hawala banking and offshore

[michael reader]

would something called hawala banking be associated with offshore banking or not assuming individuals or businesses are using their services? would hawala banking be a new concept to offshore banking? what do any of you guys know about hawala banking and how it maybe linked to offshore banking or emi/digital banks? any ideas or suggestions? rsvp.

 

[TurnedToRobot]

do you have any link or something?

 

[Martin Everson]

hawala system is very old. It generally not accepted in western countries but remains a way for immigrants living in the west to remit money back home. It is still used extensively today in communities where sanctions in place mean they can't send funds via Western Union, MoneyGram etc.

 

[TurnedToRobot]

I'm confused but in which country is this Hawala System in place?

 

[Martin Everson]

I'm confused but in which country is this Hawala System in place?

Every country. i.e you want to send money to Morocco from Germany. Find someone in Germany who wants Euros and who has somebody in Morocco will pay you in local currency. Hand euros over locally and receive MAD in Morocco.

 

[TurnedToRobot]

Only for a particular group of humans or what?

 

[Martin Everson]

Mostly for immigrants who can get better black market rates than Western Union, Money Gram etc. Those companies tend to give official government rates. The black market rate for foreign currencies can be greater than 50% difference in exchange rate from official exchange rate. Hence its difficult for immigrants to accept the artificial government rate.