Members of AFI’s Financial Integrity Working Group (FINTWG) met with experts from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and the World Bank to engage in discourse on the balance between financial inclusion and financial integrity.

First, the group discussed the fact that combating money laundering is not necessarily at odds with financial inclusion. In other words, effective anti-money laundering efforts should also focus on bringing unbanked populations into the formal financial system.

Additionally, there was dialogue related to FTF’s new guidance paper on risk among low-income populations, which is considered a potential means by which to assist member countries in developing appropriately structured regulations. Christian Carreon of Mexico’s Ministry of Finance was emphatic that this guidance paper is a huge first step.

Finally, Luis Urrutia Corral of FATF noted that “the unbanked, the underserved, should not be automatically considered low risk.” In essence, regulators need to develop robust systems that continually evaluate the potential risks posed by new products and the newly banked populations using them.