Regulation of Cross-Border Non-Bank Remittances in the Philippines-Malaysia Corridor

This paper is a supplement to the CGAP Blog, "Cheaper Remittances: How Malaysia and the Philippines Paved the Way"(September 2019).

The study describes the regulatory conditions that have helped to shape markets for international remittances provided by non-banks in Malaysia and Philippines. It focuses on the flow of remittances from Malaysia to Philippines, which is substantial ($1.86 billion in 2016), and only secondarily addresses the flow in the opposite direction, which is miniscule (less than $1 million in 2016). This remittance corridor is one of the largest in the region and provides useful lessons on how regulators have responded to the increasing involvement of non-banks in providing remittance services in an effective and proportionate manner.

Disclaimer

This work was funded in whole or in part by CGAP. Unlike CGAP's official publications, it has not been peer reviewed or edited by CGAP, and any conclusions or viewpoints expressed are those of the authors, and they may or may not reflect the views of CGAP staff.