On 13 December 2021, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank published a report setting out a draft framework and methodology for risk assessment in remittance corridors having the potential of being identified as “safe remittance corridors”.

At its October 2020 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting, the G20 endorsed the Roadmap for Enhancing Cross-Border Payments, which comprises 19 building blocks (BBs). The IMF and the World Bank were assigned to cover BB7 on “safe payment corridors,” which involves the development of a framework for remittance corridors’ risk assessments. BB7 is part of focus area B within the G20 cross-border payments roadmap. Focus area B is aimed at coordinating and streamlining regulatory, supervisory, and oversight frameworks across jurisdictions and at fostering efficiencies in customer due diligence processes by facilitating cross-border data flows and fostering usage of digital identification (ID) and shared customer due diligence infrastructures.

BB7 on safe payment corridors has two phases. The first phase is about the development of a framework and methodology for the assessment of the money laundering / terrorist financing (ML/TF) risks in remittance corridors and the identification of potential “lower risk corridors,” as part of or consistent with a country’s national ML/TF risk assessment. In the second phase, the proposed framework is expected to be piloted in some corridors with a view to testing and further refining the assessment methodology. To reflect the scope more accurately, the report uses the term “safe remittance corridor” rather than “safe payment corridor.”