Agent Banking:
Expanding Access to Payment and Remittance Services
Achievements and Opportunities
March 12-14, 2014
Central Bank of Brazil, Sala Denio Nogueira
Brasilia, Distrito Federal, Brazil
Day 1: Wednesday March 12th, 2014
8:30-9:00am – Registration
9:00-9:30am – Welcoming remarks
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Deborah L. Wetzel, Country Director, World Bank
Jesus Cervantes, Coordinator of the General Principles for Remittances Program, CEMLA
Daniela Carrera, IDB Representative in Brazil
9:30-10:15am Keynote speech by the Banco Central do Brasil
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Luiz Awazu Pereira da Silva, Deputy Governor, Financial Regulation, Banco Central do Brasil
10:00-10:30am Coffee break
10:30am-12:15pm – Enabling agent banking: the legal, regulatory, and oversight framework
An adequate legal and regulatory framework is the first condition to developing a successful agent banking
model. Effective oversight that is also critical to monitoring risks and maximizing benefits. This session aims to
identify the right level of regulation and discuss possible approaches to oversight. Specific examples of
jurisdictions that have enabled agent banking models in Latin America and the Caribbean and around the
world will be discussed with a view to sharing lessons learned and international best practices.
Moderated by Sergio Odilon dos Anjos, Head, Financial System Regulation Department, Banco Central do Brasil
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Viviana Garza, Director, Banking Regulation and Supervision, Banco de México
Jorge Castaño Gutiérrez, Director of Research and Development, Superintendencia Financiera de
Colombia
Rajesh Chandra Gupta, Deputy General Manager, Department of Payment & Settlement Systems
Reserve Bank of India
Klaus Loeber, Head, Head of Secretariat, CPSS
12:15-12:45pm – Q&A
12:45-1:45pm – Lunch break
1:45-3:00pm –The agent banking revolution: extending banking reach
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An enabling legal and regulatory framework does not necessarily translate into the adoption of the agent
banking model. Over the last few years, private sector’s initiative has gained press presence for bringing about
a revolution in financial access strategies. This “deep dive” session will allow participants to hear from agent
banking “champions” from both the public and private sector how their respective models work in reaching
out to the financially excluded in a cost-efficient way, and their implications for national financial access /
inclusion strategies.
Moderated by Francisco José Barbosa da Silveira, Deputy Head, Conduct Supervision Department, Banco
Central do Brasil
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Katia Madeira Blaha, Advisor, Febraban
Juan Camilo Velez Arango, Manager of Business Correspondents, Bancolombia
Ernesto Pacheco, Manager, Electronic Banking, FEDECRÉDITO
Kamisah Abd kadir, Deputy Director, Development Finance and Enterprise, Bank Negara Malaysia
3:00-3:30pm – Coffee break
3:30-4:45pm – Towards universal financial access: the role of agent banking
In parallel with the development and expansion of the agent banking model (see previous session), the
international community has been committing to ambitious financial access and broader financial inclusion
targets, recently culminated in a vision to achieve universal access by 2020. This session will discuss the role of
agent banking in realizing this vision as well as specific national targets.
Moderated by Massimo Cirasino, Manager, Financial Infrastructure and Remittances, World Bank
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Vicente S. Aquino, Deputy Governor, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas
Zaira Badillo, Director, Access to Financial Services, Comisión Nacional Bancaria y de Valores México
Percival Jatoba, Vice President, Products, VISA Brazil
4:45 -5:45pm – A snapshot of agent banking in Latin America and the Caribbean
CEMLA, the World Bank, and FOMIN will provide a snapshot of agent banking models across the Latin America
and the Caribbean region based on payment systems and international remittances data.
