The World Bank and the Committee on Payment and Settlement Systems of the Bank for International Settlements concentrated their activities on the payment system aspects of remittances, aiming at clarifying the crucial mechanisms that allow the creation of safe, efficient, and low-priced markets for remittances in each country and worldwide.

The joint effort led to the production of “General Principles for International Remittance Services,” a report created by a task force consisting of representatives from international financial institutions involved in remittances and from central banks in both sending and receiving countries. The report provides an analysis of the payment system aspects of remittances and establishes general principles designed to assist countries in improving the market for remittance services.