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This article examines the impact of remittances on the country's economy and its socio-economic aspects.

The paper explores the theoretical aspects of the concept of a “system of funds transfer” and highlights their division into certain types. An analysis of the activity of payment systems in Ukraine was given and the necessity of their development was substantiated. It is determined how the system of money transfer has a positive impact on the economy in general. The advantages and disadvantages of money transfer systems were analyzed and recommendations have been made regarding the application of the main factors that will contribute to the improvement of these systems. All of the above is the purpose of this paper. The results of the conducted research show that now transfers through payment systems are becoming increasingly popular, but market development will depend entirely on several key factors: the development of infrastructure, legislation, and finance. In conclusion, we can say that payment systems play one of the most important roles in the modern economy. They provide economic entities with the opportunity to make payments on liabilities that arise in the course of economic activity, and the rational organization of payment systems contributes to the smooth functioning of the financial sector. Reliable and efficient payment systems are a guarantee of the stable functioning of both the country's banking system and the economy in general.

RESUMEN Este artículo expone y analiza la potencial contribución que en Chile hace la nueva Ley de Aportes al financiamiento e implementación de espacios públicos. El trabajo simula el porcentaje de aporte de operaciones privadas de densificación residencial intensiva en quince barrios del Área Metropolitana de Santiago. La mencionada ley constituye un marco para avanzar hacia un desarrollo urbano equilibrado mediante pagos por impactos proporcionales a la densidad. Sin embargo, los resultados demuestran que el porcentaje de aporte es insuficiente para concretar los planes comunales e intercomunales de inversiones. A su vez, su contribución final en cesión de suelo o en dinero responde a variables de localización o superficie predial, porque el avalúo fiscal y la superficie predial tienen mayor incidencia en el aporte que la densidad del edificio residencial. Se demuestra que, al calcular los aportes con la densidad de ocupación, se producen distorsiones respecto de la densidad planificada por los instrumentos de planificación territorial.

Part 1: Block Chain; International audience; The purpose of this study is to explore whether the diffusion of cryptocurrencies represents a disruptive change and what is the potential magnitude of this change. To this end, we take disruptive innovation theory as our point of departure to scrutinize cryptocurrencies as an instance of socio-technical change. We employ Causal Layered Analysis to develop our four-layer analytical framework to conceptually examine the changes pertained by the diffusion of cryptocurrencies. We provide examples of changes company-level, industry-level as well as societal changes where cryptocurrencies have played a central role. On a company level, cryptocurrencies provide a cost-efficient means for cross-border money transfer and thus pose a significant threat to the existing intermediary-based business models. On an industry level, many central banks are experimenting with crypto- or digital currencies. On a societal level, cryptocurrencies play an important role in particularly when the traditional institutions and societal structures collapse. For example, in Venezuela’s recent political and economic crisis, cryptocurrencies contributed to the development of a parallel financial system when the bolivar practically lost its value. Our study provides an analytical framework to systematically evaluate the potential disruptive nature of cryptocurrencies as well as other blockchain-based technologies.

This paper reports the results from Gallup’s global analysis of the likelihood of first-generation migrants, second-generation migrants and the native-born to send financial help in the form of money or goods to others inside or outside their respective country of residence. The findings in this paper are based on more than 450,000 interviews conducted through Gallup’s World Poll in 157 countries in 2012, 2013 and 2014. The sample includes more than 26,000 first-generation migrants and more than 20,000 second-generation migrants. The large sample enables Gallup to analyze first-generation migrants by the duration of their stay in their adopted country and compare their remittance behaviors with second-generation migrants and the native-born.

Zusammenfassung: Haben Remittances, also der Geldtransfer von Migrantinnen und Migranten zur Unterstützung der Familien im Heimatland, einen positiven Einfluss auf den Wohlstand eines Landes? Hierzu können die empirischen Befunde wie folgt zusammengefasst werden: Bei den durchgeführten Paneldatenregressionen von Remittances pro Person auf das Bruttoinlandsprodukt pro Einwohner, wobei die Kontrollvariablen Arbeitslosigkeit, Export, ausländische Direktinvestitionen, Bruttoinvestitionen sowie der Einfluss der Finanzkrise 2008–2009 berücksichtigt wurden, ist der Koeffizient der Variablen Remittances pro Person mit einer Höhe von 0,026 statistisch hochsignifikant. Remittances haben demnach einen positiven Einfluss auf den Wohlstand eines Landes, wenn dieser in Bruttoinlandsprodukt pro Einwohner gemessen wird. Auch die Ergebnisse der Robustheitsanalysen haben den positiven Zusammenhang bestätigt, der auch bei Veränderung von Kontrollvariablen statistisch signifikant bleibt. Summary: Do remittances, that is, the transfer of money from migrants to support families in their home country, have a positive influence on the prosperity of a country? The empirical findings can be summarized as follows: In the panel data regression of remittances per person to the gross domestic product per inhabitant, whereby the control variables unemployment, export, foreign direct investment, gross investment and the influence of the financial crisis 2008–2009 were taken into account, the coefficient of the variable remittances per person is statistically highly significant at 0.026. Thus, remittances have a positive influence on a country’s prosperity when measured in gross domestic product per inhabitant. The results of the robustness analyses also confirmed the positive correlation, which remains statistically significant even if control variables are changed.

