senders, recipients, instruments, and intermediaries involved. The paper focuses on three areas: (a) the main characteristics of the Guatemalan migrants in the United States and the key drivers behind their decision to remit money and to choose an intermediary; (b) financial infrastructure supporting U.S.-Guatemala remittances processing, especially the role of technology, payment systems and innovations going forward, as avenues to help lower transaction costs, among others; and (c) the landscape of workers remittances distribution in Guatemala, examines the characteristics of recipients and the evidence of remittances impact, and analyzes the indications of potential for cross-sale of financial services to recipients.

Purpose – This study makes an integrated approach in identifying the factors affecting usage intention of mobile-based payment services. Such services are being marketed aggressively by cellular service providers and are different from usual mobile-based banking. The study incorporates prominent factors like the technical characteristics, technology-specific characteristics, user-specific characteristics, and task-specific characteristics and others from published literature. The purpose of this paper is to highlight those factors which have significant impact on the adoption of such service so that the adoption rate can be increased. Design/methodology/approach – A nationwide primary survey was conducted using validated questionnaire requesting response for the factors obtained from published literature. In total, 196 respondents participated in the survey. Totally, 11 hypotheses were formulated and statistically tested for their significance in context to the study. Confirmatory study was on the significant factors and a model has been proposed. Findings – The study finds that factors like perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, system quality, connectivity, discomfort, task-technology fit and structural assurance have significant impact on the usage intention of mobile money services whereas factors such as perceived monetary value, absorptive capacity and personal innovativeness have been found to be insignificant. Originality/value – There have been no studies conducted which reported mobile-based transfer payment adoption issues where-in the transfer mechanism is independent of formal banking. The findings would be beneficial for service providers of mobile-based payment services to understand their subscribers and roll out value added services.

Terrorism can endanger innocent human life and tear the very threads that hold society together, namely, trust and security. Governments have mobilized a variety of tools in response, ranging from the political to the economic. In attempting to prevent and detect terrorist financing and other forms of material support, those offering financial services have been required to heighten their vigilance of potential terrorist abuse of those services. While protecting financial services from potential abuse, care should be taken not to deny access to those services to those most in need. Dejection and social exclusion are very often conducive to terrorism; therefore, ensuring inclusion of the disenfranchised and creating possibilities for their advancement are key parts of the broader, long-term struggle against terrorism and extremism. The paper begins with a brief description of alternative remittance system (ARS) models and their prevalence. It then covers their potential relationship with terrorist financing, citing cases where ARS have been abused for terrorism financing (TF) purposes. Ways in which countries may control these risks and indications of their effectiveness are covered next. The final chapter provides recommendations on how best to mitigate the risks while ensuring legitimate access to financial services via ARS.

Should developing countries give all of their citizens enough money to live on? Interest in this idea has grown enormously in recent years, reflecting both positive results from a number of existing cash transfer programs and dissatisfaction with the perceived limitations of piecemeal, targeted approaches to reducing extreme poverty. We discuss what we know (and what we do not) about three questions: what recipients would likely do with the incremental income, whether this would unlock further economic growth, and whether giving the money to everyone (as opposed to targeting it) would be wise.