Bitcoin Forum

Hey everyone,

Ever wondered how Bitcoin is throwing a global party in the world of remittances? this digital disruptor is having on the traditional money transfer scene,just a chat about how Bitcoin is playing the international money game differently. Whether you're sending crypto across borders or just curious about the buzz, let's share our thoughts on the real-world impact it's not just changing currencies; it's changing lives. Anyone else experiencing the joys of Bitcoin remittances?

Cheers to the crypto curious,

BTC is great for payments, you can use it to make payments in a secure way and also privately, all you need is to have an address for receiving and sending BTC to any part of the world. However, tx fees is a problem right now, with high tx fees it is almost impossible to use BTC as a payment option due to the amount you will have to spend in fees, though if you are making payments of a huge amount, or cross-border payments, then BTC is a good option for that.

I have a clear mental image of it and can see it clearly. Bitcoin transactions are a fantastic medium for financial transactions. Yet, it must fork over a hefty sum in transaction fees. For those who insist on doing things properly, this is the price to pay. This is the proper way to do it, but even a large payment won't motivate you to do anything. The Bitcoin payment option is preferable if you're going to pay an extremely large sum. It is inevitable that life will change due to currency change, regardless of your current thoughts.

That is one area where Bitcoin can outshine many other competitors. I won't say just Bitcoin, but any other crypto currency that has a stable value can do great in international transactions. I believe cryptos are indeed used for global remittances. Just not being used by the corporates but by the individuals. Only in this field, Bitcoins transaction confirmation time looks faster than the traditional banking system. But it is difficult to see an impact because Bitcoin is not recognised as a currency in many countries in the world. So you will never get a solid and reliable data to prove the impact.

But yes cryptocurrencies can surely disrupt the global remittance market with ease.

This!

Its not bad on being optimistic about its utility on which it is really something that could make out those crossborder payments without any needing on touching 3rd party on which simply into its p2p transactions.
The only main issue on here on which if the network is clogged then fees is really that mainly affected on which you would really be paying up more than on what you could be able to pay up
with those money remitances on which this is the only problem that i could see on why it cant really be able to fully integrate.

Plus, we should really consider out that legal issues and regulations isnt something welcome on  every country on which it would really be just that normal that it cant
really be integrated or would really be accepted. This is why it wont really be that shocking that there would really be some sort of blockage or ban.
For now then just let it be on how it should be.  ;)

Most bank transfers are instantaneous, while BTC blocks are found ~ 10 minutes on average. The difference is that the banking system is centralized, and so sent funds can be confiscated by the bank and reversed back to the senders account, i.e. in cases of scam and suspicious transfers, but once a block in the BTC network has been mined, it becomes irreversible and immutable.

Before the mempool began to be congested by ordinal inscriptions Bitcoin was seen as one of the cheapest means of transferring money internationally.  But this is no longer the case because transaction fees are now very expensive compared to traditional bank transactions.  I know some business owners who were relying solely on Bitcoin to buy goods from other countries including a nation that banned Bitcoin. Out of frustration because of these high tx fees, they are been forced to go back to bank transfers.

That's true, some bank transactions take a few seconds, however, the advantage Bitcoin still has is its decentralized nature that gives you full control over your funds which is a feature that banks lack. With Bitcoin, you can remain pseudonymous/anonymous which is important to many people. However, the adoption of Bitcoin as a currency is been slowed down by these high tx fees and I hope this issue will be solved in the future.

Using Bitcoin for payments is very enjoyable and very easy. The convenience that can be felt when using Bitcoin for payments is that there is no time limit that requires us to wait like bank services when the working time is over, then we have to make delivery the next day.

Between us and the second party we only need fast internet service and a Bitcoin address that can still be accessed.
Shipping costs are also cheap unless there are problems such as transaction delays caused by several reasons so the costs are a little expensive. That won't last long according to my experience in transacting with Bitcoin.

Bitcoin doesn't have a border, so it doesn't affect anything where you are sending money. I am not sure about remittance, but Bitcoin has an easy payment system where we can send and receive our funds easily. Lately, I am just afraid of high transaction fees. But the uses of Bitcoin need to be expanded so we can use it directly. Or for cashouts, Bitcoin should be like MFS. The goal of Bitcoin interrupting right now is due to unrealistic transaction fees, and most of us consider Bitcoin an investment asset.

It has played a lot for the remittance sector where many starts to just send Bitcoin to anyone in the world and they'll be the one to exchange it for themselves.

Whilst the most impactful thing that Bitcoin did isn't with the remittance but as an asset, a store of value that made its class and people more interested about it.

But with this use, this means that it's going to be used with its other features mainly for transfers. Although some problem that even the fees are also becoming highly volatile.  ;D

Enjoy Bitcoin remittances?

