Welcome to Crosstalks, Conversations that Drive Innovation. In this episode, we continue our exploration of compliance development in in the Money Transfer & Remittances industry with renowned payments expert Hugo Cuevas-Moore.

The episode delves into the early AML measures enacted in Colombia and Latin America during the early 90s, highlighting the challenges faced in implementing KYC and transaction monitoring. Discover how intuition and manual processes were vital in detecting suspicious activities before the advent of sophisticated technology.

Marcela Gonzalez shares her experiences and insights, illustrating how financial institutions navigated compliance without modern tools like AI. The narrative also touches on the complexities and dangers associated with money laundering prevention and the evolution of risk matrices in managing these risks.

Join us for an eye-opening discussion on the journey of compliance in the remittance industry, from manual vigilance to algorithm-based decision-making systems, and the ongoing need for robust risk management tools.

Welcome to episode 13 of Sending Money, EFTs and the Development of Compliance, Part 1 where I will discuss how compliance was developed in the Money Transfer Industry, how it changed client relationships, and how compliance in the payments industry as a whole came about.

Risk management, a term used only after 9-11, implied facing the fact that money laundering had become an increasing problem. It was disconcerting for most team members in paying countries and employees of MTOs to learn to distrust some clients, hear their stories skeptically, and gauge their intentions. On the payment side of remittances, "Know Your Client" (KYC) was already part of remittance management from the beginning, not for compliance reasons, but to clearly identify the remittance beneficiary and ensure correct payment. Over time, the regulatory landscape evolved, requiring more comprehensive compliance measures. In this episode, we also delve into the early years of compliance challenges, including anecdotes from Hugo's experiences that illustrate the gradual process of developing robust compliance systems in the face of evolving market pressures and regulatory demands.

Join us in episode 14 as we continue exploring the development of compliance in cross-border payments and share more insights and anecdotes. 

In this engaging episode of Crosstalks: Conversations that Drive Innovation, we take a comprehensive journey through the evolution of remittances, tracking the transformation from fax-based transfers to today's digital era with payment expert, Hugo Cuevas-Mohr. Unravel fascinating stories from his 2023 book, "Sending Money, Forex, Remittances, Migration, and the Fintech Revolution".

Hugo brilliantly recalls his trip to the Computer History Museum in California, and the parallels he drew between the progression of technology and the money transfer industry. He speaks about the operational challenges: the use of faxes, adapting technology, logistics, etc. as the delivery of family remittances adpated to the growth and needs of the customers.

Dive into the origins of message fields in money transfers and their consequent impact on close-knit emotional and practical communication among migrant families. Hugo draws attention to the evolution in communication technology from the 1980s to 2000s, highlighting its transformational role the remittance industry played and the importance to the financial inclusion of senders and beneficiaries..

This episode also explores the intricacies of understanding both the sender and receiver in remittances. Hugo emphasizes on migration-related occupations, like sailors and deep-sea fishermen, discussing the associated challenges and high-priority nature of their remittances.

Discover the unique remittance service designed for incarcerated migrants in U.S. prisons with Rapid-o-Giros back in 1992. Learn about the geographical migrations of beneficiaries turned remittance senders through the historical lens and get a closer look at a system that sustained the remittance services despite the odds.

The episode also reveals insights into remittance groups the and evolving problem-solving strategies amid compliance concerns, intertwined with confronting social issues like human trafficking and smuggling.

In this enlightening episode of Crosstalks: Conversations that Drive Innovation, we host Hugo Cuevas-Mohr, a seasoned payments expert and author of the 2023 book, Sending Money, Forex, Remittances, Migration, and the Fintech Revolution. Episode 11 navigates the transformative journey of family remittances with the advent of Electronic Fund Transfers (EFTs) and how this initiated the financial inclusion of millions of remittances senders and receivers.

Dive into a fascinating tale narrated by Hugo, taking us back to the late 80s with the anecdote of an elderly woman faced with receiving her first EFT. This incident led to Hugo's profound realization about the importance of customer education and habit transformation. The episode emphasizes the remarkable role EFTs played in bringing rapid technology-driven transformation, especially for the unbanked clients from marginalized communities and rural areas.

The discussion deepens into the role of the agents and intermediaries in fostering customer trust, eventually streamlining the laborious physical processes into quick and easy digital transactions. We also delve into the necessity of remittance best practice consolidation across different locations, facilitating an industry shift, despite the limited initial interaction between early market players, banks, and regulators.

Further, Hugo provides valuable insights into the initial licensing of remittance companies, the formalization of Money Transfer Operators (MTOs) in Latin America, and the consequent evolution in Asia and Africa, reflecting the extensive adoption of new technology at different paces and scales across these regions.

Listen to engaging stories unraveling the early struggles of remittance senders and receivers. Understand financial inclusion and evolution of remittance as a significant milestone in their lives. Discover the origins of the remittance market in various regions like the Dominican Republic, Brazil, Peru, Chile, and other parts of Latin America. Learn about the experiences of the early pioneers in dealing with a predominantly informal market and building trust among their customers.

Stay tuned till the end to delve into the changing dynamics of the remittance industry, explore the future landscape of the sector, and get a sneak peek into 'Sending Money', a remarkable book based on these experiences.

The initial development of Electronic Money Transfers (EFTs) in the late 80s with the use of Telex, got a major boost with the introduction of the Fax and the downfall of Money Orders, as we saw in Episode 9. In the US there was a rapid rise of ethnic remittance companies obtaining money transmitter's licenses in states such as California, New York, Texas, and Florida and expanding their agent networks competing with Western Union and MoneyGram. In Europe the development was similar as the euro took hold and licensing of Payment Institutions was developed. A corresponding network of remittance paying companies in Latin America also developed.

After the informal sending of money with couriers in the 70s and 80s, remittances began to be sent with money orders, USPS Money Orders or other MOs in the market, sent by migrants using courier companies. These companies grew and prospered, mainly serving Central & South America. There the MOs had to be cashed by Exchangers and Casas de Cambio who had to collect and send those MOs for deposit in US Banks. Listen to this part of the story!

The third part of the Brief History of Foreign Exchange takes us to the present date, following the rise of Foreign Exchange Companies (FECs) in serving business companies and individuals with new online services and their participation in the amazing development of the Travel & Tourism industry (T&T) in this century.

The second part of the Brief History of Foreign Exchange takes us from 1984, at the pinnacle of Nicholas Deak's forex empire through its collapse, with Deak's assasination on November 19, 1985, and the regulations and disclosure requirements set forth by the US upon all financial services providers.

Foreign Exchange and Money Transfers are closely linked. In this three-part episodes I will describe the evolution of Foreign Exchange, from Pre and Post World War II, the 80s and 90s to the present. The first part will take us from the gold standard to the history of the Deak-Perera Company, until 1984, at the pinnacle of Nicholas Deak's Forex Empire.

Episode 5 discusses how informal money transfers take place. By  informal i don't necessarily mean illegal. Informality exists when there is no regulatory measure in place that prohibits the type of informal method used or practiced, or there is no regulatory clarity in place - or enforcement - or where the formal methods are impractical, unethical, too restrictive, etc. The most common IVTS - Informal Value Transfer System - is Hawala, which I will explain in this episode.