A quantitative estimation of the number of labor migrants in Kazakhstan has been given using the statistics of the monetary transfers to the countries of the origin of migrants. The macroeconomic estimation of the contribution of the labor migrants to the development of the country is represented.

The positive relationship between income and health is well established. However, the direction of causality remains unclear: do economic resources influence health, or vice versa? Exploiting a new source of exogenous income variation, this study examines the impact of the Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend (APFD) on newborns' health outcomes. The results show that income has a significantly positive, but modest effect on birth weight. We find that an additional $1,000 ($2,331 in 2011 dollars) increases birth weight by 17.7 g and substantially decreases the likelihood of a low birth weight (a decrease of around 14% of the sample mean). Furthermore, the income effect is higher for less-educated mothers. Based on a gestation-weight profile in the sample, increased gestation owing to the APFD could explain a maximum of 34%–57% of the measured weight increase, although we are unable to examine all the potential mechanisms. (JEL I10, I18, I12)

This article provides a profile of African immigrants in Canada, with a focus on human capital and remittance behaviour. Our results show that about one-third of African immigrants in Canada have a Bachelor's degree or higher, and that the stock of African immigrants increased by 31 per cent over a five-year period, while total remittances from Canada to Africa doubled. Results from our quantitative analysis show that family income, age, education at landing, sponsorship, immigrant status and membership of social organisations affect the likelihood of recent immigrants remitting to family members in Africa. From a development perspective, remittance fees were found to be high; this undermines the potential role of remittances in Africa's development and calls for a review of the existing regulatory framework on money transfer.

Proposed a simple state-space model of dollar rate formation based on changes in oil prices and some mechanisms of money transfer between monetary and stock markets. Comparison of predictions by means of input-output model and state-space model is made. It concludes that with proper use of statistical data (Kalman filter) the second approach provides more adequate predictions of the dollar rate.

We study an implementation problem faced by a planner who can influence selfish behavior in a roadway network. It is commonly known that Nash equilibrium does not necessarily minimize the total latency on a network and that levying a tax on road users that is equal to the marginal congestion effect each user causes implements the optimal latency flow. This holds, however, only under the assumption that taxes have no effect on the utility of the users. In this paper, we consider taxes that satisfy the budget balance condition and that are therefore obtained using a money transfer among the network users. Hence at every state the overall taxes imposed upon the users sum up to zero. We show that the optimal latency flow can be guaranteed as a Nash equilibrium using a simple, easily computable transfer scheme that is obtained from a fixed matrix. In addition, the resulting game remains a potential game, and the levied tax on every edge is a function of its congestion.

There has been an increase in the uptake of mobile phones in the Sub-Saharan Africa and this has laid a foundation for the revolution of mobile money transfer systems. Empirical and theoretical literature has proved that mobile money transfers are a significant promoter of financial inclusion. This paper sought to investigate whether the mobile money transfer platform in Zimbabwe, EcoCash has managed to foster financial inclusion in the rural areas. Through a cross sectional study of the study population, results showed that there is an increase in the access to financial services hence improved financial inclusion. The study was carried out in Chivi District.Keywords: mobile money transfer, EcoCash, financial inclusion, Zimbabwe, mobile phone.

Research conducted on the poor and their finances indicate that there is a need to develop financial instruments that specifically fit their needs. However, banks have not been able to provide such services, because the returns do not justify the cost of delivering them. The uptake of mobile phones and mobile money (in various guises) in recent years has been tremendous and widely documented. While the basic product is person-to-person money transfer, more sophisticated financial products designed for the poor are now coming on line. This article describes the experience of Kickstart in Kenya designing, piloting, deploying and sustaining a mobile phone savings application, leveraging the widely popular M-PESA money transfer service to target poor, small-scale farmers. KickStart, a non-profit organization headquartered in Kenya, designed a ‘Mobile Layaway’ service that enables farmers to make mobile payments of any amount and of any frequency to purchase human-powered irrigation pumps. The specific goal is...

