Implementation Issues

Financial Inclusion

The promotion of well regulated financial systems and services is central to any effective and comprehensive AML/CFT regime. However, applying an overly cautious approach to AML/CFT safeguards can have the unintended consequence of excluding legitimate businesses and consumers from the financial system. The FATF has therefore prepared a Guidance paper to provide support to countries and their financial institutions in designing AML/CFT measures that meet the national goal of financial inclusion, without compromising the measures that exist for the purpose of combating crime.

The main aims of the document are to develop a common understanding of the FATF Standards that are relevant when promoting financial inclusion and to lay out the flexibility that the Standards offer, in particular regarding the risk-based approach (RBA), thus enabling jurisdictions to craft effective and appropriate controls.

See Documents section in Implementation Issues for FATF Guidance document and other documents on the nexus between AML/CFT and financial inclusion.