WorldRemit ceases money remittance business in Uganda
Bank of Uganda has announced that global payments company, World Remit has voluntarily ceased money remittance business in Uganda.
By Staff
The Bank of Uganda (BoU) has announced the closure of WorldRemit in Uganda. The company was most known for money international transfers and payments.
This was announced in a press statement today issued by the Bank of Uganda that read:
“Pursuant to regulation 19 (3) of the Foreign Exchange (Forex Bureaus and Money Remittance) Regulations, 2006, the Bank of Uganda hereby informs the public that World Remit Money Transfer (U) Limited voluntarily ceased to carry on money remittance business.”
“The public is notified that the closure of World Remit Money Transfer (U) Limited as a company will not affect WorldRemit money remittance product offered by several supervised financial institutions in Uganda,” The statement adds.
The closure comes after WorldRemit announced in May that it was blocking money transfers in Uganda. This happened after Uganda was listed among the top 25 countries on the “Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing” high-risk list for 2022 and Sydney Asubo, Executive Director of the Finance Intelligence Authority, asserted that Uganda risked being banned by the Financial Action Taskforce (FATF) if the Government does not combat money laundering.
This has left some Ugandans warily looking for other quick solutions for securing their money such as cryptocurrencies.
However, the Central Bank has also emphasized that customers who still have funds on the platform should submit their claims with evidence.
“Customers with outstanding claims for monies given to WorldRemit Money Transfer (U) Limited for remittance purposes should submit the claims with evidence to the Director of Non-bank Financial Institutions Department at Bank of Uganda by July 18th, 2022.”
The public has been given the assurance by the Bank of Uganda that it will continue to protect the integrity and stability of Uganda’s financial system.