[ES] Este trabajo presenta un modelo de simulación para un sistema de concentración de fondos y desembolsos (SCFD) visto como un sistema de gestión de inventario, basado en ecuaciones en diferencias y técnicas de ingeniería de sistemas. El modelo asume la existencia de retardos por trámite o traslado bancario y analiza la aplicación del concepto de operación con cuentas de saldo cero. Se plantea el caso de una empresa genérica cuyas agencias o distribuidores geográficamente están dispersos en diferentes regiones. El modelo supone la existencia de una cuenta principal operada centralizadamente y política de saldo mínimo. Esta cuenta recibe las transferencias de los ingresos depositados en las cuentas de ingresos de cada agencia y, también, desde la cuenta principal son transferidos los fondos para cubrir los sobregiros ocasionados en las cuentas de egresos de las agencias. Existe una cuenta de inversión a la cual se transfiere el superávit de efectivo en la cuenta principal y una línea de crédito que cubre los déficits de saldo en esa cuenta. Se definen las reglas de operación del SCFD y se consideran los ingresos y costos involucrados. El modelo representa el flujo del dinero entre los elementos identificados del sistema y el flujo de requerimientos u órdenes de transferencia. Se deriva un modelo equivalente representado por ecuaciones algebraicas utilizando la transformada z con el fin de abrir perspectivas al uso riguroso de técnicas de control en el campo de las finanzas., [EN] This paper presents a simulation model for a cash concentration and disbursements system (CCDS) seen as an inventory management system, based on difference equations and systems engineering techniques. The model assumes the existence of delays due to banking procedures and analyzes the application of the zero balance accounts concept. The case of a generic company whose agencies are geographically distributed in different regions is proposed. The model assumes the existence of a centrally operated main account and minimum balance policy. This account receives money transfers from the revenues accounts of each agency and, also from the main account, money is transferred to the agencies’ expense accounts in order to cover overdrafts. There exist an investment account into which any cash surpluses of the main account are deposited and a credit line in order to avoid the cash deficits. The operating rules for the CCDS are defined, and income and financial costs involved are considered. The model represents the flow of money between the identified elements of the system and the flow of money requirements or transfer orders. An equivalent model represented by algebraic equations through the z-transform is derived, which opens perspectives for using rigorous control techniques in the field of finance., Los autores desean agradecer al Ministerio de Economía y Competitivad su apoyo parcial a este trabajo a través del proyecto DPI2013-47825-C3-1-R

The current understanding about how households respond to price changes in formal childcare is not extensive. This study examines this response through a 1998 reform in Norway that introduced a money transfer to families who did not send their child to childcare. This cash-for-care reform raised the price of formal childcare relative to its alternatives by about 115% for 1–2 year olds but not 3–5 year olds. Using household surveys conducted before and after the reform the analysis reveals that childcare attendance fell by 13.7 percentage points because of the reform. The results also indicate that the most important alternative to formal childcare is parental care. Furthermore, households of low socioeconomic status are more price sensitive, with the main substitute mode of care for this group being parental/relative care, whereas for high socioeconomic status families the substitutes include day parks and nannies as well as parental care.

Financial inclusion policy has been ignited globally by the rise of money transfer services over mobile phones led by the example of Kenya. This article examines the financial practices of low-income people and the social relational dimensions of debt that underlie these transactions, and contrasts these with widely used services of informal groups and banks’ services. This highlights a “fiduciary culture” where relationships of equality and “negotiability” dominate in contrast to a tendency towards hierarchical relations with banks. This questions policy-makers’ expectations that mobile money transfer will seamlessly facilitate engagement with the formal sector for savings and credit.

