Hawala

• Author: Mohammed El-Qorchi
• Position: Senior Economist in the IMF's Monetary and Exchange Affairs Department

How does this informal funds transfer system work, and should it be regulated?

Since the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States, public interest in informal systems of transferring money around the world, particularly the hawala system, has increased. The reason is the hawala system's alleged role in financing illegal and terrorist activities, along with its traditional role of transferring money between individuals and families, often in different countries. Against this background, governments and international bodies have tried to develop a better understanding of these systems, assess their economic and regulatory implications, and design the most appropriate approach for dealing with them.

Informal funds transfer (IFT) systems are in use in many regions for transferring funds, both domestically and internationally. The hawala system is one of the IFT systems that exist under different names in various regions of the world. It is important, however, to distinguish the hawala system from the term hawala, which means "transfer" or "wire" in Arabic banking jargon. The hawala system refers to an informal channel for transferring funds from one location to another through service providers-known as hawaladars-regardless of the nature of the transaction and the countries involved. While hawala transactions are mostly initiated by emigrant workers living in a developed country, the hawala system can also be used to send funds from a developing country, even though the purpose of the funds transfer is usually different (see box).

How does the system work?

An initial transaction can be a remittance from a customer (CA) from country A, or a payment arising from some prior obligation, to another customer (CB) in country B. A hawaladar from country A (HA) receives funds in one currency from CA and, in return, gives CA a code for authentication purposes. He then instructs his country B correspondent (HB) to deliver an equivalent amount in the local currency to a designated beneficiary (CB), who needs to disclose the code to receive the funds. HA can be remunerated by charging a fee or through an exchange rate spread. After the remittance, HA has a liability to HB, and the settlement of their positions is made by various means, either financial or goods and services. Their positions can also be transferred to other intermediaries, who can assume and consolidate the initial positions and settle at wholesale or multilateral levels.

The settlement of the liability position of HA vis-à-vis HB that was created by the initial transaction can be done through imports of goods or "reverse hawala." A reverse hawala transaction is often used for investment purposes or to cover travel, medical, or education...