Editing Hawala (section)

== Regional variants ==
[[Dubai]] has been prominent for decades as a welcoming hub for hawala transactions worldwide.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/terrorist-illicit-finance/Documents/FinCEN-Hawala-rpt.pdf |title=Hawala| website=www.treasury.gov| publisher=Financial Crimes Enforcement Network with Interpol/FOPAC| access-date=October 16, 2016|archive-date=December 28, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161228041941/https://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/terrorist-illicit-finance/Documents/FinCEN-Hawala-rpt.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== South Asia ===

==== Hundis ====
{{Main|hundi}}
[[File:1951 Bombay Province Rs 2500 Hundi.jpg|thumbnail|right|A 1951 hundi of Bombay Province for Rs 2500 with a pre-printed [[revenue stamp]]]]
The ''hundi'' is a financial instrument that developed on the Indian sub-continent 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."<ref>{{Cite web|title=Reserve Bank of India|url=https://rbi.org.in/scripts/ms_hundies.aspx|access-date=2022-11-20|website=rbi.org.in}}</ref>

=== Horn of Africa ===
According to the [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]], with the dissolution of Somalia's formal banking system, many informal money transfer operators arose to fill the void.  It estimates that such ''hawaladars'', ''xawilaad'' or ''xawala'' brokers<ref name="HMGov" /><ref>{{Cite book|last1=Monbiot|author-link=George Monbiot|first1=George|title=How did we get into this mess?|date=2016|publisher=Verso|isbn=978-1-78478-362-4|pages=237–238|edition=First}}</ref> are now responsible for the transfer of up to $1.6 billion per year in remittances to the country,<ref name="CIAhaw">{{Citation |title=The World factbook |url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/ |publisher=[[Central Intelligence Agency]] |place=US |contribution-url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2116.html#so |contribution=Somalia |access-date=2011-09-13 |archive-date=2013-05-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130510200259/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/ |url-status=dead }}.</ref> most coming from working Somalis outside Somalia.<ref name="CBShaw">{{Citation |url=http://www.somalbanca.org/economy-and-finance.html |publisher=Somal banca |newspaper=CBS |title=Economy & Finance: Hawaladars |access-date=2018-12-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090124192809/http://somalbanca.org/economy-and-finance.html |archive-date=2009-01-24 |url-status=dead }}.</ref> Such funds have in turn had a stimulating effect on local business activity.<ref name="CIAhaw" /><ref name="CBShaw" />

=== West Africa ===
The [[Tuareg rebellion (2012)|2012 Tuareg rebellion]] left Northern Mali without an official money transfer service for months. The coping mechanisms that appeared were patterned on the hawala system.<ref name=04385FSIHSD3>{{Cite news |url=https://www.voanews.com/a/mail-western-union-black-market/1497859.html |title=Malians Shelter to Black Market to Transfer Cash |date=August 29, 2012 |publisher=[[Voice of America]] |access-date=2012-09-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120901215342/http://www.voanews.com/content/mail-western-union-black-market/1497859.html |archive-date=September 1, 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref>