Somalilandsun – Thank you all who have signed our petition to have Barclays Bank Reverse its Decision to cease servicing accounts operated by 17 indigenous owned Money Service Businesses-MSBs.
Remittances being a crucial lifeline and source of investment capital for millions of the world’s poor including Somalis we appreciate the weighty signature appended by an UK legislator.
Legislator Tessa Jowell added her voice to this petition on the issue of remittance transfers to Somalia, and launched a wider campaign to ‘Stop The Transfer Tax Rip-off’ (www.stopthetransfertax.com ) demanding that the giant international money transfer companies take immediate action to reduce their outrageous charges on transfers to other countries.
Tessa Jowell MP said: “Remittances are a complex issue, but that is no excuse for the giant transfer companies to exploit people who want to support family and friends abroad. These ripoff charges, which are particularly high in sub-Saharan Africa, must stop. One of the ways the cost of remittances can be reduced is by ensuring that smaller Money Service Businesses have access to bank accounts for their international operations – I offer my complete support to this petition about transfers to Somalia, as more competition will help make costs much fairer and more reasonable.”
“However people who send money to many more of the world’s poorest countries are also getting ripped off – and the international community has not acted. Governments across the world pledged to take action to reduce fees to a maximum of 5% by the end of November 2014 – but nothing has happened, and on Sunday 30th November the deadline passed. This is particularly unfair at times like Christmas – that’s why I’m calling for action to halve charges during the Christmas period, ahead of a more permanent reduction. I’d be very grateful if supporters of the petition would also join my campaign at http://www.stopthetransfertax.com/ “
We thank and appreciate Tessa Jowell’s support and efforts to shed light on internationally agreed commitments on reducing the cost of remittances that were made at major international summits and conferences.
Thank you, Tessa Jowell.
Thanks so much for your continued support. Farhan Hassan-petitioner
Dame Tessa Jowell is the Labour MP for Dulwich and West Norwood a London constituency she has represented since 1992 when she first joined the House of Commons.You can follow her on Twitter @jowellt
You too can make your voice heard by Signing the The Barclays UK decision on the Somali MSBs accounts Petition: @Barclays to reconsider its decision
