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The actual take on remittances has been falling for 20 years. Western Union struggles to maintain a "premium" price now due to competition. The actual take on
by lebuffon 5y ago
The actual take on remittances has been falling for 20 years.
Western Union struggles to maintain a "premium" price now due to competition.
The actual take on an average transaction from USA to El Salvador is way lower because El Salvador uses USD. So the only way to make money is on the Fee. (no foreign exchange revenue)
If you send $50, yes the take is high because there is a bottom to the price. But the average sender sends $200..$300 and cost, as a percentage, drops rapidly with the amount sent.
Many people thought bitcoin would destroy the remittance industry 10 years ago. It did not. People need money they can spend not bits in an exchange. Solve that last mile like Kenya did and maybe...
I don't think bitcoin can handle the transaction volume for the global remittance industry on the person to person scale for "money in minutes" service. It's a better fit for bulk transfers to pay the agents in foreign countries.
- stann 5y agoHave you heard of Lightning Network?
- cool_dude85 5y agoSure! Got one you can show us?
- lebuffon 5y agoMPesa, Kenya
- lebuffon 5y agoYes but beyond transaction speed there is the fact that people need/want the money immediately in a form that they can spend. These are not wealthy people. The remittance is for real goods. The last mile with money is "can I buy stuff now". Some African countries are moving fast in this area with mobile wallets but it has been slow generally. Maybe this decade...