What Happened at the February 2026 FATF Plenary?
Delegates from over 200 jurisdictions convened in Mexico City from 9–13 February 2026 for a week of working group sessions and Plenary discussions. The session produced several consequential outcomes that directly affect money transfer operators worldwide.
The Plenary adopted mutual evaluation reports for Austria, Italy, and Singapore — the first batch under the new fifth-round evaluation methodology inaugurated with Belgium and Malaysia in December 2025. It approved new publications on cyber-enabled fraud and virtual assets. It updated the grey list and black list. And it appointed Giles Thomson of the United Kingdom as the incoming FATF President for the 2026–2028 term, succeeding Mexico's Elisa de Anda Madrazo.
Grey List & Black List: February 2026 Updates
New Additions to the Grey List
Two countries were added to the FATF's "jurisdictions under increased monitoring":
Both nations have committed to working with the FATF to address identified deficiencies. For Kuwait, the action plan focuses on improving outreach to real estate agents and dealers in precious metals and stones regarding suspicious transaction reporting, ensuring beneficial ownership registry accuracy, and increasing money laundering investigations related to cross-border currency movements.
Full Grey List — February 2026
* Algeria nearing exit — on-site assessment warranted | † Deferred reporting
Black List: High-Risk Jurisdictions
The FATF's black list — jurisdictions with the most serious strategic deficiencies — remains focused on three countries:
Russia's suspension from FATF membership, first imposed in February 2024, continues to stand.
Figure 1: FATF Jurisdiction Risk Classification — Grey List vs Black List, February 2026
Why This Matters for Money Transfer Operators
If you operate cross-border remittance corridors, grey list and black list changes directly affect your compliance obligations. Here is what you need to do immediately:
Kuwait and Papua New Guinea must be reclassified in your risk assessment framework. If you serve corridors involving either country — or have agents, correspondents, or beneficiaries there — enhanced due diligence is now expected.
Banks routinely recalibrate their risk appetite when FATF updates its lists. If your banking partner flags a jurisdiction you rely on, you may face disruption. Proactive communication with your banking relationships is critical.
Transactions involving grey-listed countries should trigger heightened scrutiny in your monitoring systems. This includes lower alert thresholds, more frequent manual reviews, and documentation of the rationale for continuing to serve those corridors.
The FATF has repeatedly cautioned against blanket de-risking — cutting off entire countries or customer segments rather than applying individual risk assessments. De-risking pushes people into unregulated channels and ultimately increases the very risks the FATF is trying to mitigate.
The FATF's New Focus: Cyber-Enabled Fraud
Perhaps the most significant strategic shift from the February 2026 Plenary is the FATF's formal recognition of cyber-enabled fraud as a priority area for the coming years. The Global Anti-Scam Alliance estimates that approximately $1 trillion is lost to scams globally every year, and FATF's own mutual evaluation data shows that 90% of countries have identified fraud among their top financial crime threats.
The Plenary approved a dedicated paper on cyber-enabled fraud that examines how criminals are exploiting digital innovations — including instant payments, social engineering, and global digital platforms — to accelerate the scale, speed, and complexity of fraud. The paper calls for enhanced cross-border cooperation, real-time intelligence sharing, and stronger public-private partnerships.
For money transfer operators, this is a direct signal. Fraudsters are increasingly targeting remittance corridors for their speed and cross-border reach. The FATF's commitment to focusing on fraud over the coming years means regulators worldwide will be scrutinising how MTOs detect, prevent, and respond to fraud within their platforms.
What This Means for Your Business
- Invest in fraud detection technology. Rule-based systems alone are no longer sufficient. Machine learning models that detect anomalous patterns in real time — combined with geographic and behavioural filters — will become the baseline expectation.
- Build public-private partnerships. The FATF highlighted the Frontier Plus platform, through which 11 jurisdictions coordinated a major anti-scam operation in 2025, processing over 9,000 scam reports tied to losses exceeding EUR 192 million and resulting in 1,800 arrests.
- Prepare for regulatory guidance. A detailed cyber-fraud report is expected later in 2026, likely containing new risk indicators and best practices that regulators will expect you to incorporate.
Virtual Assets: Stablecoins, Offshore VASPs, and the 84% Problem
The Plenary approved two reports on virtual assets, scheduled for publication in March 2026:
This report examines how criminals exploit regulatory gaps when virtual asset services operate from offshore or lightly regulated jurisdictions. For remittance operators who interact with crypto rails or offer digital asset-linked transfer options, this will be essential reading.
This report addresses emerging risks in the stablecoin market, particularly around peer-to-peer transactions and unhosted (self-custody) wallets. One statistic from the Plenary stands out: stablecoins accounted for 84% of illicit virtual asset transaction volume in 2025.
The Remittance Connection
The line between traditional remittances and digital asset transfers is blurring. Stablecoins are increasingly used as a settlement layer in cross-border payments, particularly in corridors where traditional banking infrastructure is limited. If your platform touches virtual assets in any capacity — whether directly or through third-party integrations — you need to monitor how these new FATF publications affect your obligations.
