London, Feb 9 (IANS) The British government warned Tuesday that people sending money abroad from Britain should only use the services that have been authorised or registered with the Financial Services Authorities (FSA).

People sending cash to friends and family overseas were urged to use only formal and regulated channels such as banks, building societies, transfer companies and foreign exchange agencies.

Up to two billion pounds of the six billion pounds of remittances sent every year from Britain currently goes through 'informal' channels.

India, Pakistan, Nigeria, Jamaica and Ghana are the top destinations for remittances from Britain, said the FSA, the British regulator.

Providers of credit and debit cards, pre-paid cards and bank and building society accounts have always been regulated, but the FSA has now begun to regulate other types of services, such as money transfer companies and foreign exchange brokers.

The FSA said it wants to ensure that the people running the services have no criminal background and that the customers' money will be safe.

'European Union legislation has recently been introduced to protect people sending money home to countries in the EU. We need to make sure that this sort of protection is now extended to give those sending portions of their wages to developing countries similar security,' said Britain's International Development Minister Gareth Thomas.

Thomas urged people sending overseas remittances to consult a booklet, Sending Money Safely, launched by the FSA Tuesday.