Bitcoin: future of remittances? Not just maybe, very likely. It's faster and cheaper than previous approaches. No intermediaries, banks, or delays. Working overseas allowed people to send money home without high fees or red tape. Traditional systems cannot match its efficiency. What about fees? Bitcoin transactions cost much less than Western Union or MoneyGram. As network congestion increases, fees may escalate. Small transfers may cost more in busy traffic
The elephant in the room is regulation. Authorities won't hand over financial flows to a decentralized system. They'll seek fees, restrictions, or bans to safeguard their interests. Bitcoin isn't going anywhere. Controlling it is practically impossible due to its decentralization. Bitcoin's strength is that once it becomes mainstream, people won't compare it to fiat currencies like USD. Instead, USD will be assessed against Bitcoin. Bitcoin could change how we value and transmit money globally once adoption and volatility stabilize through use cases and global integration. Traditional methods? They'll appear antiquated, clunky, and expensive
Topic: Bitcoin's Role in Global Remittances: Can it Disrupt Traditional Money Transfers (Read 183 times)
Today at 02:07:19 PM
Today at 01:26:16 PM
I personally feel that if we do international transactions in Bitcoin, then we will need less time and can do it very quickly and in the process of transaction, the cost will be much less than other currencies. Hopefully Bitcoin will be the most popular currency in the world one day.
Today at 12:55:49 PM
Remittances are a huge part of the global economy but traditional money transfer services can be slow and expensive. Bitcoin offers a faster and more cost effective alternative. Could bitcoin disrupt the remittance industry and become the go to solution for cross border payments? What are the potential for bitcoin to change the way we send money internationally and what barriers still stand in the way of its widespread adoption for remittances?
This may be more relatable and applicable to international remittance as bitcoin save us the stress and hassle of conversion and the hitch of variation of accounts, currently bitcoin is breaking barriers at international levels for funds transfer such that values are maintained amidst the variation of currency values, but a better adoption will be when there's more local adoptions. 
Today at 12:21:58 PM
While traditional methods can be slow that it may takes days especially with international transfers and also comes with expensive transaction fees, unlike with bitcoin, it’s more quick, most likely within minutes, plus lower transaction fees especially for larger amounts. When it comes to accessibility, as long as you have good internet connection, you can easily transact with bitcoin without relying on banks or any financial institution in which this is a must if you are going on a traditional money transfer. So you’ll be the one to judge OP if bitcoin will be able to disrupt traditional money transfers or not.
Today at 12:17:01 PM
BTC is a great option for cross-border payments. Like i always say, it may not be the best currency to spend in the coffee shop or when you are buying groceries worth just a few dollars, but if you are spending or sending a lot of money, it is a great option.
However, if tx fees are high when you want to make your tx, it could be a barrier, but if you are someone who consolidates your small inputs and use coin control, you may be able to save up on fees when you want to make your transaction.
However, if tx fees are high when you want to make your tx, it could be a barrier, but if you are someone who consolidates your small inputs and use coin control, you may be able to save up on fees when you want to make your transaction.
Today at 11:53:59 AM
Yep. And it depends on how many times a person would need to do the transfers.
If it's a lot of times - Bitcoin may not be suited for the needs of said person, but if he needs big transfers of value and not too frequently - Bitcoin would be the choice.
In my opinion I really don't see that as a major problem. The whole concept is basically most dependent on the idea of acceptance. If both parties involved in a transaction are ok with. Making use of bitcoin as both payment and receivable methods for either case then they are good to go. The bitcoin network has one of the lowest fees compared to many other networks and it's most easy when you understand how fees work.If it's a lot of times - Bitcoin may not be suited for the needs of said person, but if he needs big transfers of value and not too frequently - Bitcoin would be the choice.
All these can still be indirectly related to some regional factors like if crypto is generally accepted or not. The only problem that I commonly see could be dynamic rates and it's very much resolvealble as long as both parties agree with it.
