The Hawala system has ensured that thousands of migrants have been able to thrive in their new home countries. However, it has a poor reputation for being linked to money laundering and extortion rings.

Hawala does not need the sender or the receiver to have a bank account, which is naturally appealing to people struggling to open one.

It’s also not regulated, and transfers are based on trust among the various actors in a transaction.

Guest: Umar Sheraz, Centre for Policy Studies at COMSATS University, Islamabad