- Bitcoin transactions take a long time because the estimated wait for network confirmation is around 10 minutes, if the network is busy and transaction fees are too low it will take longer
- For transactions in small amounts, transaction fees look very expensive, especially a month ago the transaction fees were unreasonable
- There are still many countries that do not allow payments using bitcoin
- There are still many people who are not familiar with bitcoin
- etc

In general, at the moment I don't enjoy bitcoin Remittances because fiat still seems to be more effective, cheaper and instant delivery. The only advantage of bitcoin is that it is decentralized so that no party can freeze the bitcoins that we have in our own wallet

During Mempool congestions it is not the best Currency for payments any more in my opinion.  Love Bitcoin but this is the truth.  It is perfect for most of its use cases when the Mempool is alright.  Otherwise, it kind of sucks and becomes the Currency where only the Rich have a chance.

So Bitcoin is slightly becoming more and more a store of value instead.  You can move it once an year and not care much about Fees.  Consolidate when Fees are low enough and so on.  Remittances however are not the best use case for it unless you think about Transaction speed.  The other party can have their Bitcoin in their account in minutes.  But this is directly linked to Fees.  High fees, delayed inclusion of the Transaction in a Block.  Which defeats the purpose of using Bitcoin for quickness.

Otherwise there are other things to think about too.  For example volatility.  It is great when Bitcoin is in a Bull run but it becomes really annoying when you work your butt off for a full month, earn a thousand and by the time your relatives get to use the money it is worth 20 percent less already.

Bitcoin transactions are still cheaper than most remittances between banks, especially if you're sending money across the borders of your country. I agree that you should rather use an altcoin if transacting frequently, though.

For the sake of the argument, bank transfers are instant if both people use the same bank. Try using two separate banks and see how much time it might take. Try again, but select a recipient from outside the borders of your country. It's more than 10 minutes. Remittances can take up to three with four days. Paypal transactions can even take months to finish.

I came from a country that has a lot of overseas workers hence why remittances is one of the biggest helping factor in our economy

I can definitely see bitcoin helping ease the high fees of international transactions however right now with the mempool extremely congested and its transaction fees incredibly high it is not yet the most attractive for a lot of people even though it is remarkably lesser than bank fees it would be better if the system gets better and bitcoin will have lesser transaction fees and faster transaction rates

One thing came up in my mind reading your post.  People from my country who work in foreign countries and send back thousands to Romania every month may have further delays because of Bank procedures.  Know Your Customer.  Anti Money Laundering if the Transaction is above a specific threshold, which I heard will be around 1000 Euro soon.  And so on.  They may ask to prove where the money comes from.

Receivers may find themselves under unnecessary problems too.  Due to Bank procedures, just like those who send.

But I think during high Mempool congestion Bitcoin Fees are just as much as Banks if not more?  Many people would withdraw from ATMs too out of lack of knowledge and convenience, which means you get a hefty Commission every time you withdraw.

This is precisely why it takes so much. The transaction has to pass through a lot of bureaucratic processes. This is why peer-to-peer cash is priceless.

Depends on a lot of things. How congested? Is the median fee less than a couple of dollars or has it skyrocketed to double digits? What's the amount transferred? If it is more than four three digits, I can barely find a period where it is less expensive with Bitcoin. If the amount is equivalent to the price of a meal, then a banking transaction will always be cheaper than an on-chain. How many inputs do you want to spend? That's the kind of questions that will determine the answer.

Of course it's borderless, you can used it to transfer to anyone in the world, no middle man in between, as compare to banks that might take days to be received, although one issue right now is that the tx fees are going up and so maybe those who are sending are looking for other options like stable coins or some altcoins.

So for Bitcoin, this is a challenge that we have to face not just for remittances and cross border payments. But hopefully everything will be back to normal, (cost right now is about 26 sat/vB or $1.45)

As per this report:


https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2021/05/12/defying-predictions-remittance-flows-remain-strong-during-covid-19-crisis

Bitcoin is the number one coin among other alt-coins in the cryptocurrency market, which many people prefer Bitcoin and is the best in the line of new person in the industry and can be easier to explain to new person in the cryptocurrency space and across the globe, in which global impact Bitcoin Remittance is a part of creating more awareness across the globe.

The joy of Bitcoin will only be known by those who want to transfer money between countries that do not have bank agreements, or there is only Western Union with its high fees, and the slow procedures in transfers, but since the majority use Bitcoin as an investment, coinss are rarely withdrawn outside exchange, or there is rarely a real use of Bitcoin, and at best. In cases where you can buy digital gifts or a cup of coffee, you will find them skimping on fees and dealing with Bitcoin just like stocks.

One of my first posts on this board was referring to precisely the great advantage of sending a TX versus a Swift or SEPA transfer, depending on the amount they vary but there are banks that have fixed rates for the sending bank, the one that receives and the intermediary bank, we can be on average at least $60 when making an international transfer.

That is why companies like Western Union have a great market rate, because they are cheaper and the times are 24 to 72 hours, while a bank transfer can take a week to 3 days.

This is bitcoin discussion, so no doubt, use bitcoin.

Bitcoin has a decentralized network and can provide borderless transactions so it can be used for remittances.

There are remittance services that provide options to use Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies. You can have some cryptocurrencies to choose for remittance but if you want to do it with big fund, use Bitcoin, not altcoins.

Bitcoin provides payment alternatives in Sub-Saharan Africa (https://www.chainalysis.com/blog/chainalysis-podcast-episode-32-remittances-are-powering-crypto-markets/).

