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The purpose of this paper is to critically examine the anti-money laundering measures of the UK and Nigeria, to determine what the best approach is. The best approach is likely the one that strikes a fair balance between protecting the financial system against money laundering and promoting financial inclusion.

This paper relies mainly on primary and secondary data drawn from the public domain. It also relies on documentary research.

This paper critically analysed the anti-money laundering measures of the UK and Nigeria to determine that the anti-money laundering measures of Nigeria does not strike a fair balance between protecting the financial system against money laundering and promoting financial inclusion because it does not expressly provide for verification of a customer’s identity at the account opening stage for low risk accounts. The paper, however, determined that the anti-money laundering measures of the UK does strike a fair balance between protecting the financial system against money laundering and promoting financial inclusion because it requires customer identification and verification before the establishment of a business relationship for customers who want to open a basic bank account.

This paper focuses on the anti-money laundering and financial inclusion measures in the UK’s Payment Accounts Regulations 2015 and the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism in Banks and Other Financial Institutions in Nigeria) Regulations, 2013.

This paper offers a critical analysis of the anti-money laundering and financial inclusion measures of the UK and Nigeria as provided in the UK’s Payment Accounts Regulations 2015 and the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism in Banks and Other Financial Institutions in Nigeria) Regulations, 2013. The paper will provide recommendations on how the measures could be strengthened. This is the only article to adopt this kind of approach.

Nigeria needs to improve its national identification coverage to support improved anti-money laundering and combating of financing of terrorism and proliferation (AML/CFT) measures. This study aims to examine its ongoing identification harmonization project, which seeks to create a central database for digital identification across designated entities. It identifies the key stakeholders in the project, progress to date as well as key challenges, especially relating to the inclusivity and privacy and data protection concerns of the current scheme to provide national identification numbers.

The authors apply a doctrinal research methodology and use the Principles on Identification for Sustainable Development to identify and reflect on key challenges.

The national identification harmonization project and the ongoing drive to register National Identity Numbers for Nigerians could provide valuable support for more effective and efficient AML/CFT identity verification and authentication. The project and processes, however, hold significant risks in relation to data protection. These are exacerbated by the absence of a comprehensive data protection framework. National identity data can be vulnerable to political abuse and targeting by bad actors. National identity data systems must, therefore, be protected by clear, fair and comprehensive privacy and data protection rules and appropriate and accountable governance mechanisms. While Nigeria is adopting and implementing the relevant framework, the NIMC can do more to advance data protection by supporting informed consent and compliance by all participants and publishing this information to build public trust in the system. It can also be disciplined about only collecting minimal and necessary personal data and printing only basic personal details such as name and age on the general multi-purpose ID card. The NIMC should furthermore improve access to the national identification number by streamlining the process of registration, including supporting same day registration and on-the-spot card printing; setting up more registration points as well as mobile registration to cut down queues; and increasing the range of registration agents and points to include schools, police stations and health facilities. Consideration for social, cultural and religious norms is also vital to appropriately accommodate the variety of groups and cultures in Nigeria.

Research materials include government policy documents as well as newspaper articles and reports on more recent developments and experiences that are not yet reflected in more formal documents. The research materials, however, reflect both the intention of the government and the reported experiences of those registering for a National Identification Number.

This study identifies the practical steps that can be taken to enhance data protection and increase the inclusivity of the measures to provide Nigerians with National Identification Numbers.

The recommendations that are made are aimed at increasing the inclusivity of the National Identification Number scheme and at providing improved protection of personal data of applicants for, and holders of, these numbers.

This study contributes to the policy discussion around the national identification harmonization project by applying as a lens key elements of the Principles on Identification for Sustainable Development that are relevant from a financial integrity perspective.

The paper aims to study the outreach and performance of business correspondent (BC) models, which are implemented as a subsidiary agent of banks to accelerate the financial inclusion (FI) mission in India. In this regard, the study illustrates BC's products and services rendered to customers, forms of delivery channels and BC's view on banking services and Kiosk-based BC programs.

The current paper is an empirical study based on surveying 200 Kiosk-based BCs working in the state of Kerala. After the preliminary screening analysis of the data with outlier deletion, removal of missing values and normality test, both exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were executed followed by reliability test, convergent and discriminant validity tests. Covariance-based structural equation modeling (CBSEM) was performed for CFA and inferential tests were carried out by using statistical package for the social sciences (SPSS) and analysis of a moment structures (AMOS) and Eviews.

Chiefly, eight operational forms of BCs were found from the field survey. Hypothetical tests show the significant impact of the serviceability of banks on BC's profitability. Validity tests such as average variance extracted (AVE), composite reliability (CR), maximum shared variance (MSV) and average shared variance (ASV) were established after the removal of the cross-loaded items of the questionnaire from the rotated component matrix. BCs perform main banking services especially bank account opening facility and Akshaya E-Centers are widely used for this model as Kiosk banking in the surveyed state.

So far, no study has encompassed empirical research on performance analysis and outreach of the BC model in the state of Kerala where this BC model well functions. Since the study is a novel form of banking channelization for FI, the study can contribute to understanding the further feasibility and future dimension of the model based on experimental views of BCs.

This paper sets out to evaluate the financial security consequences of the terrorists attack on the USA of 11 September 2001 with specific regard to money laundering.

The study itemises in minute detail the litany of actual and potential financial legislation in the wake of 9/11 in both the USA and the UK.

