AFI is organizing webinar on Cross Border Remittances in Times of COVID-19: Issues and Policy Solutions at 1:00 PM (UTC) / 9:00 PM (KL) on 11 August 2020.

The webinar is bringing together regulators and key stakeholders to discuss how to drive digital solutions to facilitate remittance flows, especially within the context of ongoing global pandemic. AFI is organizing the virtual event in collaboration with the UK’s Department for International

Development  (DFID),  given the alignment of thematic priorities among the two institutions and the excellent work that DFID is doing in this area. To enable this, the webinar will discuss the following aspects:

• Key policy solutions related to consumer protection, awareness, digital financial literacy, and AML/CFT etc especially among disadvantaged sections such as women, elderly, rural poor and the disabled.  
• Digital innovations to facilitate cross border interoperability to facilitate end to end movement of remittance funds. 
• Approaches to collaboration among regulators, private players and broader stakeholders to sustain remittance flows in a safe and convenient manner.

In May, the governments of UK and Switzerland launched a Call to Action in partnership with the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF), the World Bank Global Knowledge Partnership on Migration and Development (KNOMAD), the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the International Association of Money Transfer Networks (IAMTN) and the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC).

The Call to Action addresses the slump in remittances caused by the COVID-19 crisis. You can get more information about the Call to Action here. This webinar “Cross Border Remittances in Times of COVID-19: Issues and Policy Solutions” will include a presentation by DFID that highlights the Call to Action.

As COVID-19 crisis continues to spread around the world, so do its negative economic consequences that disproportionately impact the most vulnerable groups of the population, including those that heavily depend on cross-border remittances. World Bank forecasts that the crisis will cause global remittance flows to decline by around 20% to $445 billion in 2020, compared to $554 billion in 2019, making this the sharpest decline in recent history. This shift can have serious economic and social implications for countries that depend heavily on remittance inflows for macroeconomic stability and well-being and incomes of households.

Given that these cross-border flows tend to originate in developed countries, it would be useful to look at the impact of COVID-19 on cross-border remittances and potential policy solutions from both the sending and receiving ends.  

Please confirm your participation by Friday, 7th August 2020.
Should you have any questions regarding this webinar or how to participate, please contact afievents@afi-global.org.

We look forward to welcoming you in our upcoming webinar.

This event has been partially funded with UK aid from the UK government.