Cash transfers bypass banks

The ancient money-transfer system know as hawala bypasses traditional banks and other financial institutions and is used primarily in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East.

The service housed in Butterfly Coffee at Roxbury Crossing is one of more than 200 licensed money-transfer businesses in Massachusetts. It belongs to the Dahabshil company network, which has businesses in more than 10 cities around the world. It caters largely to Somali clients, and maintains a strong reputation in Somalia for its efficiency and reliability.

Here's how the Dahabshil system works:

Customers wishing to make transfers, usually in the range of $5 to $300, fill out a form designating the recipient and including a way to contact him or her. The customers' fee is 5 percent of the amount of the transfer, far less than almost all other such businesses charge and a percentage low enough to adhere to Islam's prohibition of usury.

Because of a US law to prevent terrorists from using the system, employees at the local Dahabshil office must submit the names of those making transfers to a list maintained by the Department of the Treasury. After a name is cleared, the process begins.

Dahabshil's US headquarters in Columbus, Ohio, receives the transfers, which are then sent to the main Somalia office in Hargeisa. From there, money is distributed within 24 hours to field offices around Somalia and nearby East African countries.

CHRIS JANIEC