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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.
An informal value transfer system is an alternative and unofficial remittance and banking system, that pre-dates current day modern banking systems. The systems were established as a means of settling accounts within villages and between villages. It existed as far back as over 4000 years ago and even more. [1] [2]
Their use as global networks for financial transactions spread as expatriates from the original countries settled abroad. Today, IVTS operations are found in most countries. Depending on the ethnic group, IVTS are called by a variety of names including, for example, hawala (Middle East, Afghanistan, Indian Sub-Continent); fei ch’ien (飞钱 or "flying money"; China); phoe kuan (Thailand); [3] and Black Market Peso Exchange (South America). [4] Individuals or groups engaged in operating IVTS may do so on a full-time, part-time, or ad hoc basis. They may work independently, or as part of a multi-person network. IVTS are based on trust. In general, operators usually don't misappropriate the funds entrusted to them. [5] [6]
The sender gives money to an IVTS agent and his/her counterpart in the receiver region/country acts as deliverer of this money. The sender calls or faxes instructions to his counterpart and the money gets delivered in a matter of few hours. In the past, the message could be delivered using couriers, with men or even animals (such as pigeons). Settlements are made either with a private delivery service or wire transfer in the opposite direction. Another method of balancing the books is to under-invoice goods shipped abroad, so that the receiver can resell the products at a higher market price. [7]
IVTS are used by a variety of individuals, businesses, organisations, and even governments to remit funds domestically and abroad. Expatriates and immigrants often use IVTS to send money back to their families and friends in their home countries (for workers who worked abroad) or foreign countries (for merchants who need extra money to start a business). IVTS operations are also used by legitimate companies, traders, organisations, and government agencies needing to conduct business in countries with basic or no formal financial systems.
In some countries, IVTS-type networks operate in parallel with formal financial institutions or as a substitute or alternative for them or. Besides citizens of the host country, people (legally or illegally) residing in the host country from foreign countries may prefer or need to use IVTS in lieu of formal financial institutions for various reasons as described below:
Because IVTS provides security, anonymity, and versatility to the user, the systems can be also used for supplying resources for doing illegal activities. Following the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States, IVTS have come under increased scrutiny and regulation in many countries as a result of pressure from the United States.
Hawala or hewala, also known as havaleh in Persian, and xawala or xawilaad in Somali, is a popular and informal value transfer system based not on the movement of cash, or on telegraph or computer network wire transfers between banks, but instead on the performance and honour of a huge network of money brokers. 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, operating outside of, or parallel to, traditional banking, financial channels, and remittance systems. Hawala follows Islamic traditions but its use is not limited to Muslims.
Money laundering is the illegal process of concealing the origins of money obtained illegally by passing it through a complex sequence of banking transfers or commercial transactions. The overall scheme of this process returns the "clean" money to the launderer in an obscure and indirect way.
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) is a bureau of the United States Department of the Treasury that collects and analyzes information about financial transactions in order to combat domestic and international money laundering, terrorist financing, and other financial crimes.
Wire transfer, bank transfer or credit transfer, is a method of electronic funds transfer from one person or entity to another. A wire transfer can be made from one bank account to another bank account, or through a transfer of cash at a cash office.
A giro transfer, often shortened to giro ,, is a payment transfer from one bank account to another bank account and initiated by the payer, not the payee. The debit card has a similar model. Giros are primarily a European phenomenon; although electronic payment systems such as the Automated Clearing House exist in the United States and Canada, it is not possible to perform third party transfers with them. In the European Union, there is the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) which allows electronic giro or debit card payments in euros to be executed to any euro bank account in the area.
Hundi/Hundee is a financial instrument that developed in Medieval India for use in trade and credit transactions. Hundis are used as a form of remittance instrument to transfer money from place to place, as a form of credit instrument or IOU to borrow money and as a bill of exchange in trade transactions. The Reserve Bank of India describes the Hundi as "an unconditional order in writing made by a person directing another to pay a certain sum of money to a person named in the order."
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), also known by its French name, Groupe d'action financière (GAFI), is an intergovernmental organisation founded in 1989 on the initiative of the G7 to develop policies to combat money laundering. In 2001, its mandate was expanded to include terrorism financing.
Al-Barakat, or Al-Barakaat, which means "Blessings" in Arabic, is a group of companies established in 1987 in Somalia. The firm is involved in the modern form of hawala, an informal value transfer system and remittance method. By 2001, Al-Barakat had outlets in 40 countries, and was the country's largest private employer. It handled about $140 million USD a year from the Somali diaspora, and also offered phone and internet services.
A remittance is a transfer of money, often by a foreign worker to an individual in their home country. 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 Central Bank of Iran (CBI), also known as Bank Markazi, officially the Central Bank of the Islamic Republic of Iran is the central bank of Iran.
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.
Terrorism financing is the provision of funds or providing financial support to individual terrorists or non-state actors.
Money transfer generally refers to one of the following cashless modes of payment or payment systems:
Payment and settlement systems in India are used for financial transactions. They are covered by the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007, legislated in December 2007 and regulated by the Reserve Bank of India and the Board for Regulation and Supervision of Payment and Settlement Systems.
M-Pesa is a mobile phone-based money transfer service, payments and micro-financing service, launched in 2007 by Vodafone Group plc and Safaricom, the largest mobile network operator in Kenya. It has since expanded to Tanzania, Mozambique, DRC, Lesotho, Ghana, Egypt, Afghanistan and South Africa. Meanwhile services in India, Romania, and Albania have been terminated amid low market uptake. M-Pesa allows users to deposit, withdraw, transfer money, pay for goods and services, access credit and savings, all with a mobile device.
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.
A money services business (MSB) is a legal term used by financial regulators to describe businesses that transmit or convert money. The definition was created to encompass more than just banks which normally provide these services to include non-bank financial institutions.
TransferWise is a London-based online money transfer service founded in January 2011 by Estonians Kristo Käärmann and Taavet Hinrikus.
KlickEx is a Polynesian payments system for low value electronic foreign exchange transactions using an interbank smart market retail system. It provides low cost electronic foreign exchange clearing services to clients in the Pacific Islands avoiding the usual foreign transfer fees and spreads by matching up individuals sending payments to and from the islands.
International money transfers made by migrant workers and immigrants sending a portion of their earnings to their families in their country of origin are known as remittances. Remittances are an important aspect of the global economy, totaling an estimated $601 billion (USD) for the year 2015. The United States is currently the largest source of international remittances in the world, sending a total of $56.3 billion in 2015. Mexico received the largest portion of these remittances, accounting for an estimated $25.2 billion, making the U.S.-Mexico remittance corridor one of the largest in the world. With the exception of the 2008 global financial crisis, remittances sent from the U.S. have been consistently climbing for the past half century. This major increase in remittances can be partially attributed to the larger population of immigrants and migrant workers, as well as to increasing globalization in the financial and money markets. China and India are also major recipients of U.S. remittances, and are the top two recipients of remittances globally.
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