PurposeThe aim of this paper is to compare the regulatory frameworks for informal remittance systems in the UK, Germany, The Netherlands, Sweden and Norway.Design/methodology/approachThis study evaluates the effects of the different regulatory frameworks, in terms of level of control and quality of remittance services. It relies on reports from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), law enforcement and regulatory agencies and the World Bank. It also draws heavily on academic literature and migrant household surveys.FindingsThere are major differences between the countries in how to regulate Hawala and other informal remittance systems. Even though all countries have challenges in regulating this sector, it seems that a simplified registration regime for money transfer operators is the most suitable option for improving both the level of control and the quality of remittance services. Looking at regulatory changes during the last decade, it appears that the national policies have converged towards a medium level.Originality/valueThis paper contributes to the debate on Hawala regulation by empirically evaluating how successful five different national policies have been. It also presents an updated picture of national regulations by including changes incurred by the EU Payment Services Directive (2007/64/EC), which was implemented in 2009 and 2010.

This study analyzes what adult children will do for their parents if they become frail and need long-term care. Descriptive statistics show that about 30 percent of adult children living separately from their parents provide long-term in-home care, which suggests that a significant number of Japanese children supply care. However, detailed examination reveals that this parental care is not motivated entirely by altruism. Children may provide parental care when their parents are wealthy enough to meet the costs of nursing. The results suggest that as the number of dual-income couples increases, they are able to give more money to their parents but not more time. A potentially large demand for market care services exists and will possibly increase. The results also suggest that the empirical results based only on money transfer may be misleading. Empirical results on time as well as money transfer should be compiled, and explanations found for any difference between the two behaviors.

Search is embedded in an overlapping-generations model. The young participate in a centralized market, and then are matched in pairs in a decentralized market. The old only participate in the centralized market. If the buyer's bargaining power in pairwise trade is close to unity and if the old are risk averse, then the golden-rule rate of money transfer is positive. Such risk aversion, the pairwise meetings, and dependence of the young's saving on the rate of return are necessary for this result.

The records of Hoare's Bank and the correspondence of six of its women customers show how these women started to use the new banking services both for transferring money and for trading in the stock market. It is clear that alongside their use of the new facilities, older systems of money transfer remained important for customers. Much of the business of the bank and its customers, including their ventures into the stock market, took place within groups of people united by kinship, religion, and politics.

The growing of the global migration phenomenon connects various socioeconomic issues with the need for money transfer services offered by companies such as Western Union. Both bank, exchange standards and the migration laws that are adopted in a different system in each country, influences the definition of the service model for the international transfers. This study is sought to examine whether the services provided by Western Union can be seen as a social function. Based on the analysis of the interviews, it was concluded that from the migrant point of view the social issues involved with the possibility of money transferring is a direct solution to improve the lives of their families, and thus diminish the poverty in many regions of the world. In relation to the company focus, the social function that their service facilitates, does not define or distinguish its market positioning.

In this paper, we investigate the economic mobility in four money transfer models which have been applied into the research on wealth distribution. We demonstrate the mobility by recording the time series of agents’ ranks and observing their volatility. We also compare the mobility quantitatively by employing an index, “the per capita aggregate change in log-income”, proposed by economists. Like the shape of distribution, the character of mobility is also decided by the trading rule in these transfer models. It is worth noting that even though two models have the same type of distribution, their mobility characters may be quite different.

Summary.: We construct a tractable ‘fundamental' model of money with equilibrium heterogeneity in money balances and prices. We do so by considering randomized monetary trades in a standard search-theoretic model of money where agents can hold multiple units of indivisible ‘tokens' and can offer lotteries on monetary transfers. By studying a simple trading pattern, we can analytically characterize the monetary distribution. Interestingly, such distributions match those observed in numerically simulated economies with fully divisible money and price heterogeneity

As a consequence of the increased number of Moldovan migrants, the volume of remittances inflows to Moldova raised steadily. Previous studies on labor migration and remittances in Republic of Moldova underline both the role of remittances in generating increased consumption of the population and its impact on the economic development of the country. In this paper, we aim to analyze the variation of money transfers of Moldovan migrants in order to estimate the trend of the remittances inflows and the seasonal variations under the impact of the global crisis. The data on remittances are available from the National Bank of Moldova, on a monthly basis, for the time span 2003-2013. The study’s results highlight an upward trend and the seasonal variation of money transfer of Moldovan migrants for the considered time span.

The main objective of this study is to examine the impact of Anti –money laundering (AML) on investment funding: Evidence from Jordanian financial institutions. Study population consists of the financial sector which includes 72 Banking and financial institutions and a sample study of 50 Jordanian financial institutions is selected in order to achieve the objectives of the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter Terrorism Financing. This study depends on a survey that asks the executive managers certain questions in order to know how anti –money laundering impacts investment funding. Also this study applies a version of the model by using a Multiple Linear Regression Model and single model to testing the hypotheses of this study. In light of analyzing the data and testing the hypotheses, the following results have been reached: The impact of money laundering (ML) on investment funding is a significant and negative relationship between ML .and investments funding (INVF). Also, there is a significant and positive relationship between AML (Systems and regulations, Controlling, Auditing, Training and money transfer) and investment funding (INVF). To reduce the impact of Money laundering which represents a financial crime that might have negative affect on the stability of the economy, and investment funding, the researcher suggests many solutions regarding the laws and regulations, controlling, auditing, training and transfers.

