definition for: #fincludeme

Financial Inclusion IS a matter of national and homeland security. After 9/11, our efforts to strengthen financial system integrity led to greater protections and enhanced global standards to combat illicit finance broadly--including terrorist financing, drug money laundering, weapons proliferation financing and the theft of sovereign assets by kleptocrats. However, growing risk management and compliance requirements have led to wide-spread 'de-risking'-- or de-banking of individuals and entities considered "high compliance risk." Notably, those impacted most include: low/moderate income, diaspora and immigrant communities, the 100s of millions globally without verifiable identity, certain types of businesses (money services, remittance companies, fin-tech), international correspondent banks and transactions involving areas/jurisdictions of high risk. My family -- immigrants from India -- have always relied on affordable, seamless access to the financial system to meet their needs: grow their businesses, access health care, send kids to school, support families/friends at home. While we have made it harder, costlier, and riskier for illicit actors, we have also made it more difficult for these access channels to remain open, and such important flows to continue -- and many are increasingly disenfranchised as global banks see only rising risk/compliance costs. Coupled with low overall financial health and literacy, many are relegated to alternative financial services, that often (not always) can reinforce poor financial behavior and exacerbate their poor financial condition. Greater inclusion however, leads to greater access and empowerment, greater transparency of financial flows and stronger economic resilience -- for households, communities, our financial system, and for our collective national security.