Figure 2: The convergence of traditional remittances and virtual asset channels
Recommendation 16: The Revised Travel Rule and Its Impact on Remittances
While the Travel Rule revision was formally adopted at the June 2025 Plenary, its implications continue to ripple through the industry and were part of ongoing discussions in Mexico City. The revised Recommendation 16 represents the most significant overhaul of payment transparency standards in over a decade, and remittance operators are squarely in its crosshairs.
Key Changes You Need to Know
- Expanded scope: The revised standard now covers all forms of payment or value transfer — not just traditional wire transfers. This includes instant payments, card-based cross-border cash withdrawals, and virtual asset transfers. The principle is explicit: same activity, same risk, same rules.
- Standardised beneficiary information: For cross-border peer-to-peer payments above USD/EUR 1,000, standardised originator and beneficiary data must accompany the payment message.
- Verification obligations: Ordering financial institutions must verify originator data accuracy. Beneficiary institutions must confirm beneficiary identity for transfers above the threshold.
- New fraud protection technologies: Financial institutions will need to introduce technologies that protect against fraud and errors — such as confirmation-of-payee systems.
- Implementation timeline: Countries have until the end of 2030 to implement the revised standard, with FATF expected to publish detailed implementation guidance in late 2026.
Figure 3: Recommendation 16 — From adoption to implementation deadline
What Remittance Operators Should Do Now
Even though the 2030 deadline feels distant, the implementation window is not. Systems need to be designed, tested, and deployed well before the deadline:
- Audit your data capture processes. Can your platform collect and transmit the full set of originator and beneficiary information required under the revised standard?
- Assess your payment messaging infrastructure. ISO 20022 structured data formats are becoming the global norm. If your systems still rely on unstructured messaging, start planning the migration now.
- Monitor the guidance. The FATF will publish comprehensive implementation guidance in late 2026. Engage with your national regulators and industry bodies.
- Consider financial inclusion impacts. The FATF has acknowledged that the revised standard must not create barriers for vulnerable populations — including the estimated 4 billion people globally who lack a structured address.
New Mutual Evaluation Round: What to Expect
The FATF's fifth round of mutual evaluations is now in full swing. The February 2026 Plenary adopted assessment reports for Austria, Italy, and Singapore, following the first two reports (Belgium and Malaysia) published in December 2025.
A defining feature of this new evaluation round is the introduction of time-bound Roadmaps of Key Recommended Actions. Unlike previous rounds where follow-up timelines were more flexible, countries assessed under the new methodology receive a concrete set of priority actions and are expected to demonstrate significant progress within three years.
Canada: On-site assessment expected in 2025, Plenary discussion in June 2026.
Türkiye: On-site assessment expected late 2025, Plenary discussion in June 2026.
Mexico: Joint FATF-GAFILAT evaluation forthcoming.
If you operate in or through these jurisdictions, stay close to the evaluation process and be prepared for regulatory changes that may follow.
Strategic Priorities for 2026–2028
FATF members agreed on a set of strategic priorities for the 2026–2028 biennium, to be presented for ministerial endorsement in April 2026. The Plenary's emphasis points to four clear themes:
Figure 4: The four strategic pillars guiding FATF's work from 2026 to 2028
The appointment of Giles Thomson as incoming President (July 2026 – June 2028) signals continuity. Thomson has served as Vice-President since July 2025 and is expected to build on the Mexican Presidency's focus on fraud and digital asset risks.
Practical Compliance Checklist: Actions for Money Transfer Operators
Based on the Plenary outcomes, here is a prioritised action plan for remittance businesses:
Update risk scores for Kuwait and Papua New Guinea in your risk assessment framework.
Refresh grey list and black list screening configurations against the February 2026 updates.
Brief your compliance team and agents on the updated jurisdiction lists.
Notify banking partners of any changed risk exposure in your corridors.
Assess your fraud detection capabilities against the FATF's emerging focus on cyber-enabled fraud.
Review any exposure to virtual assets, stablecoins, or offshore VASPs in your payment chains.
Begin Recommendation 16 readiness audit — data capture and messaging infrastructure.
Review EDD procedures for all 22 grey-listed countries.
Integrate recommendations from FATF's cyber-fraud and virtual asset reports (March 2026 onwards).
Monitor mutual evaluation outcomes for jurisdictions in your operating corridors.
Engage with regulators on Recommendation 16 implementation guidance (expected late 2026).
Conduct an independent AML/CFT programme review reflecting the latest FATF expectations.
Looking Ahead
The February 2026 Plenary reinforces a clear direction: the FATF is moving from a primarily technical compliance focus toward demanding demonstrable effectiveness. It is not enough to have policies on paper. Regulators — and by extension, your banking partners and correspondent networks — want evidence that your systems work, that your monitoring catches real threats, and that your risk assessments reflect the actual risks you face.
For money transfer operators, this is both a challenge and an opportunity. Operators who invest in robust, technology-driven compliance infrastructure — and who treat regulatory developments as strategic inputs rather than bureaucratic burdens — will be better positioned for sustainable growth, stronger banking relationships, and deeper customer trust.
The next FATF Plenary, the final one under the Mexican Presidency, is scheduled for June 2026. We will continue to cover the outcomes and their implications for the remittance industry.
