Following a request from the Western Hemisphere Finance Ministers, the World Bank in partnership with the Centre for Latin American Monetary Studies (CEMLA) launched the Western Hemisphere Payments and Securities Clearance and Settlement Initiative in 1999. This has evolved into a permanent Forum whose objective is to describe and assess the payments systems of the Western Hemisphere with a view to identifying possible improvements in their safety, efficiency and integrity. The Finance Group actively participates in this effort and has collaborated in several activities such as the preparation of country-level public reports on payments clearance and settlement systems and follow-up technical assistance and lending operations on the modernization of such systems.
Remittances represent an important source of income in many developing countries and is a topic that the World Bank is increasingly focusing on. The Finance Group has actively participated in initiatives to-date covering Latin American countries, such as catalyzing policy changes on related payments systems issues, understanding bilateral remittance ‘corridors’, and undertaking policy work to promote financial integrity while ensuring access to formal financial services.
Publications
Security Clearance and Settlement Systems: A Guide to Best Practices
(Mario Guadamillas and Robert Keppler April, 2004) - Adobe Acrobat pdf file (3 MB)
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