CoinCorner and Bitnob have teamed up to offer global users cross-border transactions for multiple fiat currencies, a 12 December blog post revealed amid the ongoing crypto market crisis.
The new partnership aims to circumvent centralised third-party funds transfers across the Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) region. Such entities slow processing times and charge hefty fees per transaction.
Despite this, the new joint effort will allow Bitcoin (BTC) holders on the Lightning Network in regions such as the United Kingdom, European Union, and specified African nations to conduct transactions.
It conducts transactions on the network by instantly converting funds to BTC and then to the selected local currency, depositing the converted funds to the recipient holder wallet.
The group’s Send Globally option will allow users to send fiat currencies such as British Pound Sterling (GBP) and Euros (EUR) to Nigeria, Ghana, and Kenya, or NGN, GHS, and KES, respectively.
CoinCorner Chief Executive Danny Scott, said,
“The remittance market is a huge opportunity for Bitcoin. The borderless nature of Bitcoin has always made it a great tool for sending money around the world, but now with the Lightning Network, sending Bitcoin is instant and very low cost. By partnering with Bitnob to provide a seamless cross-border experience using Bitcoin and the Lightning Network, we hope to remove some of the friction and cost that customers experience when using traditional FX and money remittance companies.”
Africa and Remittances: By the Numbers
According to Tongayi Choto, co-founder for AfriBlocks, sending around $200 USD to Zimbabwe from the UK costs roughly $9.42 to $34.52, with an average sending fee of $15.57.
Other locations such as China accumulated average costs of $11.54, and remittances to Poland cost senders roughly $8.48, with UK-Zimbabwe fees skyrocketing 45.54 percent more than those to Poland.
2016 World Bank figures estimated a 5 percent reduction in remittance service fees to African senders would save immigrant families over $16 billion a year. Despite this, 80 percent of financial institutions in Africa restrict remittances, citing Nigeria remains one of the top nations for remittances.
The news comes as many African nations turn to cryptocurrency platforms to buy, sell, and transfer crypto globally to avoid fees and restrictions from traditional money transfer companies.
One such platform, Mara, has backed 2 million possible Nigerian users with a novel cryptocurrency wallet for both crypto and fiat wallet holdings. The initiative also aims to educate African users on money and asset management and offer resources for doing so.
