A Somali money transfer service has won an injunction against the UK’s Barclays that prevents the bank from cutting off its remittance payments.
Dahabshiil, a service with around 100,000 customers in the UK, fought a fierce campaign to enable Somalis in the UK to continue sending money home. Along with several charities, it was supported by Olympic gold medallist Mo Farah, who was born in Somalia.
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Dahabshiil said the injunction was "a victory for the millions of Somalis and other Africans, many of whose livelihoods depend on our services."
Barclays was refused the right to appeal against the injunction and will now have to keep remittance services going until the full High Court hearing next year.
Somalia’s Prime Minister, Abdi Farah Shirdon, called the service a "vital lifeline". He said: "Governments, the money remittance sector and all key stakeholders must now work together to find a permanent legitimate and transparent solution that keeps open this vital lifeline."
Oxfam applauded the court’s decision but cautioned that the injunction represented a temporary solution. In a statement, it said: "The ruling provides a small window of opportunity for Somalis living in the UK to send money home to loved ones in one of the poorest countries in the world."
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By GlobalData"However, this does not solve the problem – a long-term fix is needed to safeguard hundreds of thousands of people relying on the money for food, medicines and education."
The charity estimates that ex-pat Somalis send $1.3bn home to family each year, more than 21% of the country’s estimated $6bn GDP. But Barclays argues that checks made by some money transfer services are not thorough enough to root out criminal activity and money laundering.
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