Americans spend more than US$12 billion in remittance fees each year when sending money to family and friends living overseas using the traditional financial system. However, overseas remittances using Bitcoin and Ethereum cost 96.7% less, according to research by Coinbase, one of the largest crypto exchanges based in the U.S.
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Fast facts
- “The U.S. average fee rate of 6.18% means Americans’ average yearly spend is likely close to US$12 billion on remittance fees. You shouldn’t have to spend money to send money,” Coinbase said in a blog post on April 3.
- Sending Bitcoin to another wallet costs US$1.50 per transaction on average, while an Ethereum transaction costs US$0.75, Coinbase said.
- Remittance through the traditional banking system takes an average of 1-10 days as it has to go through many intermediaries and functions during fixed banking hours. The average waiting time for crypto transfers is about 10 minutes, Coinbase said.
- Close to a billion people globally depend on remittances, either by sending or receiving them, and close to 800 million people depend on money sent by their family members living elsewhere for work, according to the United Nations.
- “We need our American regulators to see the true value of responsible crypto products and services and their ability to update an antiquated system,” Coinbase said.
- See related article: S. Korean, S. African banks team up for stablecoin-based remittances