February 23, 2007
Mobile payments a goldmine for terrorists?
A group of experts on terror finance argue that the GSM Association initiative to ease migrant workers’ ability to send payments back home via their mobile phones could become a potential goldmine for terrorists looking to bypass the regulated banking industry. Wireless Industry News reports.
"Rachel Ehrenfeld, founder of the Terror Finance Blog pointed out that the GSMA’s plan is a “terrorist dream”.
...Overall, the GSMA’s goal is to help migrant workers to send money to their families, but according to Ehrenfeld it “would undoubtedly defeat most efforts to identify the users and follow the money trail.”
Ehrenfeld went on to say that the regulators haven't addressed emerging international payment systems using phone networks and the Internet as a way to circumvent the conventional banking and money transfer system."
Related: - Mobile carriers facilitate cash transfers
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