Basically, the study finds the depriving criminals of the proceeds of their crimes is illusory and ineffectual, since they never have sufficient funds available for confiscation in the first place.

The paper arguably represents the most comprehensive evaluation to date of the financial issues, both real and hypothetical, thrown up on both sides of the Atlantic by the events of 9/11.

This paper aims to compare the prepaid card laws/regulations in Nigeria, the UK, the USA and India with the aim of determining the best approach to regulating prepaid cards, that is the approach that promotes financial inclusion and also makes the product less attractive for money laundering.

This paper relies mainly on primary and secondary data drawn from the public domain. It also relies on documentary research.

This paper makes the following findings and recommendations: Nigeria has the best approach to regulating providers of prepaid cards. Nigeria’s approach could foster financial inclusion and at the same time mitigate the money laundering risks associated with prepaid cards. Nigeria’s approach is not too strict like the Indian approach and it is not too relaxed like the UK and the USA approach. Operators, including mobile/telecommunications operators, wishing to operate money transfer schemes in Nigeria are allowed to do so with approval from the Central Bank of Nigeria and in strict conjunction with licensed deposit-taking banks or financial institutions. The UK, the USA and India are recommended to adopt Nigeria’s approach. The UK and the USA have the best approach to regulating agents of prepaid cards. Both countries require prepaid card providers to maintain a current list of agents and make it available to the relevant authorities upon request. The approach allows regulatory agencies to effectively monitor and supervise prepaid card agents. India and Nigeria are advised to clarify their approach regarding the regulation of prepaid card agents. The prepaid card laws/regulations of those countries should be modified to specify if the agent of a prepaid card provider is required to be licensed or registered by a competent authority or if the prepaid card provider (the principal) is required to maintain an updated list of agents which must be made accessible to a designated competent authority, when requested. The new changes will afford regulatory authorities the opportunity to effectively monitor and supervise prepaid card agents. India’s approach to thresholds would preclude most individuals in the intended target market from accessing basic financial products, as most people typically do not have residential addresses that could be confirmed by reference to formal documentation. India should adopt the “risk-based approach” and not the “wholesale de-risking approach”.

Given their low-risk characteristics, closed-loop cards, specifically cards which do not allow reloads or withdrawals, remain outside the scope of this paper.

Although there have been researchers who adopted the comparative approach like Jean J Luyat and Will Cain, the comparative approach adopted by those researchers was not detailed enough and also was not aimed at seeking to answer the research question in Section 1 of this paper. Both writers focused on only the aspect of financial inclusion making the whole research a one-sided approach. Jean J Luyat focused on “how regulation had an impact on the development of prepaid cards in Japan and Europe”. He was able to discover that prepaid cards were growing rapidly in Japan but not gaining acceptance as a payment method in the European Union (EU) and France. He aligned such growth in Japan to different factors including regulation. He stated that Japan had a simple and flexible regulatory framework compared to the EU and France which have a complex regulatory system with strict prudential requirements. Nothing was said about the money laundering aspect of such regulation and neither was anything said about thresholds and other optional recommendations canvased by the Financial Action Task Force. The Electronic Money Directive referred to by Jean J Luyat has already been repealed and a second Electronic Money Directive is in place. A comparative approach is adopted in this research seeking to compare the approach in Nigeria with that of the UK, the USA and India. Each of these countries adopted different approaches. The results are to help answer the research question in Section 1 of this paper. The countries were selected on the basis of how strict their regulatory regime is. India’s regulatory regime is the strictest while the UK and the USA are the most lenient. Nigeria is caught in between strict/lenient.

Greater access to financial services is a key enabler of many of the United Nations sustainable development goals (UN SDGs). This chapter examines the role of digital financial services (DFS) in the actualisation of the UN SDGs in Nigeria by presenting a series of illustrative cases of DFS-based public and private sector enterprises driving critical SDGs in Nigeria. These enterprises are not only driving economic growth, they are also enabling value chains addressing the broad-ranging needs of the poor. Tracing possibilities around impact is important here, a context in which over 60 per cent of the population lives below the poverty line. Statistics on poverty reflect not only lack of income but also the lack of access to essential services. Approximately 44 per cent of Nigeria’s adult population is financially excluded and could benefit from DFS in enabling an inclusive economy.

This study aims to develop and apply a multidimensional measure of financial inclusion (FI) to address measurement issues and determine the level of FI of rural smallholder farmers and the contribution of domain indicators to the level of FI in Nigeria.

The paper adapts the Alkire–Foster method to develop a multidimensional FI index (MFII). A stratified two-stage sampling procedure is used to select 2,300 rural respondents from the 2016 Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP) Smallholder Household Survey.

Results indicate that 78% of rural smallholder farmers in Nigeria are financially excluded. In addition, owning a formal account is significantly different (p < 0.00) from being financially adequate. The financial capability domain contributes the least (29.66%) to the multidimensional FI (MFI) of rural smallholder farmers relative to financial participation and financial well-being. Financial literacy, consumer protection, overcoming barriers such as high transaction costs and financial planning indicators contribute the least to FI relative to formal access.

Results of the study lead to policy recommendations for increasing the FI of rural smallholder farmers in Nigeria, which may be applicable to other countries.

Achieving sustainable FI requires that interventions increase the FI of rural smallholder farmers by strengthening financial capability, participation and well-being and not only focus on formal account owners.

The study provides a new methodological and empirical contribution to the FI literature on rural smallholder farmers.