4 ms·

Crypto is very popular among people working in rich countries who send remittances back to their families in other countries. That's a legitimate use, a very po

Crypto is very popular among people working in rich countries who send remittances back to their families in other countries. That's a legitimate use, a very popular use, and is obviously what Stripe is going for here.

hef19898 4y ago
Isn't that what Western Union is doing, rather well and gobally?
- karaterobot 4y ago
  I don't know if this product will successfully compete with Western Union.
jfghi 4y ago
Once the remittance is received, how is it then exchanged for the currency the recipient needs?
- rafaelm 4y ago
  From my own experience, you can use a very popular exchange that has a huge P2P marketplace, precisely for this.
  - missedthecue 4y ago
    What is this marketplace named?
    - refsab 4y ago
      It's Binance P2P. You can transfer crypto directly into local currency. It uses local residents as liquidity providers.
      - deleted 4y ago
        [deleted]
      - rafaelm 4y ago
        Yep that's it. I just didn't want it to look like I was shilling something in the comments :) Locally, Binance P2P is used a lot for remittances, and plenty of establishments use it as a way to receive payments as well. I've seen the Binance QR code in a bunch of restaurants and autoparts stores, for example I used it earlier this year to send money to my sister in Argentina. Super fast, no fuss.
        throw101010 4y ago
        Just to balance this, Bisq is a decentralized alternative P2P marketplace (based on Bitcoin mainly) which will keep working even in adverse conditions, where a centralized company like Binance will generally restrict/stop their activity if a government shows their teeth.
- skybrian 4y ago
  Here's a pretty in-depth article about how things work in Argentina. I know nothing other than what's in the article, but apparently, many of the local black market exchanges ("cuevas") use cryptocurrency internally (instead of carrying stacks of US dollars around on motorcycles) and will exchange crypto for cash for their customers. https://www.freethink.com/technology/crypto-argentina-black-market-cash https://www.freethink.com/technology/crypto-argentina-black-...
lawgimenez 4y ago
I'm not sure where you got this info from but my relatives in the US sends money via Xoom. Nobody's touching crypto.
- djbusby 4y ago
  TransferWise, now just Wise works awesome too.
  - refsab 4y ago
    I'm using Binance P2P. By far the cheapest way to transfer funds from rich to poor countries. Have used Wise in the past because it's very convenient to use but they are just extremely expensive compared to P2P crypto. Also they don't support many countries or only support one direction. Not a crypto bro and very critical of crypto fads normally but this use case actually works for a regular person like me. Going to try Xoom though and check their rates. Hadn't heard of them.
    - lawgimenez 4y ago
      I think this is a good place to check the rates: https://www.xoom.com/philippines/send-money https://www.xoom.com/philippines/send-money
    - arcticbull 4y ago
      The reason that Binance is able to charge less is because they're not really regulated and they're able to pass that risk directly on to you.
  - lawgimenez 4y ago
    Yes but my relatives are old-ish and not the tech type.
  - mudrockbestgirl 4y ago
    Not only much more expensive and slower than crypto, but also not permissionless. I had funds frozen up for before because of an identity/location verification misunderstanding. It was all sorted out through customer support, but it took a week. Closed my account after that because I don't want to take that risk, I just want to transfer funds without middleman hassle. Great as long as it works for you. Just wait until you yourself are stuck in a situation such as "Google locked my account and I can't reach support", "Stripe banned my business for no good reason" or "Wise froze my funds" - you literally see these threads on HN every week. Crypto suddenly starts to look a lot more appealing once you've experienced these situations yourself.
yao420 4y ago
Coinbase closed their remittance project due to absolutely minuscule usage. Like a couple thousand of dollars a month or value being transferred. If the biggest player in the crypto space can’t get enough users, I’m doubting any real adoption.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
- crypt1d 4y ago
  Let's not mistake Coinbase's ability to execute for a lack of user interest. If anything, Coinbase has plenty of failed projects under their belt (and while they are certainly popular in the US, they are not the 'biggest player' by any measure).

hef19898 4y ago

Isn't that what Western Union is doing, rather well and gobally?

karaterobot 4y ago
I don't know if this product will successfully compete with Western Union.

jfghi 4y ago

Once the remittance is received, how is it then exchanged for the currency the recipient needs?

rafaelm 4y ago
From my own experience, you can use a very popular exchange that has a huge P2P marketplace, precisely for this.
- missedthecue 4y ago
  What is this marketplace named?
  - refsab 4y ago
    It's Binance P2P. You can transfer crypto directly into local currency. It uses local residents as liquidity providers.
    - deleted 4y ago
      [deleted]
    - rafaelm 4y ago
      Yep that's it. I just didn't want it to look like I was shilling something in the comments :) Locally, Binance P2P is used a lot for remittances, and plenty of establishments use it as a way to receive payments as well. I've seen the Binance QR code in a bunch of restaurants and autoparts stores, for example I used it earlier this year to send money to my sister in Argentina. Super fast, no fuss.
      - throw101010 4y ago
        Just to balance this, Bisq is a decentralized alternative P2P marketplace (based on Bitcoin mainly) which will keep working even in adverse conditions, where a centralized company like Binance will generally restrict/stop their activity if a government shows their teeth.
skybrian 4y ago
Here's a pretty in-depth article about how things work in Argentina. I know nothing other than what's in the article, but apparently, many of the local black market exchanges ("cuevas") use cryptocurrency internally (instead of carrying stacks of US dollars around on motorcycles) and will exchange crypto for cash for their customers. https://www.freethink.com/technology/crypto-argentina-black-market-cash https://www.freethink.com/technology/crypto-argentina-black-...

lawgimenez 4y ago

I'm not sure where you got this info from but my relatives in the US sends money via Xoom. Nobody's touching crypto.

djbusby 4y ago
TransferWise, now just Wise works awesome too.
- refsab 4y ago
  I'm using Binance P2P. By far the cheapest way to transfer funds from rich to poor countries. Have used Wise in the past because it's very convenient to use but they are just extremely expensive compared to P2P crypto. Also they don't support many countries or only support one direction. Not a crypto bro and very critical of crypto fads normally but this use case actually works for a regular person like me. Going to try Xoom though and check their rates. Hadn't heard of them.
  - lawgimenez 4y ago
    I think this is a good place to check the rates: https://www.xoom.com/philippines/send-money https://www.xoom.com/philippines/send-money
  - arcticbull 4y ago
    The reason that Binance is able to charge less is because they're not really regulated and they're able to pass that risk directly on to you.
- lawgimenez 4y ago
  Yes but my relatives are old-ish and not the tech type.
- mudrockbestgirl 4y ago
  Not only much more expensive and slower than crypto, but also not permissionless. I had funds frozen up for before because of an identity/location verification misunderstanding. It was all sorted out through customer support, but it took a week. Closed my account after that because I don't want to take that risk, I just want to transfer funds without middleman hassle. Great as long as it works for you. Just wait until you yourself are stuck in a situation such as "Google locked my account and I can't reach support", "Stripe banned my business for no good reason" or "Wise froze my funds" - you literally see these threads on HN every week. Crypto suddenly starts to look a lot more appealing once you've experienced these situations yourself.

yao420 4y ago

Coinbase closed their remittance project due to absolutely minuscule usage. Like a couple thousand of dollars a month or value being transferred. If the biggest player in the crypto space can’t get enough users, I’m doubting any real adoption.

deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
crypt1d 4y ago
Let's not mistake Coinbase's ability to execute for a lack of user interest. If anything, Coinbase has plenty of failed projects under their belt (and while they are certainly popular in the US, they are not the 'biggest player' by any measure).