The German price comparison portal ‘www.GeldtransFAIR.de’, which obtained World Bank certification in 2014, is currently being redesigned to make it more user-friendly. The new website (including a mobile version) is to be launched in 2018.
Since the G20 Summit of 2015, France has adopted a National Plan on Remittances which seeks to: (i) facilitate remittances by reducing their costs; (ii) maximizing the value of remittances by orientating them towards sustainable and growth-generating projects; (iii) improve its knowledge of remittances fluxes to develop a better understanding of migrants’ needs. The improvement of migrants’ access to financial products and services was already one of the axes of a law adopted in 2014.
In its 2015-2017 National Remittance Plan, the Government of Canada focused on increasing transparency and consumer protection for Canadian remitters; to this end, Canada has undertaken a national survey to better understand remittances providers’ needs and has been discussing with financial institutions how to improve remittance market competitiveness.
The Banco Central do Brasil (BCB) constantly monitors the foreign exchange market and undertaking studies with the objective of fine-tuning regulation to simplify FX procedures, increase competitiveness and lower costs.
Since 2018, the Belgian government is working with a network of stakeholders (migrants and diaspora groups, civil society, the National Bank) to build a better knowledge and receive some transparency on remittances sent from Belgium to the countries of origin in order to take appropriate measures to reduce the costs of remittances.
The Central Bank of Argentina started a process in 2015 to ease foreign exchange (FX) market regulations, thereby exerting a direct and far-reaching effect on the operation of international transfers and leading to a more flexible and competitive context to send and receive remittances to and from abroad. The new regulation allows Money Transfer Operators (MTOs) access to the FX market for transfers abroad without limits on the amount transferred.
Australia’s National Remittance Plan (NRP) aims to enable women and men to send money in a safe and cost effective way from Australia to, and within, key countries in the Indo-Pacific region.
A review of Australia’s AML/CTF regime was finalised in 2016, containing 84 recommendations to streamline, simplify and strengthen the regime, including recommendations that will impact the remittance sector. The Australian Government will consult with industry on the proposals to ensure the regime provides clarity and certainty for reporting entities.
Sharaka was a joint project between the government of Morocco and the EU and implemented by IOM and several other civil society organisations.
The main function of the Employment and Labour Sector (ELS) within the SADC (Southern African Development Community) Secretariat is to facilitate and coordinate the development, harmonisation, and monitoring of the implementation of policies and programmes on employment and labour matters within the context of the Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan.
The specific Objectives of the Employment and Labour Sector Programme are to:
The ASEAN Forum on Migrant Labour (AFML) is a regional tripartite platform to discuss issues faced by women and men migrant workers from and within ASEAN.