I think that Western Union have to apply the usual provisions against moneylaundering  when accepting the money to be sent to Kenya - there is no difference between sending it to an M-PESA account or sending it to be picked up at a Western Union agent. <br>
<br>As far as I remember, you only need the reference number and a password to pick up a Western Union payment - there are usually no controls with the recipient.<br><br>Also, a limit of around KES35,000 applies per transaction - you'll be sending LOADS of payments before that becomes interesting for professional moneylaunderers :) There are easier ways. <br>
<br><div class="gmail_quote">On 31 March 2011 15:54, Odhiambo Washington <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:odhiambo@gmail.com">odhiambo@gmail.com</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding-left: 1ex;">
<br><br><div class="gmail_quote"><div class="im">On Thu, Mar 31, 2011 at 12:29, Andrea Bohnstedt <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:andrea.bohnstedt@ratio-magazine.com" target="_blank">andrea.bohnstedt@ratio-magazine.com</a>></span> wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding-left: 1ex;">

Hey all, <br><br>Safaricom have entered a co-operation with Western Union so that remittances can be sent straight to M-PESA accounts. I haven't seen the fee structure yet (probably the usual Western Union fees), but still - great to see that Safaricom seem to have cracked the international transfers. Another global first for Kenya, I think. <br>



<br>Here's the press release: <br><a href="http://www.ratio-magazine.com/201103313887/Corporate-Press-Releases/Kenya-Press-Releases-M-PESA-to-Accept-Remittances-through-Alliance-with-Western-Union.html" target="_blank">http://www.ratio-magazine.com/201103313887/Corporate-Press-Releases/Kenya-Press-Releases-M-PESA-to-Accept-Remittances-through-Alliance-with-Western-Union.html</a><br>


<br></blockquote></div><div><br>This is very interesting. <br><br>How will they counter money laundering?<br><br>Will central Bank now require Safaricom to submit details of ALL transactions for the purpose of monitoring how much money came in via this medium?<br>


 <br></div></div><br>-- <br>Best regards,<br>Odhiambo WASHINGTON,<br>Nairobi,KE<br>+254733744121/+254722743223<br>_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ <br>Damn!!<br><br>
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<br></blockquote></div><br><br clear="all"><br>-- <br><a href="http://ke.linkedin.com/in/andreabohnstedt" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: verdana,sans-serif;">Andrea Bohnstedt</span></a><br style="font-family: verdana,sans-serif;">
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