.svg)
The news that Burkina Faso, Mozambique, Nigeria and South Africa are no longer subject to increased monitoring with regard to their anti-money laundering regimes should restore confidence among international payments organisations and open the jurisdictions to cross-border activity.
The removal of the four African nations from the list of jurisdictions under increased monitoring, or “grey list”, was one of the key developments from the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) plenary meeting in Paris, which concluded on October 24, 2025.
Burkina Faso had been on the list since 2021 and Mozambique since 2022; South Africa and Nigeria were placed on the list in 2023.
FATF works with jurisdictions under increased monitoring to address strategic deficiencies in their anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing (AML/CTF) regimes. This process helps align countries with international financial standards, making them safer for cross-border payments and investment.
Grey-listed countries commit to resolving the identified strategic deficiencies within agreed-upon timeframes. The removal of these four countries from the list signals that FATF is satisfied they have significantly improved their AML/CTF regimes.
In its statement confirming the nations’ removal from the grey list, FATF noted that Burkina Faso and Nigeria will continue working with their FATF-style regional body (FSRB), GIABA, to ensure their improvement is maintained.
It added that Mozambique will continue working with its own FSRB, ESAAMLG, and South Africa will continue working with FATF in coordination with ESAAMLG.
“This milestone is a boost for South Africa’s international reputation and global standing,” South Africa President Cyril Ramaphosa said in a .
“Much work remains to be done to reduce and prevent financial crimes, and ensure speedier investigations, prosecutions and convictions of those committing such crimes. With the necessary regulatory frameworks in place, our focus must now be on improving and strengthening implementation.”
Other initiatives
In addition to updating the grey list, at the most recent plenary session, FATF adopted reports of the first two FATF assessments under the new round of . These cover Belgium and Malaysia.
The new assessments and guidance have indirect implications for payments firms, particularly regarding compliance and cross-border operations.
They are intended to be more time-bound and risk-based, and place greater emphasis on the results of countries’ attempts to address money laundering, terrorist financing and proliferation financing.
The plenary also approved new guidance relating to FATF’s strengthened on asset recovery, which give jurisdictions a more robust toolkit for targeting and confiscating criminal assets.
The guidance is designed to help countries build frameworks that close loopholes and recover the proceeds of crime, including across borders.
At the session, FATF also undertook to conduct a “horizon scan” to identify examples of existing and potential finance risks created by the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and deepfakes in crime.
Criminals are already exploiting generative AI, AI agents and other technologies in fraudulent activity. The horizon scan is intended to offer case studies that organisations can use to strengthen their safeguards and use AI responsibly to protect against criminal activity.
Opening up possibilities
The removal of Burkina Faso, Mozambique, Nigeria and South Africa from FATF’s grey list signals that the body is satisfied that the countries have substantially improved their AML/CTF frameworks by implementing their individual action plans.
It shows FATF believes that the four African nations are now less risky environments for international financial transactions, which should restore confidence among foreign investors, banks and trading partners and open the jurisdictions to cross-border operations.
Each of the countries has implemented a range of around eight to ten designed to strengthen their AML/CTF frameworks, based on specific gaps identified by FATF.
For example, Burkina Faso strengthened the resource capacities of its AML/CTF supervisory authorities and implemented risk-based supervision of financial institutions, whereas Mozambique boosted cooperation and coordination amongst relevant authorities to implement risk-based AML/CTF strategies and policies.
Nigeria demonstrated a sustained increase in money laundering investigations and prosecutions, in line with its level of risk, and South Africa updated its terrorism financing risk assessment to inform the implementation of a comprehensive national CTF strategy.
Payments and other financial institutions will now face fewer restrictions on operating in the four countries and may find it easier to maintain correspondent banking relationships, making cross-border transactions smoother.
For payments firms, a country being removed from the grey list is a green signal: it reduces financial and operational risks, lowers compliance hurdles and makes market entry or expansion far more feasible.
Beyond the immediate operational benefits, the removal also has broader implications for the region’s financial ecosystem.
It demonstrates to investors and fintech firms that regulatory risks are decreasing, which could encourage new market entry, partnerships and the expansion of digital financial services.
Payments providers may see lower compliance costs and faster remittance flows, giving them greater confidence in terms of integrating with regional and global networks.
For the four jurisdictions, maintaining their progress will be key, as FATF will continue monitoring them through their respective FSRBs.
African nations still on the grey list can also draw lessons from these cases, which show that implementing targeted reforms and robust regulatory frameworks can restore international confidence while supporting financial inclusion, investment and cross-border trade.