Today at 11:39:37 AM
They aren't slow and expensive, it's very cheap to send and receive money from any place to any place within minutes. Lots of people in my region use money transfer services. Btw Bitcoin is not a very good competitor in terms of speed and price because when transaction fees are high, Bitcoin fees can be more expensive than the fees of money transfer services and in terms of speed, Bitcoin sometimes need at least 1 hour because many companies don't accept transactions with lower than 6 confirmations.
Not to mention, bitcoin's volatility is also an issue to consider when using bitcoin as a currency or a method of transferring money. Bitcoin is very sensitive and even a small news can cause Bitcoin price to dump immediately, and while waiting for the transaction to be confirmed, our money can also lose value due to the drop in bitcoin price and not everyone is comfortable with that.
I agree with you, bitcoin is not a competitor to traditional forms of money transfer nor is it a perfect alternative.
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Btw altcoins like XRP and Litecoin are very fast and cheap solutions compared to Bitcoin. Bitcoin shines in decentralization.
When it comes to remittances and payments, what people care about is transaction speed and fees, and it is clear that altcoins outperform bitcoin when it comes to domestic and international remittances and payments.
Today at 08:45:21 AM
Bitcoin can be a great option for remittances especially for countries that suffer from high inflation, are economically or politically unstable, etc.
Bitcoin is very popular in Turkey for example where many people own bitcoin and stablecoins because of crazy inflation that can exceed 50%.
Bitcoin is very popular in Turkey for example where many people own bitcoin and stablecoins because of crazy inflation that can exceed 50%.
Today at 08:34:54 AM
Could bitcoin disrupt the remittance industry and become the go to solution for cross border payments?
I don't think so.
In as much as Bitcoin has better financial benefits, and offers a better secure transaction, it still won't overtake what remittance has put in place due to the reasons I explained below.
Bitcoin will coexist with everything that already is there.
It's an alternative, not a way to destroy everything else and inject itself into the system to refurbish it.
Today at 08:23:55 AM
Could bitcoin disrupt the remittance industry and become the go to solution for cross border payments?
I don't think so.
In as much as Bitcoin has better financial benefits, and offers a better secure transaction, it still won't overtake what remittance has put in place due to the reasons I explained below.
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What are the potential for bitcoin to change the way we send money internationally and what barriers still stand in the way of its widespread adoption for remittances?
Of course, I think Bitcoin has that primary advantage when it comes to border and international transactions. The limit to which people across the globe can send money varies from one country to another. Too many laws and restrictions in place can even leave a transferred money pending for a very long period of time, which in most cases, the sender or receiver might be needed for some questioning. So, I think Bitcoin helps to break this barrier in some way.
And as for the barrier or limiting factor to this idea, well I think it has to do with digital illiteracy. Not everyone actually knows or understand how Bitcoin works, or how to perform a Bitcoin transaction. And government regulations can also be a factor though, but it will affect only those that have little knowledge on how to navigate their way around, because someone who understands these things well would definitely find another option.
Today at 07:54:56 AM
I think there are two main barriers at this moment.
The first one is the lack of liquidity for the local currency to Bitcoin in most countries. Outside of the EUR / USD and some exceptions like the Argentine Peso (for historical reasons), there are often very few exchanges and with larger amounts you have to take into account at least 1-2% of slippage because of the lack of thickness of the order books in local currency.
The second one is the unpredictability of transaction fees. For remittances where sender and receiver convert local fiat into Bitcoin, however, Lightning is a good and cheap alternative. Altcoins like LTC can also help here but then the liquidity barrier is even higher or you have to take into account more "hops" in the process. And LN availability on local exchanges sometimes also is lacking.
Both barriers lead to significant costs, which can sum up to values similar to a Western Union transfer fee in many cases.
If Bitcoin was of course less volatile and it was more popular among "everyday people" to simply "own a Bitcoin account" (even if it's a CEX / centralized wallet account) then the first barrier would lose significance. But we're still not there.
