UK Money Transmitters Appealing to Barclays after Account Closures

The UK Money Transmitters Association (UKMTA) has chosen Four Public Affairs to campaign to Barclays and government institutions after Barclays closed the bank accounts of some of the UKMTA’s smaller members.

Barclays has expressed its unwillingness to deal with money transmitters that do not have regulations in place to stop money laundering. This is an enforcement action which was most likely influenced by HSBC’s fine of $1.9 billion in December after an investigation showed that HSBC did not enforce anti-money laundering rules.

The UKMTA claims that Barclays has served 70 percent of the association’s members. The closing of these money transmitter bank accounts is a huge blow to those who do business in “India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Colombia, and West Africa,” claims Dominic Thorncroft, the UKMTA chairman.

The UKMTA plans to appeal to the government and regulatory institutions so that these money transmitters will be served by banks while also trying to convince Barclays to give money transmitters more time to put anti-money laundering safeguards in place.