Australia's banking system continues to be exploited to move terrorist funds, as cards with stored values become increasing threats in the region, a counter-terrorism summit has heard.
As Australian and regional ministers met in Bali on Wednesday, they heard how the Syria-Iraq conflict and rise of Islamic State is increasing terrorism financing risks, with growing concerns over funds entering the region to support local actors.
From people handing over five per cent of their salaries to extremist groups and trading in Bitcoin, to funds being transferred through charities and banks - money is flowing through numerous channels and is often indistinguishable from legitimate transactions.
Just how much is being moved is unclear, CEO of Australian financial intelligence unit AUSTRAC, Paul Jevtovic said.
"I wish we did (know). If we had that figure that would infer that we know everyone that is using financing for terrorism," he told reporters.
"But that doesn't prevent us from identifying the methods that terrorism can be funded and endeavouring to stop funding at its source."
AUSTRAC's Indonesian counterpart PPTAK, however, estimates that foreign sources transferred more than IDR10 billion (A$1 million) into funding terrorism locally between 2014 and 2015.
In a bid to track and stop this money flow, AUSTRAC and PPTAK have released a regional risk assessment for the first time - highlighting the challenges facing authorities.
Self-funded terrorism, it found, poses the highest risk for raising militant funds in Southeast Asia as they are notoriously difficult to track.
Australian banks in particular, were frequently used to send funds to individuals engaged in foreign conflicts.
This was largely a reflection of the central role they play in Australia's economy, with neighbouring nations often cash-based, the report states.
"Most countries considered financial institutions need to improve the quality and timeliness of STRs (Suspicious Transaction Reports) they submit," the report stated.
The use of crypto-currencies, like Bitcoin, also presents a challenge, Australian Justice Minister Michael Keenan said.
"There's now an international understanding that we need to do more to regulate crypto currencies, Bitcoin being the best example," he told reporters at the summit.
"Australia is now looking at how we are going to do that."
The use of stored value cards - like those used for the Paris attacks - is also becoming an increasingly popular method to legitimately move money offshore to help fund extremist activity, with people easily being able to withdraw funds from ATMs globally.
The risk assessment also recommends countries develop a clearer picture of the level of misuse of non-profit organisations (NPOs) for supporting terrorism activities, with suspicious "Pop-up" NPOs having appeared in Australia.
Attorney-General George Brandis said he was "sorry to say" Australia per capita is one of the largest source countries with more than 200 people travelling to participate in the conflict since it started.
In Indonesia, meanwhile, around 570 are currently engaged in the conflict with a further 183 believed to have returned home.
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