By – Samuel Abuya

With the upcoming International Money Transfer & Payment Conference around the corner, the issue of tackling and mitigating the impact of black market in the global money transfer is set to be among the key agendas, along with focusing on the future of remittance and supporting the banking systems not only in Nigeria but also in other developing countries around the world.

The issue of black market has been, for a long time now, this unresolved issue that has been affecting many economies around the world, especially those of developing countries such as African countries, due to its widespread effects.

Many of the leading remittance companies including Western Union, MoneyGram and Transfast will attend this year’s IMTC, from November 8 – 11 at the Nobu Eden Roc Hotel in Miami Beach, FL. Participants are looking forward to putting their minds together and coming up with long-lasting solutions to ensure that the black markets do not continue to hurt economies around the world as it was the case in Nigeria a few months ago. The CEO of Ping Express, Anslem Oshionebo will also be on the NIGERIA panel with Joe Tumbarello

In August this year, the Central Bank of Nigeria temporarily suspended licences of various leading remittance companies, leaving the entire Nigerian population, back at home and in the diaspora, to use three principal U.S. Money Transfer Operators. This move created worries, confusion and uproar from various quarters, something that may have contributed to the CBN to lifting the ban.

In response to discussing solutions in for the crisis, Director of IMTC, Hugo Cuevas-Mohr, commented, “We are very happy, at IMTC, to have speakers such as Joe Tumbarello, COO/CFO of Transfast, especially because he is a very experienced executive in the payments arena and the money transfer industry needs the insights and opinions of individuals like him that are transforming the industry amidst the challenges that we face.”

Black market fact box

• All the transactions that take place in the black market are not only illegal but also punishable by law

• The black market runs parallel to the state-run economies

• All transactions, including money transfer services, under the black market are can lead to money laundering

• Affected economies lose a lot of revenue in the name of taxes as those involved evade paying the same

• Black market thrives on tax evasion and, as a result, the affected economies lose a lot of revenues

• Black market provides a platform of smuggling illegal goods and services, that could have otherwise not been allowed by the state

• Black market is among the top causes of the death of legitimate industries leading to unemployment

• Black market has also been listed as among the main causes of shortages in distribution of goods and services

The IMTC provides a stage for leaders in global money transfer services among other stake holders such as Ria, with more than 3,000 top-level attendees from more than 800 companies drawn from more than 70 countries around the world. It is also a great platform for companies in this industry to network and develop new partnerships while, at the same time,