Due to moral hazard by households and high transaction cost, it is unlikely that disaster risk can be optimally diversified through transaction in disaster insurance markets. In this paper, alternative jurisdictionmanaged disaster insurance schemes are presented. In these schemes, each jurisdiction is supposed to levy tax on local residents and reallocate aggregated risk through interjurisdictional money transfer or reinsurance contracts. The paper concludes that the former scheme attains the fist-best allocation of risks while the latter fails to realize efficient allocation due to fiscal externalities caused by interregional migration.

In this paper we discuss a number of hypotheses about motives for intergenerational transfers within the family. We use data on time and money transfers between generations in Malaysia, where there is neither Social Security nor Medicare, to explore these hypotheses empirically. We find evidence supporting the hypotheses that children are an important source of old age security and that old age security is, in part, children s repayment for parental investments in their education. This repayment is partly a function of the children’s in come and, in the case of females, a function of their spouse’s in come. We also find evidence supporting the hypotheses that parents and children engage in the exchange of time help for money.

Defined in the way that conforms with professional and popular understanding and creates a concept that is most useful, the impact of a choice on economic efficiency equals the difference between the equivalent-dollar gains the choice confers on its beneficiaries (the winners) and the equivalent-dollar losses it imposes on its victims (the losers). More controversially, in this formulation, a winner’s equivalent-dollar gain equals the number of dollars that would have to be transferred to him to leave him as well-off as the choice would leave him if

The study critically examines the proportion of female head porters’ earnings saved in one migration period, the strategies adopted in their effort to save, the challenges they face dealing with financial service providers and the motives that drive them into saving. The results indicate that majority (49%) of porters earn between GH¢5 and GH¢6 a day. A porter makes an average income of GH¢648 and average savings of GH¢335 in one migration period. 52% use susu as their saving strategy while 32% save with relatives. On the whole, 97% save outside the banking sector and thus suffer the problems of insecurity and illiquidity as well as the inability to access loans and money transfer services.

We examine the effect of joint custody on marriage, divorce, fertility and female employment in Austria using individual-level administrative data, covering the entire population. We also use unique data obtained from court records to analyze the effect on post-divorce outcomes. Our estimates show that joint custody significantly reduces divorce and female employment rates, significantly increases marriage and marital birth rates, and leads to a substantial increase in the total money transfer received by mothers after divorce. We interpret these results as evidence against Becker-Coase bargains and in support of a mechanism driven by a resource redistribution that favors men giving them greater incentives to invest in marriage specific capital. (authors' abstract)

M-Pesa is a mobile phone based money transfer system in Kenya which grew at a blistering pace following its inception in 2007. We examine how M-Pesa is used as well as its economic impacts. Analyzing data from two waves of individual data on financial access in Kenya, we find that increased use of M-Pesa lowers the propensity of people to use informal savings mechanisms such as ROSCAS, but raises the probability of their being banked. Using aggregate data, we calculate the velocity of M-Pesa at roughly four person-to-person transfers per month. In addition, we find that M-Pesa causes decreases in the prices of competing money transfer services such as Western Union. While we find little evidence that people use their M-Pesa accounts as a place to store wealth, our results suggest that M-Pesa improves individual outcomes by promoting banking and increasing transfers.

For the purposes of this project, the East African countries included in the study were Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda. The focus for this project was Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) as for-profit or nonprofit organizations with less than 50 employees and not exceeding USD 1,000,000 in annual revenues/turnover. The main output of this project was a proposed program of interventions to drive transformational change. To succeed in this ambitious endeavor, the project articulated clear objectives and designed a blueprint for implementation including levels of resourcing, budget and monitoring metrics. Over the course of the project the team conducted brief surveys with over 90 entrepreneurs, over 50 percent of who had 3-10 years of experience in the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector and primarily worked at companies with 5 employees or less.

