Australian lender Westpac is set to quit the global remittance business by March 31, reports Reuters.
The lender will provide time to money transfer operators to make alternative banking arrangements before shutting down the operations.
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However, Westpac will continue to work closely with the government, regulators and customers to find out longer-term solutions required to support such payments in the coming days.
In November, Westpac had been sued by over 20 remittance firms to prevent it from exiting the remittance business.
Richard Mitry, a lawyer on behalf of remitters in the case, said, "We asked Westpac to provide a reasonable time before they close the accounts. Now Westpac has agreed for March 31. At that time all accounts will close."
Banks cite increasing regulatory compliance costs as the reason which make it tough for them to support remittance firms.
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