India Advocates for Greater Transparency in Cross-Border Financial Transactions

India is advocating for enhanced disclosure norms for fintech firms and payment aggregators at the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). The goal is to ensure clear identification of senders and recipients in cross-border financial transactions, facilitating better cooperation with law enforcement agencies. The initiative aims to improve transparency without burdening the industry excessively.

India is pushing for greater transparency and stricter disclosure norms for fintech firms, credit card companies, and payment aggregators at the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). The aim is to ensure that senders and recipients in cross-border financial transactions can be clearly identified and this information is readily available to law enforcement agencies.

The current FATF Travel Rules mandate the recording of sender and recipient names, along with the country of origin, in any cross-border transactions. However, the FATF's policy development group (PDG) is debating whether this information is easily accessible or if it gets masked, causing delays in information sharing.

According to sources, India is advocating for greater disclosure norms that enhance transparency without imposing significant costs or requiring major software changes on the industry. Challenges mainly arise in cross-border transactions, as domestic fund transfers already have the necessary information readily available. Once the FATF finalizes these norms, member countries, including India, will implement them within 2-3 years.

(With inputs from agencies.)