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Pretty interesting, Facebook generally does not have a reputation for 'jumping on the bandwagon' so I assume they have thought this through. Many of their whats

Pretty interesting, Facebook generally does not have a reputation for 'jumping on the bandwagon' so I assume they have thought this through. Many of their whatsapp users live in very poor areas that are not traditionally served by banks. If they integrate a wallet into the app it may allow for a real use case. They would still need to provide some sort of 'convert to fiat' functionality for those same unbanked users though. Could very well result in them creating their own economic ecosystem in third world / emerging markets. Effectively locks in a new customer base and revenue stream.

Scoundreller 8y ago
> Many of their whatsapp users live in very poor areas that are not traditionally served by banks. Bingo. Remittances are still expensive. Basic bank accounts are still out of reach for many. Any user with cash could become a convert-to-fiat provider. Before Western Union had to signup shops, now you can go through your friend lists to find someone you already know and trust.
- foepys 8y ago
  There is a saying in German: "Bei Geld hört die Freundschaft auf", roughly translated to "don't mix friends and money". Let me tell you: it's a saying for a reason.
  - Scoundreller 8y ago
    I think that’s a very cultural thing. If you need a plumber, in some parts of the world you’d be insane to open up the phone book and call a random one. You would call your cousin who’s friends with one instead. And probably cook them lunch when they come over. Look at MLMs and which countries and groups they thrive in, vs ones that they would never take off in.
- freddie_mercury 8y ago
  High remittance costs are primarily caused by two things: exchange rates and KYC/AML compliance. I don't see how this would address either of those things. Even with large & relatively liquidity cryptocurrency the spread to covert to local currency is large. Right now if I want to get rid of a Bitcoin and get Vietnamese Dong I see rates from 89,286,016.80 to 90,135,312.89. The actual price according to Google is 93,851,364.64. So you're losing 4%, which is already comparable to a traditional remittance (the World Bank says 5% is the average cost for educated users). Except this new cryptocurrency would be less popular and less liquid than Bitcoin, so the spreads would be higher.

Scoundreller 8y ago

> Many of their whatsapp users live in very poor areas that are not traditionally served by banks. Bingo. Remittances are still expensive. Basic bank accounts are still out of reach for many. Any user with cash could become a convert-to-fiat provider. Before Western Union had to signup shops, now you can go through your friend lists to find someone you already know and trust.

foepys 8y ago
There is a saying in German: "Bei Geld hört die Freundschaft auf", roughly translated to "don't mix friends and money". Let me tell you: it's a saying for a reason.
- Scoundreller 8y ago
  I think that’s a very cultural thing. If you need a plumber, in some parts of the world you’d be insane to open up the phone book and call a random one. You would call your cousin who’s friends with one instead. And probably cook them lunch when they come over. Look at MLMs and which countries and groups they thrive in, vs ones that they would never take off in.
freddie_mercury 8y ago
High remittance costs are primarily caused by two things: exchange rates and KYC/AML compliance. I don't see how this would address either of those things. Even with large & relatively liquidity cryptocurrency the spread to covert to local currency is large. Right now if I want to get rid of a Bitcoin and get Vietnamese Dong I see rates from 89,286,016.80 to 90,135,312.89. The actual price according to Google is 93,851,364.64. So you're losing 4%, which is already comparable to a traditional remittance (the World Bank says 5% is the average cost for educated users). Except this new cryptocurrency would be less popular and less liquid than Bitcoin, so the spreads would be higher.