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Hawala

en.wikipedia.org

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Re: Hawala

#11

Post by avi_agrawal »

nl wrote: post #7

I almost linked to this, too, in the "Western Union says Bitcoin is not ready for international transfer" discussion[1]. The interesting thing about Hawala is that it provides a ready source of liquidity in local currencies. If someone was to link the two (ie, a local Hawala agent accepted a Bitcoin transfer from an untrusted source, and then moved the money via the trusted Hawala network) then almost all the problem…

That's a very interesting thought, nl.

Have a look at Eko (http://eko.co.in). Eko is creating a network of trusted agents to service cash-in/ cash-out/ money-transfer needs of billions of non-tech-savvy customers.

The cue given by you could be an interesting opportunity for companies like Eko to explore.

Kenya's m-Pesa is a similar network of mobile money agents that indeed started accepting Bitcoins recently [2]!

[2] http://www.mobilepaymentstoday.com/article/216119/M-PESA-mee...

Re: Hawala

#12

Post by cup »

I work for quite a big Hawala system (www.bakaal.com.au) and were thinking about implementing bitcoins. Moving through the legislation is the biggest stumbling block.

Re: Hawala

#13

Post by jitendrac »

In india it is used extensively and very often, we some times call them "Aangadiya" they transfers the money for very little cost ex. i have sent 25K INR with only 50rs extra as charge, which is basically 0.2 percent. And its accuracy and speed is amazing.

Re: Hawala

#14

Post by diziet »

One important thing to know is that in islamic banking, interest or anything that exploits time value of money is considered usury, and is haraam (sinful). There exists a whole institution of islamic banking compliant with shariah law.

From gift giving for usage of money such as hibah to good will repayment of debt such as qardul hassan where the debtor may repay more than the principal amount, islamic banking seeks to avoid interest (riba).

Re: Hawala

#15

Post by marshray »

I don't see how this is so different than our usual Western banking system, except that it's less regulated and more customer-friendly.

Re: Hawala

#16

Post by nl »

avi_agrawal wrote: post #11
nl wrote: post #7

I almost linked to this, too, in the "Western Union says Bitcoin is not ready for international transfer" discussion[1]. The interesting thing about Hawala is that it provides a ready source of liquidity in local currencies. If someone was to link the two (ie, a local Hawala agent accepted a Bitcoin transfer from an untrusted source, and then moved the money via the trusted Hawala network) then almost all the problem…

That's a very interesting thought, nl. Have a look at Eko ( http://eko.co.in ). Eko is creating a network of trusted agents to service cash-in/ cash-out/ money-transfer needs of billions of non-tech-savvy customers. The cue given by you could be an interesting opportunity for companies like Eko to explore. Kenya's m-Pesa is a similar network of mobile money agents that indeed started accepting Bitcoins recently [2]!…

Thanks, but it hardly takes a genius to point it out (probably should have patented it though..).

It's pretty clear that the "bitcoinlocal currency" market is a big one, but dangerous to get into because of regulatory risk. Any players who can avoid that risk somehow have a big advantage.

OTOH, if you actually want your mind blown then watch [1]. That's a video of Brad Fitzpatrick pointing out that the Bitcoin protocol allows things like implementing Kickstarter in the Bitcoin protocol itself, or - more relevant to this discussion - things like "Party A pays Party B, but only if Party C vouches for it, and Party C cannot receive the money".

[1] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYukPc0y_Ro#t=970

Re: Hawala

#18

Post by robbiet480 »

Unrelated side note: I posted this but my Android app gave an error so I thought it didn't. I only found this by the @newsyc50 account on Twitter.

Re: Hawala

#20

Post by endgame »

dylz wrote: post #3
wikih8 wrote: post #2

why do people post wikipedia articles as news?

Why do you hate wiki? Many people don't know this exists, it's interesting and disruptive. This could be a great startup idea too.

It's not that it's uninteresting. It's that it's posted without context or commentary.
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