The first one is the lack of liquidity for the local currency to Bitcoin in most countries. Outside of the EUR / USD and some exceptions like the Argentine Peso (for historical reasons), there are often very few exchanges and with larger amounts you have to take into account at least 1-2% of slippage because of the lack of thickness of the order books in local currency.
The second one is the unpredictability of transaction fees. For remittances where sender and receiver convert local fiat into Bitcoin, however, Lightning is a good and cheap alternative. Altcoins like LTC can also help here but then the liquidity barrier is even higher or you have to take into account more "hops" in the process. And LN availability on local exchanges sometimes also is lacking.
Both barriers lead to significant costs, which can sum up to values similar to a Western Union transfer fee in many cases.
If Bitcoin was of course less volatile and it was more popular among "everyday people" to simply "own a Bitcoin account" (even if it's a CEX / centralized wallet account) then the first barrier would lose significance. But we're still not there.
Today at 07:35:13 AM
They aren't slow and expensive, it's very cheap to send and receive money from any place to any place within minutes. Lots of people in my region use money transfer services. Btw Bitcoin is not a very good competitor in terms of speed and price because when transaction fees are high, Bitcoin fees can be more expensive than the fees of money transfer services and in terms of speed, Bitcoin sometimes need at least 1 hour because many companies don't accept transactions with lower than 6 confirmations.
Bitcoin blockchain and Bitcoin transactions are good for people who care about security, safety and privacy of their assets and transactions. If the main concern is transaction fee, Bitcoin blockchain is not the best choice.It depends on main concern, people will have different choices and if any newbie still wonder why Bitcoin blockchain is good in security, let's read some documents.
How many Bitcoin confirmations is enough?
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Btw altcoins like XRP and Litecoin are very fast and cheap solutions compared to Bitcoin. Bitcoin shines in decentralization.
If you want cheap transaction fee, let's go with Ripple, Litecoin, Dogecoin and I personally are favorite with Litecoin and Dogecoin that are Proof of Work altcoins while Ripple is not.Litecoin and Dogecoin blockchains are not secure like Bitcoin blockchain, but they're better than Ripple.
Big transactions, choose Bitcoin.
Small transactions, choose Litecoin or Dogecoin.
https://howmanyconfs.com/
Today at 07:29:58 AM
Remittances are a huge part of the global economy but traditional money transfer services can be slow and expensive. Bitcoin offers a faster and more cost effective alternative. Could bitcoin disrupt the remittance industry and become the go to solution for cross border payments? What are the potential for bitcoin to change the way we send money internationally and what barriers still stand in the way of its widespread adoption for remittances?
They aren't slow and expensive, it's very cheap to send and receive money from any place to any place within minutes. Lots of people in my region use money transfer services. Btw Bitcoin is not a very good competitor in terms of speed and price because when transaction fees are high, Bitcoin fees can be more expensive than the fees of money transfer services and in terms of speed, Bitcoin sometimes need at least 1 hour because many companies don't accept transactions with lower than 6 confirmations. Btw altcoins like XRP and Litecoin are very fast and cheap solutions compared to Bitcoin. Bitcoin shines in decentralization. 
Today at 05:23:26 AM
Remittances are a huge part of the global economy but traditional money transfer services can be slow and expensive. Bitcoin offers a faster and more cost effective alternative. Could bitcoin disrupt the remittance industry and become the go to solution for cross border payments? What are the potential for bitcoin to change the way we send money internationally and what barriers still stand in the way of its widespread adoption for remittances?
Depends on when the money transferred has been used. But if the destination still end up to be converted to fiat and withdraw it to remittance centers or bank I guess those Bitcoin transaction cannot still effect the traditional money transfer since those institutions still benefiting for each transactions made by people.
And actually don't see any conflicting factor towards traditional money transfer since after all people cannot use Bitcoin directly to buy goods or basic things they need since they still need to convert it to fiat so that could buy everything they want or need.
Two systems would just coexist with each other, that's my take on it.
Nothing wrong with that, not every country in the world would be blissful towards Bitcoin, even in the years to come.
