The Germany-Serbia Remittance Corridor: Challenges of Establishing a Formal Money Transfer SystemSerbia has become one of the largest remittance-recipient countries in the world. It is estimated that in 2004 Serbia received US$2.4 billion dollars in remittances from Serbian workers in Germany, the United States, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, and other countries. This amount represented 12 percent of Serbia's GDP. This report provides an overview of remittance flows from Germany to Serbia and analyzes why a large part of remittance transfers take place outside financial institutions. The study presents a series of recommendations on needed policy changes to facilitate the transfer of remittance flows from the informal channels to licensed or registered financial institutions, thereby maximizing the developmental impact of remittances, reducing remittances fees, improving data collection practices, and strengthening the regulation and supervision of the money transfer industry. |
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
abroad agents allow amount authorities bank account Bank of Serbia Banka A.D become beneficiary Beograd branches bus drivers cards cash charged collection competition consider contribute countries Croatia currency customers data on remittance deposits developing dollars economic effect encourage established estimated European Euros Federal fees Financial financial institutions financing foreign formal funds Germany Germany and Serbia Germany to Serbia home countries households HypoVereinsBank impact of remittances important improve increase informal channels investments Italy largest laundering licensed limited living in Germany migrants million money transfer companies Moreover National Bank offer operating overseas payment percent persons Policy receive recipient relatives remittance corridor remittance flows Report Republic requirements senders Serbia and Montenegro Serbian diaspora Serbs Source Table tances transactions transfer money United Western Union workers World Bank Yugoslavia
Popular passages
Page 25 - ... organisations. IX. Cash couriers Countries should have measures in place to detect the physical cross-border transportation of currency and bearer negotiable instruments, including a declaration system or other disclosure obligation. Countries should ensure that their competent authorities have the legal authority to stop or restrain currency or bearer negotiable instruments that are suspected to be related to terrorist financing or money laundering, or that are falsely declared or disclosed....
Page 25 - ... that are suspected to be related to terrorist financing or money laundering, or that are falsely declared or disclosed. Countries should ensure that effective, proportionate and dissuasive sanctions are available to deal with persons who make false declaration(s) or disclosure(s). In cases where the currency or bearer negotiable instruments are related to terrorist financing or money laundering, countries should also adopt measures, including legislative ones consistent with Recommendation 3...
Page 25 - For example, amendments to the foreign exchange laws in 1991 have relaxed the control and restriction on the amount of foreign currency that may be brought into the country (ESCAP, 1995).
Page 9 - States. Nearly 80 per cent of those migrants were ethnic Russians. In addition, from 1990 to 2000, the countries of Western Europe received more than 2 million applications for asylum from citizens of Eastern and Central European countries. The contentious disintegration of the former Yugoslavia — the war in Croatia in 1991 and the confrontation that began in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1992, in particular — generated outflows of almost half a million persons per year between 1990 and 1994 (United...
Page 52 - Hernandez-Coss, Raul. 2005. The US-Mexico Remittance Corridor: Lessons on Shifting from Informal to Formal Transfer Systems. World Bank Working Paper No. 47. Washington, DC: The World Bank. . 2007. "The Perception of Money Laundering Risks and the Use of New Technologies: The Case of m-Transactions.
Page 51 - Council on controls on cross-border cash movement together with a proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and the Council on the prevention of money laundering by means of customs co-operation, COM(2002)328 final, Brussels 25.6.2002.
Page 1 - Due to the lack of data it is not possible to determine the exact amount of remittances that originate from each of the main countries.
Page 22 - Germany is a member of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and has...
Page 51 - Central Banks on Selected Public Policy Issues. World Bank Policy Research Working Paper 3638. Drinkwater, Stephen, Paul Lavine, and Emanuela Lotti. 2003. "The Labor Market Effects of Remittances.