The FATF Guidance on Anti-money laundering and terrorist financing measures and financial inclusion describes financial inclusion as providing access to an adequate range of safe, convenient and affordable financial services to disadvantaged and other vulnerable groups. This includes low-income, rural and undocumented persons, who have been underserved or excluded from the formal financial sector. Financial inclusion allows them to effectively manage their money, regardless of their level of income or social status. It also involves making a broader range of financial products and services available to individuals who currently only have access to basic financial products.

While their exact impact is not always easy to measure, financial inclusion policies and initiatives constitute an important aspect of the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing. The AML/CFT global network is well aware of the fact that AML/CFT obligations may in some instances limit the access to financial services by parts of the population, especially in countries with emerging markets which are still developing their financial systems. A significant issue in this matter is the problem of de-risking (for further information please see the section De-risking), where financial institutions, instead of applying a risk-based approach, refuse customers which could potentially bear a higher risk. These restrictions of access to formal financial services consequently lead to a more frequent recourse to unregulated financial services, thereby avoiding the application of AML/CFT measures completely. In this respect, the FATF has stated that financial inclusion and AML/CFT initiatives pursue mutually supportive and complementary objectives. Consequently, the FATF, together with other stakeholders in the global AML/CFT network, has launched initiatives to ensure that AML/CFT measures are applied to a degree sufficient to protect the system from abuse by criminals, while at the same time enabling access to financial services.

MONEYVAL undertook in 2014 an exercise to gather information on the levels of consideration of financial inclusion in its jurisdictions, the policies and measures in place to address these issues and the results, if any, of such initiatives. On the basis of the responses received from MONEYVAL States and territories, a report was drafted, presenting an overview of financial inclusion in MONEYVAL jurisdictions. On the occasion of the adoption of this report, MONEYVAL had the honour to welcome at its 45th plenary meeting (September 2014) Her Majesty Queen Máxima of the Netherlands, in her capacity as United Nations Secretary General’s Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance for Development, who addressed the Committee in this respect.

Since then, MONEYVAL has continued to follow developments in financial inclusion policies, including their integration into national risk assessments and AML/CFT strategies. Financial inclusion is now more widely recognised by the international community, including the FATF and the Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion (GPFI), as a central element of a balanced AML/CFT framework.