This one provably would gonna happen since the same with other existing digital payments exist Bitcoin will coexist with current settings and became an alternative currency option to used by people. And we should be grateful with that since that means Bitcoin will not go anywhere and it will not create any conflicts since government would provably eliminate those things that is a huge threat on their financial system.
There's huge chance that in future we can use Bitcoin directly to pay anything we want on physical merchants near us. And its great to see the current developments happen with Bitcoin since we see that good adaption and recognition is already starting with many countries in the world.
Today at 05:07:58 AM
Another challenge i think bitcoin faces is its volatility. The value of bitcoin can fluctuate widely in short periods making it unpredictable. For someone sending money to a family member abroad, this volatility could result in the recipient receiving an unexpected amount. Until bitcoin stabilizes or a solution for volatility is found, this could limit its effectiveness in the remittance sector
Today at 02:57:47 AM
What excites me about bitcoin is that it could provide financial access to people in underserved areas where traditional banking services are limited. With just a smartphone and an internet connection, anyone can send or receive bitcoin which could make remittances more inclusive for people in remote or unbanked regions
But bitcoin is not recognized as a currency and you need to convert bitcoin into fiat if you want to spend it. So if you are in an area without a bank or traditional services, you will also have difficulty spending bitcoin . Not to mention, bitcoin's volatility will also be a challenge, the value of your money can increase or decrease by 10%-20% if the market fluctuates . It would be a hassle if we used that money for our daily needs .
By the way, if we talk about global money transfer, I think we should mention cryptocurrencies instead of just bitcoin because any coin can do that . They are even faster and cheaper than bitcoin, and completely outperform traditional money transfer systems .
Yep, there may be cases in which you can buy something with BTC, but they wouldn't be official, per se, as the means of payment that is regulated.
But that's totally possible, and in the future, we may see more developments coming this way, in my opinion.
BTC wouldn't be used for small purchases, but for bigger ones - why not?
Today at 02:41:38 AM
What excites me about bitcoin is that it could provide financial access to people in underserved areas where traditional banking services are limited. With just a smartphone and an internet connection, anyone can send or receive bitcoin which could make remittances more inclusive for people in remote or unbanked regions
But bitcoin is not recognized as a currency and you need to convert bitcoin into fiat if you want to spend it. So if you are in an area without a bank or traditional services, you will also have difficulty spending bitcoin . Not to mention, bitcoin's volatility will also be a challenge, the value of your money can increase or decrease by 10%-20% if the market fluctuates . It would be a hassle if we used that money for our daily needs .
By the way, if we talk about global money transfer, I think we should mention cryptocurrencies instead of just bitcoin because any coin can do that . They are even faster and cheaper than bitcoin, and completely outperform traditional money transfer systems .
Today at 12:52:05 AM
For bitcoin to truly become a go to solution for remittances, i think we need more robust infrastructure. This includes user friendly platforms for sending and receiving bitcoin as well as partnerships with local exchange services to make converting bitcoin to local currency easier. Without this kind of infrastructure, btc might remain inaccessible for many people who want to use it for cross boarder payments
January 22, 2025, 06:23:17 AM
Remittances are a huge part of the global economy but traditional money transfer services can be slow and expensive. Bitcoin offers a faster and more cost effective alternative. Could bitcoin disrupt the remittance industry and become the go to solution for cross border payments?
has bitcoin not yet done that? a lot of people already use bitcoin when transacting with one another most especially when the transactions go from another country to another country if they had used centralized banks it would have taken days and would have cut a huge amount off of the money being sentQuote
What are the potential for bitcoin to change the way we send money internationally and what barriers still stand in the way of its widespread adoption for remittances?
the barrier is lack of awareness that you can do this and more efficiently with bitcoin which is why not a lot of people are using bitcoin this way yet January 22, 2025, 06:15:54 AM
What excites me about bitcoin is that it could provide financial access to people in underserved areas where traditional banking services are limited. With just a smartphone and an internet connection, anyone can send or receive bitcoin which could make remittances more inclusive for people in remote or unbanked regions
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