Not all bank transactions take time. Some transactions are very fast. Bitcoin on the other has a limitation. High network fees.
Traditional banks also have certain charges you pay, especially for international transactions, but currently, Bitcoin is not any different in this regard.
With Bitcoin you have two choices; increase your network fee to a higher amount or wait for hours or days before your transaction gets confirmed with a low fee.

This is a very big hindrance. Not everybody is going to have that much patience to wait for they'll increase their transaction fee and get their transaction confirmed on time. If the issue of congestion can be fixed, then Bitcoin would sour high when it comes to using it for payment, its volatile nature would be the only thing stopping businesses from accepting it as payment at this point.
But as things stand, high transaction fees are a hindrance to Bitcoin adoption.  

Bitcoin will be shaking up the remittance scene big time. Imagine sending money across borders super fast and with way fewer fees. It's like a global party where everyone's invited. It will affect how we move money around the world, making it not just about transactions but changing lives along the way.

What I like about Bitcoin compared to banks is the convenience. There is no need for us to wait and fall in line just to make transactions around the globe as we all know that not all banks supports online banking and not all people are also able to access banks so for me Bitcoin has an edge against the traditional banking. The only drawback here is that Bitcoin's adoption in some countries is way too slow and majority of it's people are still skeptical about it. Lastly, I agree with you with regards to the high transaction fees but I think Lightning Network wallets will do the job well done.

There is a big potential for Bitcoin to be commanding a good share of the cross-country or international remittance business but so far this is not a major factor in the global movement of money...and I am also wondering why. Maybe there are some big roadblocks along the way for BTC to enter this industry most especially the retail type of remittances. I am hoping though that this potential can be exploited to the max in the next 10 years of Bitcoin's existence.

You're right, Bitcoin is the origin of the cryptocurrency market but to talk about international payments, we need to acknowledge that almost all cryptocurrencies do that, not just bitcoin.

Although bitcoin or cryptocurrency assets are not recognized currency, we can convert them into fiat currency immediately after receiving them without too much difficulty .

People keep mentioning bitcoin every time they talk about payments or transferring money abroad, but my guess is that the majority don't use bitcoin and instead use altcoins to do it. Simply because no one wants to pay too high transaction fees for their transactions .

More precisely, it can also change everyone's perspective and way of thinking when everyone can send money all over the world just by relying on Bitcoin. But in general this can also happen with stablecoins which can also be used by everyone to send money around the world at fairly low costs. This means that the crypto space is now truly useful in all respects, including transactions like this which can really make it easier for everyone to move money from one country to another in a very short time.

po We can trade or exchange BTC from anywhere in the world no problem. I think btc is very safe for payment so we can definitely trade btc from anywhere in the world. BTC plays a very important role for financial transactions in Bitcoin. But now we have to think for more  due to high free.

Banks have SEPA instant these days. It takes seconds to settle a transaction... even between different banks/countries (within EU).

Don't get me wrong, Bitcoin transactions are way better than bank transactions. You don't need any third party, you handle everything yourself. But I don't think you still have to stand in long queues before you can make a transfer, even though it is still less convenient than Bitcoin transactions.


A big part of this drawback is the network fees. What's the point of all countries accepting Bitcoin when you'll pay high fees or wait for a long time for a transaction to complete?

Lightening networks are not user-friendly. An average Bitcoin user won't be able to use it. And people don't like complicated. So once a thing gets complicated they're out, especially if their money is involved.

As far as I'm concerned, high network fees as the only limitations of Bitcoin when it comes to international transactions.

   Bitcoin remittance pays directly between two individuals on P2P network, when the recipient Bitcoin address is being sent transaction takes place , Bitcoin assist in extreme manner transform money and trust Bitcoin new way of financial assistant is being given on the blockchain which is more protected and direct than any traditional banking without risk or fraud,it's quick transferring speeds stand in very important transformation in the world's remittance market which Bitcoin has brought about .

   Traditional remittances a pattern always sink down by network mediators banks and Long clearance ways, which have being very slow and famous at which money gets to the receiver.

The TX fee is a rising concern! Do you believe that in the coming days, there will be a decrease in the Txn fee? Coz I feel it's coming around the corner as more and more people tend to seek it.

That's the point! Can the high Txn fee be reduced in the coming days ? Do you think it will happen?

The convenience and immediacy offered by Bitcoin payments are undeniable. Unlike traditional banking systems with limited operating hours and potential delays for international transfers, Bitcoin transactions can occur seamlessly 24/7, anywhere in the world, with minimal intermediary involvement. This eliminates the need to wait for bank hours or incur hefty international transfer fees, offering a significant advantage for both individuals and businesses seeking to conduct cross-border transactions efficiently.

However, it's crucial to acknowledge the potential drawbacks associated with Bitcoin payments. Transaction confirmation times, while generally faster than traditional wire transfers, can fluctuate depending on network congestion, potentially causing delays and impacting the user experience. Additionally, the volatility of Bitcoin's price can introduce uncertainty into transactions, as the value received by the recipient may differ from the amount initially sent due to price fluctuations during the confirmation process.