Reddit discussion of this article: http://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/1i541w/national_geographic_features_bitcoin_in_their/
That discussion is not for the article you linked to; the article is from the Daily News on 14 October and includes recent events; the video is from a few months ago.
It's actually an extremely good article; well written and researched, and highlights both the high potential of Bitcoin in different areas as well as contrasts it to existing systems that it would replace:
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Transaction and exchange fees, taxes, and payment delays exist to provide short-term credit, guard against counterfeit, excessive withdrawals and other kinds of fraud, and to extract income. Bitcoin is designed to provide the same security guarantees and convenience of credit, while foregoing its extra processing times and fees.
You settle with Bitcoin immediately, just like cash. Unlike a credit card exchange, where your credit card number and security information are handed over completely for any transaction, a transfer is authorized only to pay a specific amount.
You settle with Bitcoin immediately, just like cash. Unlike a credit card exchange, where your credit card number and security information are handed over completely for any transaction, a transfer is authorized only to pay a specific amount.
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But what Bitcoin also does is make digital payments possible for people who not only don't have PayPal, but don't have a functioning credit system. In many parts of Africa, Latin America, and south Asia, most people have no access to credit or digital payments; with Bitcoin, that infrastructure comes for free.
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The area with the biggest potential for Bitcoin worldwide is probably international remittances: money sent home by workers living abroad. Currently, this money has to be handled by several intermediaries: banks, wire services, and currency exchanges all take their cut. A recent report by Businessweek noted that the average fee for remittances was 9 percent of the money transferred, with conversion to cash often costing an extra 5 percent. Western Union's profit margins are enormous for an intermediary, nearly 16 percent, and most of its costs are devoted to the technologies moving money from one place to another, guaranteeing the legitimacy of the transfer. In short, Western Union spends and earns billions to do what Bitcoin does for free.
Unfortunately there doesn't seem to be a major link from the front page(s), so it will likely get lost very quickly...
