Kenya' April remittances up slightly: Central Bank

Kenyan remittances rose slightly to $52.68 million in April from $52.31 million a month earlier, and were up from $48.12 million in the same month last year, the Central Bank of Kenya said this week.

"The pick up in April ... can indirectly be attributed to improving economic conditions in the regions of origin, and improved prospects for economic recovery at home," the bank said in a statement.

The central bank said the main source of the money remained North America followed by Europe.

Typically, Kenyans living abroad send money back home to help their families and to invest in various sectors like real estate.

They sent a total of $609 million last year, down from $611 million in 2008. Remittances rank among the country's top sources of foreign exchange alongside tourism, tea and horticulture.

Mobile banking - iPhone and iPad offer the possibility of Money transfers via MasterCard

MasterCard has launched its MasterCard MoneySend service for iPhone and iPad owners to allow them transfer money in the United States from from iPhone or iPad's. MasterCard MoneySend is now available for free download at the iPhone App Store.

Using MasterCard MoneySend option customers in the US can initiate or request money transfer via their iPhone with participating banks and credit unions, or when they create a virtual prepaid account through Bancorp Bank that is linked to an existing MasterCard payment card or checking account.

Registered MoneySend users have the ability to:

• Accept credit or debit card payments
• Send money to family members 
• Pay for informal goods and services 
• Request money from people who owe you money
• Simplify business or non-profit collection effort the Request Funds feature
• Manage MoneySend transaction history from an iPhone or iPad.

EU Court of Justice shows only national Internet gambling firms can be licensed

The European Union Court of Justice (ECJ) has released the rulings on the two cases this week which indicate that EU countries can impose bans on online gambling companies if their aim is to combat fraud. The rulings brought by the ECJ are related to the cases considered by lower courts in the Netherlands.

British bookmaker Ladbroke was taken to a Dutch court by De Lotto, a Dutch non-profit-making foundation which offers games of chance, who asked the injunction on the UK firm’s online gambling operations on the grounds they are not licensed in the Netherlands.

Ladbrokes appealed to the Dutch Supreme Court after the lower court backed De Lotto. And the Dutch Supreme Court asked the ECJ in 2008 to rule whether the Dutch licensing system was compatible with EU law allowing for the free movement of goods and services across the 27-country European Union.

Another case was brought by Betfair, the world's largest online gaming exchange, who disputed the Dutch authorities’ decision to decline a license while they had granted similar licenses to two Dutch companies. The court again sought guidance from the ECJ.

The ECJ backed the position of the lower Dutch court on Ladbrokes.

"Such a restriction may be justified, in particular, by the objectives of consumer protection and the prevention of both fraud and incitement to squander money on gambling, as well as the need to preserve public order," it said. It cited the same rationale for the Betfair case.

"The grant to such an operator of exclusive rights to operate games of chance, or the renewal of such rights, without any competitive tendering procedure would not appear to be disproportionate in the light of the objectives pursued by the Netherlands legislation," it said.

Consultancy H2 Gambling Capital estimates the European interactive market could be worth as much as 12.6 billion euros ($15.50 billion) by 2012, up from 8.3 billion euros last year.

Remittances - Andhra Bank links with UAE Exchange Centre for faster service

Public sector lender, Andhra Bank has entered into an agreement with UAE Exchange Centre of Kuwait in order to bring up a special scheme which would facilitate speedy remittances to its customers.

The service would allow NRI customers to remit money from any of the UAE Exchange Centres located in Kuwait. This money would be credited to the accounts of Andhra Bank customers across all 1,560 branches of the bank in India. The amount would be credited the next day after being remitted.

An SMS alert would be generated to the beneficiaries in India confirming that the amount has been credited to their account, the bank said.

Payments – New SEPA Council aims to kickstart EU payments convergence

The European Commission and European Central bank have hosted the first meeting of the SEPA Council, a new body created to guide the future development of the Single Euro Payments Area project. The meeting brought together top-level representatives - both users and suppliers in the European payments market.

Participants from the users side included consumers, retailers, businesses/corporates, small and medium-sized companies, and national public administrations. Payment supplier representation comes from the European Payments Council (EPC), co-operative banks, saving banks, commercial banks, and payment institutions. In addition, four national central bank board members represent the Eurosystem.

