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

Alternative remittance systems

Harnessing the Remittance Boom

SR VI. Alternative remittance

Alternative informal remittance systems

Remittance income formed a big part of Yemen s budget.

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

E. Alternative informal remittance systems

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.

(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

Has this name been circulated to alternative remittance systems?

alternative remittance systems are difficult to licence or to supervise.

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

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.

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

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

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

Restrictive legal rules in some countries exclude migrants from using official banking systems unless they have the necessary legal status. 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

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

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.

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).

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

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.

Two of those cases one filed by a charity, Benevolence International Foundation, and the other by money remittance firms and a related individual were dismissed years ago.

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.

Anti terrorism laws are a problem here, because the demand for more effective control mechanisms on international financial transfers places an extra burden on remittance operators.

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.

Many small developing countries also receive remittance flows that are significant as a share of GDP or in per capita terms Lebanon, Lesotho, Tajikistan and Tonga are examples.

(d) States should consider publishing the names and locations of registered alternative remittance system operators on a regular basis, or making a list available on the Internet, so as to expose unregistered operators

(a) States not prepared to ban alternative remittance systems should be encouraged at least to register, and preferably to licence them, with prosecution available for all unregistered or unlicensed operators

RESTRICTIONS OR REGULATIONS, if any, applicable to alternate remittance systems generally, any group can be incorporated under the Companies Act 1995, a non profit company is usually limited by guarantee.

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

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.

An additional payment was released when the partner had justified the use of the funds (at least 70 per cent of previous instalments) through the remittance of a subproject monitoring report.

Its main focus is on strengthening the Somali remittance sector to increase its compliance with international financial regulations and laying the groundwork for the entry of a formal commercial banking sector.

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.