Microfinance institutions (MFIs) are expected to succeed in transforming migrants’ remittances into deposits. Based on an original database including 114 MFIs from Africa, South Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, and East Asia and the Pacific, this paper empirically examines the occurrence of this expected success. It tests whether MFIs operating on the remittances market capture more deposits than others. The results exhibit a positive and significant effect of the money transfer activity on the amounts of deposits in MFIs.

Using data from Albanian Living Standard Measurement Study we examine the eect of received remittances on youth labour market partic- ipation. Results from OLS estimation suggest the existence of a traditional neoclassical income eect. We control for potential endogeneity instru- menting the received remittances with the per capita number of Money Transfer Operators in each Albanian district in the year before the survey and with the distance from the border. When accounting for endogene- ity we …nd no statistical evidence that remittances, through a traditional income eect, reduce individual labour market participation.

I highlight the importance of distributional aspects of money divisibility by comparing a search-theoretic model with random transfers of indivisible money balances, to one with deterministic transfers of partially divisible balances. Randomization allows price flexibility, as if money were fully divisible. Partial divisibility does not, but allows money redistributions. An example of the relevance of such ‘extensive margin’ aspects of divisibility is provided.

Centenary RDB is a commercial bank that provides deposit, credit and money transfer services indiscriminately to men and women of lower income. By insisting on loan recovery and cost coverage, it has reached more men and women in rural areas than any other institution in Uganda. With minimum deposits of $6 and minimum loans of $30, access barriers are low. 11 of its 16 branches, 73% of its deposits and 82% of its loans are in rural areas. Established by the Catholic Church of Uganda as a trust fund in 1983, it developed a strength in savings mobilization but performed poorly as a financial intermediary. In 1990, the political will to reform the fund evolved in the board, resulting in the fund's transformation into a commercial bank in 1993. With support from various donors including the German Savings Banks Foundation, the bank evolved into the most successful financial intermediary in Uganda. This has made the bank the African flagship of rural and agricultural banking, combining sustainability with outreach to the rural poor and demonstrating the feasibility of agricultural lending. With equity capital of $6.8m and total assets of $49.85m as of December 2001, it has mobilized $39.9m from 280,00 depositors, provided $14m in loans outstanding to 22,000 small borrowers, earned returns of 4% on average assets and 28% on equity, and, since 1999, finances its expansion from its profits. Centenary RDB has several stories to tell: - one about the feasibility and impact of rural and agricultural bank reform - addressed to the community of agricultural development banks (AgDBs) in Africa and those who decide on their fate; - another one about the compatibility of institutional sustainability and outreach to both men and women in rural areas - addressed to the community of microfinance institutions (MFIs) and their donors; - a third one about the feasibility of agricultural lending to men and women - best told by the staff and clients at Mbale branch and addressed to financial institutions weary of risky agricultural lending.

Prior to the events of 11th September, 2001, international cooperation in the field of global financial crime prevention was already well established. Prompted by separate initiatives led by the United Nations Organisation and the Basel Committee in the late 1980s, the creation in 1989 of the Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering (FATF) by the G7 countries set in place an international body to coordinate anti‐money laundering measures across 26 countries and jurisdictions. Subsequently, and prompted by the creation of the FATF, other regional interstate organisations in western and eastern Europe, across the Americas and the Caribbean, and also in Asia, have drafted similar anti‐money laundering standards for their respective countries. In turn, these interstate regulatory initiatives have been complemented by parallel business‐led ‘voluntary’ initiatives, such as the example of the Wolfsberg Anti‐Money Laundering Principles designed to promote greater transparency across the banking sector.

A simple mechanism is designed to implement the efficient allocation of an indivisible good under uncertainty where no money transfers are to take place in equilibrium. The desired outcome is shown to be the only trembling-hand perfect equilibrium.

The objective of this paper is to report a successful case study, where “success” means that the study resulted in a beneficial change of management attitude. This change of attitude has resulted in management's interest in and initiation of recommended follow up studies which can produce considerable savings. OR/MS principles were successfully applied in this study that are common to other studies reported in Interfaces.

Alfred Singer, Managing Director of National Giro, the Post Office's money transfer and banking service, explains how this new public sector bank has confounded many of its critics and established itself as a viable financial institution in only seven years. An important factor contributing to the upturn in Giro's fortunes has been its success in capturing the business of commercial organisations and public authorities, areas in which Giro cash collection services have made particularly spectacular growth. Mr. Singer explains what Giro offers corporate customers—and looks forward to providing a fuller range of commercial and personal account facilities now that many of the handicaps preventing the service from competing effectively with other banks are being removed.