Day 2: Thursday March 13th, 2014
9:00-11:00am – Leveraging agent banking for international remittances
Poor infrastructure, limited competition, and insufficient coverage are some of the factors that negatively
impact efficiency and costs in the market for international remittances. By leveraging agent banking for
international remittances, some of these barriers could be removed or reduced. Yet, it not clear to what extent
this model has penetrated remittance markets in Latin America and the Caribbean and worldwide. This two
hour-session will feature representatives of both the public and private sector to discuss strategies and
challenges to leverage agent banking for international remittances.
Moderated by Maria Luisa Hayem Breve, Access to Finance Specialist, FOMIN/ BID
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Morgana Cristina Santos, Business Vice-Chairman, Banco Postal/Correios
Sonia Gómez, Manager, Financial Systems, Banco Central de Reserva de El Salvador
Carlos López-Moctezuma, Global Director For Financial Inclusion, BBVA Retail Banking
Marcelo Tangioni, Senior Business Leader, MasterCard
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11:00-11:30am – Coffee break
11:30am-12:30pm – Moderated discussion
12:30-1:45pm – Lunch break
1:45-3:00pm – The role of the national clearing and settlement infrastructure in facilitating agent banking
The role of the national clearing and settlement infrastructure is crucial in facilitating agent banking. Riskbased access to the national payments infrastructure, efficient clearing and settlement, and interoperability
are some of the topics of this session which will feature central bank authorities and private payment service
providers.
Moderated by Rogério Antonio Lucca, Advisor, Banking Operations and Payment Systems, Banco Central do
Brasil
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Joaquim Kavakama, General Superintendent, CIP, Brazil
Livingston Morrison, Deputy Governor, Bank of Jamaica
Francisco Tur, Adviser, Payments and Market Infrastructure, ECB
3:00-3:30pm – Coffee break
3:30-4:45 – Risk management strategies and governance models of agent banking
Evidence from a number of countries suggests that a perceived heightened risk profile of certain activities
(e.g., international remittances) or service providers (especially non-banks) may result in restricted access to
the national payments infrastructure and ultimately affect competition levels in the market. This session aims
to discuss the main risks to which the agent banking business is generally exposed and the relevant risk
management strategies to identify, monitor, and manage such risks. Governance arrangements also have a
role in ensuring appropriate identification and management of risks, and more broadly in facilitating continued
growth and viability.
Moderated by Anselmo Pereira Araújo Netto, Advisor, Financial System Regulation Department, Banco Central
do Brasil
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Sidney Passeri, General Manager, Banco do Brasil
Mariachiara Malaguti, Sr. Legal Advisor, World Bank
Nigel Bartlett, Sr. Financial Sector Specialist, World Bank
4:45-5:30pm – Q&A
7:30pm – Dinner Reception
Day 3: Friday March 14th, 2014
9:30-11:00am – Realizing potential and accelerating impact through technology
Technological innovation applied to payment services holds the promise to rapidly expand access to payment
services, and eventually help achieve broader financial inclusion. Whether or not technological innovations will
make the difference in individuals’ and households’ payment will depend on their ability to promote
competition by bringing in additional players, to allow an affordable and transparent fee structure, and to use
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channels that are convenient and familiar for first-time users. This session will discuss how very popular
technology applies to the agent banking business model and its impact.
Moderated by Fabiola Herrera, Director, Payment Systems Department, Banco Central de la Republica
Dominicana
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Marcos Etchegoyen, President, MFS
Marcelo Coelho, General Director, Mercado Pago
Marco Nicoli, Remittances Specialist, World Bank
11:00-11:15am – Coffee break
11:15am-12:15pm – Achievements and opportunities for agent banking in the Latin America and the
Caribbean Region. Wrap up discussion facilitated by Massimo Cirasino, Manager, Financial
Infrastructure and Remittances, World Bank.
12:15-12:40. The last mile: expanding the access to payment services - an opportunity for financial
inclusion. Aldo Mendes, Deputy Governor, Monetary Policy, Central Bank of Brazil.
12:40-1:00pm – Concluding Remarks
1:00-2:00pm – Closing lunch
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