The Transfer of Funds (Guernsey) Ordinance, 2017 was enacted under the European Communities (Implementation) (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law, 1994. It repealed and replaced the earlier 2007 Ordinance to implement EU Regulation 2015/847 on information accompanying transfers of funds. This Regulation aligns closely with FATF Recommendation 16, also known as the Travel Rule, which mandates that essential information about the payer and payee accompany wire transfers to enable the detection and prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing.

Legal Effect & Institutional Roles

The Ordinance brings the EU Regulation into force in Guernsey, subject to specified adaptations and exceptions. It designates the Guernsey Financial Services Commission (GFSC) as the competent authority for most of the Regulation's provisions. The Border Agency is assigned specific responsibilities related to administrative sanctions. The GFSC is empowered to monitor, obtain information, and ensure compliance among supervised institutions.

The Ordinance also contains provisions safeguarding the confidentiality of information collected under these powers, a critical balance given the sensitive nature of financial data.

Compliance Framework & Monitoring

By giving legal force to EU Regulation 2015/847, the Ordinance mandates that payment service providers (PSPs) and other relevant institutions collect, retain, and transmit specified information for each transfer. This includes details such as the name, account number, and address or official identification of the originator and beneficiary. This data must accompany the transfer through the entire payment chain or be reconstructible by intermediary institutions if required.

The GFSC is responsible for ensuring firms implement internal controls, risk-based monitoring, and reporting systems to detect non-compliance or suspicious patterns in transfers, in line with broader AML/CFT obligations.

Alignment with International Standards

The Ordinance ensures Guernsey meets its international obligations under FATF by mandating the collection and transfer of customer information across borders and into foreign jurisdictions, where applicable. It also enables derogations for domestic transfers within the British Islands, recognising a shared regulatory equivalence across the Crown Dependencies.

This layered approach reflects the expectation that while cross-border wire transfers require full information, jurisdictions with harmonised regulatory standards can rely on each other’s regimes for internal flows.

Conclusion: WTR Compliance Integration

The Transfer of Funds (Guernsey) Ordinance, 2017 is a key component of Guernsey’s legal infrastructure for implementing the Wire Transfer Regulation. It ensures that payment and intermediary service providers collect and transmit the required originator and beneficiary information in accordance with EU Regulation 2015/847 and FATF Recommendation 16. By establishing the GFSC as the lead supervisory authority and enabling enforcement through risk-based monitoring and penalties, the Ordinance embeds international wire transfer compliance standards into Guernsey law. This strengthens the jurisdiction’s AML/CFT defences and reinforces its commitment to cross-border financial transparency.