The establishment of the new body follows strong criticism of the SEPA governance structure and the lack of consultation with end-users. At the EBAday meeting in Luxembourg earlier this month, banks too expressed their concerns about the expense of the project, its sluggish returns and the failure of national governments to support the scheme.

Internal market commissioner Michel Barnier describes the formation of the Council as "a crucial step forwards" in the realization of an integrated market for payments in euro.

"To achieve the full potential of SEPA, we clearly need to improve user involvement in this project, both from early design to final implementation," he says. "I very much hope that this new Council will act as a catalyst to create a retail payment framework fully meeting the expectations of all actors."

The main issues discussed at the first meeting were the need and conditions to establish migration end-dates for SEPA and the future of a SEPA for payment cards. The Council will meet twice a year for an initial period of three years, say the ECB and the Commission, who will monitor and evaluate its progress over time.

Gertrude Tumpel-Gugerell, ECB executive board member, says the Council will not displace the bank-backed co-ordinating body, the EPC.

"We need to recognize the importance of user involvement for the success of SEPA," she says. "The SEPA Council aims at bringing together, at the highest level, the demand and supply sides of the European payments market, without, however, replacing any of the existing bodies, such as the European Payments Council."

Kenyan government salute to remittances

The Kenyan government recognizes the contribution by close to 2.5 million Kenyans in the Diaspora towards the country's economic growth through their remittance, Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka has said.

Mr. Musyoka noted that in 2008-2009 financial year Kenyans living and working abroad remitted over $1billion to the country.

He said the government will continue to engage her citizens abroad in various fields as they were only contributors to the country's economic growth but also they are ambassadors who play a crucial role of boosting positive image internationally.

The Vice President made the remarks on Monday when he opened the first conference of Kenya's honorary consuls abroad, at the Windsor Hotel Nairobi.

The conference whose theme is "New Dimensions in Kenya's Diplomacy: the role of the Kenya's consuls is aimed at appraising the officials with the country's foreign policy priorities and their role in actualizing them.

Mr. Musyoka said the adoption of the proposed constitution will open doors for the country to expand its bilateral relations with the rest of the world for the benefit of her people.

He said the new law will allow for dual citizenship, thus creating the right environment for the Diaspora to increase its remittances and investments

On tourism and foreign investments, Mr. Musyoka added, the draft proposes the devolution of funds thus opening up the rural areas for business and development.

The Vice President said the government was in the process of producing a written foreign policy in which core priorities and objectives such as promoting economic development, enhancing regional peace and security with interlinked pillars of diplomacy will be outlined. He however, noted that due to financial and economic limitations, the government has adopted a strategy of expanding Honorary Consular representation abroad to conduct Kenya's diplomatic interests.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs (MFA) Moses Wetangula commended the honorary consuls for offering to represent Kenya abroad, citing Australia where there are many Kenyans studying and working. He assured that the government will support all the efforts by honorary consuls in their tasks as country's representatives.

Mr. Wetangula assured them that they will be introduced to the key players in the Kenya economy and the role they can play in the vision 2030.

The Dean of Honorary Consuls, Mr.Jens Peter Breitengross of Hamburg, Germany urged the ministry to keep them informed of the changes that are taking place in Kenya.

Operations Risk - Royal Bank of Scotland loses £93,000 in simple cash deposit scam

A businessman conned the Royal Bank of Scotland out of £93,000 in a absurdly simple scam that exploited the bank's cash envelope deposit system.

Senthuran Gopalakrishnan was jailed for one-year for the fraud in which he pretended to deposit £155,000 over an eight-day period, when in fact he had only banked £62,000. The bank's Fast Cash deposit system required customers to place the cash in a sealed envelope and write down the total on the cover. This sum was immediately credited to customer accounts.

At a hearing, Gopalakrishnan admitted that between 29 June and 6 July last year he deposited a number of envelopes which contained inflated details of the amounts of cash inside, netting a cool £93,000 windfall.

The fraud was only uncovered five days later when a different department counted the actual sums in the envelopes. The £93,000 excess withdrawn by Gopalakrishnan was never recovered.

The bank says it has since changed the system.