National

The UK Government introduced Payment services legislation in 2017 to implement the second European Payment Services Directive (PSD2). The Legislation will come into force in the UK in January 2018. Under this legislation credit institutions will be required to provide payment service providers (PSPs) with access to payment accounts on a proportionate, objective and non-discriminatory basis, and report instances where access has been denied to the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). 

The government of Turkey is working to improve the platform that is set on the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency’s (BRSA) web site and that discloses all fees charged by banks for the services they provide. 



The BRSA started to license payment institutions in July 2015 and will continue to progress this work. 



To improve sector competition, the Law allows payment institutions and electronic money institutions to conduct money remittance services through a more extensive service or agent network compared to banks. 

The Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (“SAMA”) initiated the “Remittance Centers Project” at the end of 2016. The Project’s objective is to review the remittances environment and identify areas of improvement, with a particular focus on the centers’ working hours, pricing and service quality, as well as the technology utilization and electronic channels. The project will be completed by the end of 2017. 

The National Financial Literacy Strategy initiated by the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation was approved by the Russian Government in September, 2017. This Strategy includes special financial consumer protection measures and financial education activities for migrants and their families. The implementation will start in 2018. 

The Republic of Korea has built infrastructure that directly links national remittance service providers with those in receiving countries to provide real-time remittance services at affordable costs, through the removal of intermediary services such as SWIFT and the establishment of bilateral partnerships between clearing and settlement institutions (e.g. the Korea Financial Telecommunications and clearing institutions). 

The Philippine Development Plan (2011–2016) explicitly noted the need to promote financial inclusion and facilitate remittances domestically and from abroad. 

In its national development plan 2013-2018 the Mexican government established as the fifth national goal (Mexico with Global Responsibility) to implement strategies and actions for social integration and financial education for Mexican nationals living abroad. This is the mandate of the Institute for Mexicans Abroad (IME).

The Government of Lebanon holds annual conferences for diaspora focused on investment opportunities and incentives in the country.

At the same time, the government of Lebanon holds conferences abroad targeting the Lebanese diaspora on various topics, to provide and talk about investment opportunities in Lebanon. The most recent one was held in France and focused on Energy.

The Government of Japan has put in place the Payment Services Act to encourage customers to use new service providers with low commission fees.

Italian authorities have been working on further enhancing the supply of basic banking products for migrants. Since 2011, the National Observatory for the Financial Inclusion of Migrants provides ongoing structured analyses and monitors migrants’ financial inclusion. 



The recently established National Committee for planning and coordination of financial education activities, will contribute to the design and promotion of initiatives aiming to enhance