Over the past several years, access to financial services have become increasingly difficult for civil society organizations that must conduct international financial transactions in order to operate overseas where their work is needed most. Financial institutions may delay, or refuse to make, transfers between organizations. Sometimes, nonprofit organizations (NPOs) are turned away as customers or have their accounts closed. Remittance services that facilitate fund transfers between diaspora populations and their families are threatened by the international banking system’s growing unwillingness to provide these services.
The U.S. government has said that banks should not “de-risk” but that policy has not been translated into concrete action or regulatory standards that remove current disincentives for banks to provide services to international NPOs. As a result, money will be taken out of transparent, regulated channels, making life more difficult for legitimate NPOs and easier for terrorist financiers.
Featured Resources
Charity & Security Network Announces New Guidance for Banking Nonprofit Organizations
As a key partner of the Consortium for Financial Access the Charity & Security Network is pleased to announce the release of a new guidance document, Banking Nonprofit Organizations – The Way Forward. The nonprofit
Derisking Conference Report Identifies Priority Measures
Interfering with the financial access of nonprofits operations designed to address post-conflict reconstruction or counter violent extremism "may in fact hinder other components of counterterrorism efforts," states a new conference report generated from a UK-Swiss
CGD Report Takes Stock of the Current State of Derisking
Over the past three years, progress has been made with the problem of derisking and the situation has stabilized so that no country is at risk of losing access to international payments services. At the
C&SN Submits Comments on Community Reinvestment Act
In comments submitted to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), Charity & Security Network urges the agency to use the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) as a vehicle for incentivizing banks to provide financial services
Report: UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Warns of “Chilling Effect” on Humanitarian Aid
A UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights has criticized counter-terrorism laws for imposing “chilling effects on the provision of humanitarian aid for people desperately in need of help.” Agnès Callamard, the UN Special Rapporteur
GAO Report Builds Upon C&SN Research on Financial Access for Nonprofits
In a study of implementing partners of U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and State Department humanitarian assistance projects in four high-risk countries—Syria, Somalia, Haiti and Kenya—the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that