Hawala or hewala, originating in India as havala, also known as havaleh in Persian, and xawala or xawilaad in Somali, is a popular and informal value transfer system based on the performance and honour of a huge network of money brokers. They operate outside of, or parallel to, traditional banking, financial channels and remittance systems. The system requires a minimum of two hawaladars that take care of the "transaction" without the movement of cash or telegraphic transfer. While hawaladars are spread throughout the world, they are primarily located in the Middle East, North Africa, the Horn of Africa and the Indian subcontinent. Hawala follows Islamic traditions but its use is not limited to Muslims.
An informal value transfer system (IVTS) is any system, mechanism, or network of people that receives money for the purpose of making the funds or an equivalent value payable to a third party in another geographic location, whether or not in the same form. Informal value transfers generally take place outside of the conventional banking system through non-bank financial institution or other business entities whose primary business activity may not be the transmission of money. The IVTS transactions occasionally interconnect with formal banking systems, such as through the use of bank accounts held by the IVTS operator.
A promissory note, sometimes referred to as a note payable, is a legal instrument, in which one party promises in writing to pay a determinate sum of money to the other, either at a fixed or determinable future time or on demand of the payee, under specific terms and conditions.
A negotiable instrument is a document guaranteeing the payment of a specific amount of money, either on demand, or at a set time, whose payer is usually named on the document. More specifically, it is a document contemplated by or consisting of a contract, which promises the payment of money without condition, which may be paid either on demand or at a future date. The term has different meanings depending on its use in the application of different laws and depending on countries and contexts. The word "negotiable" refers to transferable and "instrument" refers to a document giving legal effect by the virtue of the law.
A cheque, or check, is a document that orders a bank to pay a specific amount of money from a person's account to the person in whose name the cheque has been issued. The person writing the cheque, known as the drawer, has a transaction banking account where the money is held. The drawer writes various details including the monetary amount, date, and a payee on the cheque, and signs it, ordering their bank, known as the drawee, to pay the amount of money stated to the payee.
A remittance is a non-commercial transfer of money by a foreign worker, a member of a diaspora community, or a citizen with familial ties abroad, for household income in their home country or homeland. Money sent home by migrants competes with international aid as one of the largest financial inflows to developing countries. Workers' remittances are a significant part of international capital flows, especially with regard to labor-exporting countries.
The Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (FEMA), is an Act of the Parliament of India "to consolidate and amend the law relating to foreign exchange with the objective of facilitating external trade and payments and for promoting the orderly development and maintenance of foreign exchange market in India". It was passed on 29 December 1999 in parliament, replacing the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act (FERA). This act makes offences related to foreign exchange civil offenses. It extends to the whole of India, replacing FERA, which had become incompatible with the pro-liberalization policies of the Government of India. It enabled a new foreign exchange management regime consistent with the emerging framework of the World Trade Organization (WTO). It also paved the way for the introduction of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, which came into effect from 1 July 2005.
A correspondent account is an account established by a banking institution to receive deposits from, make payments on behalf of, or handle other financial transactions for another financial institution. Correspondent accounts are established through bilateral agreements between the two banks.
In banking, a post-dated cheque is a cheque written by the drawer (payer) for a date in the future.
Money transfer generally refers to one of the following cashless modes of payment or payment systems:
A demand draft (DD) is a negotiable instrument similar to a bill of exchange. A bank issues a demand draft to a client (drawer), directing another bank (drawee) or one of its own branches to pay a certain sum to the specified party (payee).
Spice Digital Limited is an Indian telecommunications company headquartered in Noida, India, as a subsidiary of Spice Connect. The company deals in Mobile Value Added Services, along with Telco Solutions, enterprise solutions, financial technology, GST Suvidha Provider (GSP) and digital transformation products and services.
In financial transactions, a warrant is a written order by one person that instructs or authorises another person to pay a specified recipient a specific amount of money or supply goods at a specific date. A warrant may or may not be negotiable and may be a bearer instrument that authorises payment to the warrant holder on demand or after a specific date. Governments and businesses may pay wages and other accounts by issuing warrants instead of cheques.
There are hundreds of thousands of Indians in Bangladesh. Citing the results of a survey, a column in The Financial Express claims that as many as 500,000 - 1,000,000 Indians were staying illegally in Bangladesh in 2022. The article claims that they were found working in different establishments such as NGOs, garments, textile, IT and sent money back home through hundi transfer systems.
Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 is an act in India dating from the British colonial rule, that is still in force with significant amendments recently. It deals with the law governing the usage of negotiable instruments in India. The word "negotiable" refers to transferable and "instrument" refers to a document giving legal effect by the virtue of the law.
In the legal code of the United States, a money transmitter or money transfer service is a business entity that provides money transfer services or payment instruments. Money transmitters in the US are part of a larger group of entities called money service businesses, or MSBs. Under federal law, 18 USC § 1960, businesses are required to register for a money transmitter license where their activity falls within the state definition of a money transmitter.
Remittances to Bangladesh are money transfers (remittances) sent by the Bangladeshi diaspora to Bangladesh. According to the World Bank, Bangladesh is the 7th highest recipient of remittance in the world with almost $22.1 billion in 2021 and was the third highest recipient of remittance in South Asia. A survey on the remittance usage conducted by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics in 2013 showed that 32.81% and 32.82% of the remittances are used for food and non-food expenditures. 18.84% of remittances were used for durable and other expenses including 17.39% utilised for the purchase of land. In regards to investment and savings, the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics revealed that 33.45% of remittances goes to investment and 13.74% of remittances goes to savings. Presently, the World Bank stands as the foremost external financier for Bangladesh. The determination to sustain funding is rooted in Bangladesh's remarkable accomplishments and the essential measures needed to sustain its advancement towards the objective of attaining upper-middle-income status by 2031.
Unified Payments Interface (UPI) is an Indian instant payment system developed by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) in 2016. The interface facilitates inter-bank peer-to-peer (P2P) and person-to-merchant (P2M) transactions. It is used on mobile devices to instantly transfer funds between two bank accounts. The mobile number of the device is required to be registered with the bank. The UPI ID of the recipient can be used to transfer money. It runs as an open source application programming interface (API) on top of the Immediate Payment Service (IMPS), and is regulated by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). Indian Banks started making their UPI-enabled apps available on the Google Play Store on 25 August 2016.
Oxigen Services is an Indian fintech company. It is involved in the micropayment of services and remittances in real time.
Hawala and crime describes notable examples of hawala used in money laundering.
