Alternative remittance systems

Harnessing the Remittance Boom

SR VI. Alternative remittance

Alternative informal remittance systems

There are different approaches to the problem, particularly between remittance source States and remittance receiving States.

E. Alternative informal remittance systems

According to the Law on the System of Payments, the activity of money remittance transfer services is illegal if they are not licensed by the Central Bank.

There are no alternate remittance systems.

The impact of remittance income on household well being depends on who controls remittance income and how it is spent.

The remittance flow continues to be buoyant.

According to the Law on the System of Payments and Payment Organizations the Money remittance transfer service can operate outside the banks only after being licensed by the Central Bank.

According to the CIA and the Central Bank of Somalia, despite experiencing civil unrest, Somalia has maintained a healthy informal economy, based mainly on livestock, remittance money transfer companies and telecommunications.

(c) In order to address the concerns of remittance receiving States, registered alternative remittance systems should be obliged to settle balances through normal banking channels

Remittance income formed a big part of Yemen s budget.

Has this name been circulated to alternative remittance systems?

The Anglophone strategy focuses on freeing up the remittance market by encouraging competition, relaxing regulatory constraints for non bank operators, offering financial incentives, encouraging technical and financial innovation, and stimulating collaboration among market players.

alternative remittance systems are difficult to licence or to supervise.

According to resolution 1455 (2003) reports, the top seven remittance receiving States in 2001, as identified by the World Bank, with the exception of one, were silent on alternative remittances or whether unregistered systems were illegal.

Furthermore, remittance levels are double those of official development assistance (ODA).

The remittance system of Hawala does not obtain in this jurisdiction.

According to resolution 1455 (2003) reports, the top four remittance source States in 2001 as identified by the World Bank all require money transfer services to register, implement know your customer rules and file suspicious transactions reports.

Hurdles in converting informal remittance systems to formal systems through registration or licensing

1.5 The Central Bank has no mandate to supervise charitable and religious associations and has no role in supervising the use and transfer of their private resources, except within the limits of its mandate to monitor inward and outward remittance transactions.

Other countries, however, have taken steps to make remittance transfers possible via mobile phones.

(q) Issues related to the informal and cash based economy, including alternative remittance systems

Policies and projects that facilitated the development impact of remittances must be analysed. As half of remittance senders and the majority of remittance recipients, women were playing a central role in managing and distributing such income.

Alternative remittance systems are known by many terms, but all share the same operational characteristics.

One State has recorded some success in encouraging the voluntary registration of alternative remittance systems.

Table 3 Private remittance flows to Africa, 1998 2003 (In billions of United States dollars)a

Many States may therefore need to amend their laws to bring informal remittance systems under regulation.

No money remittance agencies are operating outside the banks (see the answer to the question 1.6).

Some States have initiated registration or licensing regimes for alternative remittance systems, or plan to do so.

The regulatory authorities of some States have initiated programmes to detect unregistered or unlicensed alternative remittance activity.

The Team makes no distinction between alternative and informal remittance systems for the purposes of this report.

It is still common for electronic remittance or invoicing to be printed in order to maintain paper records.

(d) African authorities should view capital and remittance flows as an important part of their national economic statistics.

For example, in commodity dependent and resource strapped Lesotho, remittance receipts represented about 27 per cent of GDP in 2001.

Although few States in their 1,455 reports acknowledged the existence of unregulated remittance systems within their jurisdiction, they are widespread.

Every year, thousands of desperate Tajik citizens leave the world's most remittance dependent country for a better life, mostly in Russia.

Since 2003, over 16 new banks have opened in the country, including Afghanistan International Bank, Kabul Bank, Azizi Bank, Pashtany Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, and First Micro Finance Bank.

Please indicate the laws and procedures available to regulate alternative remittance systems, including systems of, or similar to, the kind known as hawala.

The principal remittance receiving States appear to prefer a soft, incentive based approach meant to improve public accessibility to the formal banking systems.

Improve Australia's terrorism financing regime through strengthening criminalisation of the financing of terrorism, ensuring coverage of alternative remittance dealers, wire transfers and cash couriers.

Law no 48 of June 26 2003 published in Official Gazette no 24831 of June 26 2003 regulates the operations of money remittance companies.

The CTC would appreciate receiving the number of money remittance agencies transfer services registered and or licensed in the Netherlands, Netherlands Antilles and Aruba.