By CAM LUCADOU-WELLS
FOREIGN money exchanges in Dandenong have been saved from imminent closure after the intervention of Suncorp Bank.
The ‘Big Four’ banks had, for “policy” reasons, closed bank accounts of 10 exchanges – the last being Westpac which was set to finalise its affairs on Wednesday.
Australian Afghan Business Council president Bashir Keshtiar stepped in and negotiated a solution with Suncorp.
Mr Keshtiar said MP Exchange would open a Suncorp account from the end of October under a “pilot” arrangement.
He said the issue had highlighted the need for a Thomas Street traders’ association which he said he would lead.
“If something like this happens, we’ve got one point of communication, one spokesman to talk to.”
Ali Parwarish of MP Exchange said the deal would keep the business open, allowing refugees and asylum seekers to send money home to their needy families in remote parts of Afghanistan and Pakistan.
“We still need the support of the big banks, who can give us a better international transfer rate but it keeps us up and running.”
The business owners remain perplexed at why the banks had abandoned their remittance business.
Owner Mohammad Parwarish told the Journal he wasn’t sure if the bank’s policy was “coming from the government side or from the banks”.
Mr Parwarish said the two-year-old business was registered with and had reported regularly – and without incident – to federal anti-money laundering and terrorism-funding agency Australian Transactions Report and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC).
“If there’s any legal problems that we need to comply with, we’re ready to comply.
“I know most of the people coming here. We’re a specific group in Afghanistan, the Hazaras.
“We’re people affected by terrorists and we’re not involved in that.”
Owners of the affected exchanges are set to meet over the issue.
This year AUSTRAC released a report on terrorism funding, noting the remittance sector was vulnerable to terrorist exploitation.
“AUSTRAC is aware that some banks have taken… a decision to exit remittance sector customers in some circumstances,” a spokeswoman told the Journal recently.
Reasons included a bank not being comfortable with “the level of risk that it is exposed to by maintaining the accounts of particular customers”.
“AUSTRAC has no power, nor would it be appropriate, to intervene in the making of such a decision by a reporting entity.”
