Western Union - First Large Corporation To Be Killed By Bitcoin

[bonker]

Western Union is  looking too archaic to survive the rise of Bitcoin.

I mean, the first real-world killer app of Bitcoin is for overseas workers to send remittances back to their families without obsolete companies like Western Union stealing a large chunk of it in what amounts to an unfair tax.

What can Western Union do?
1) Adopt bitcoin and lose revenue
2) Ignore bitcoin and be made irrelevant
3) Fight bitcoin and lose

Western Union is in the living dead, the first bitcoin zombie!

[1714494314]

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[Tirapon]

If they adopt Bitcoin and provide a wallet service in countries where having your own computer is uncommon, they could gain revenue. They would potentially become the equivalent of a bank.

[nebulus]

3) Fight bitcoin and lose

Their best bet, I think.

[davidpbrown]

There's a large opening right now for a big provider to allow people to buy and use Bitcoins - and other crytocurrency for that matter.

If the Government had any sense, it would encourage cryptocurrency as a real better alternative to its own printing money.

Western Union could become the mtgox of the real world Bitcoin use, if it moves fast. Damn site better change of being useful that Ripple as it's got real world interaction to leverage.

Even charging a small fee for helping people do what they could do for free, they could make a fortune.

[bonker]

If they adopt Bitcoin and provide a wallet service in countries where having your own computer is uncommon, they could gain revenue. They would potentially become the equivalent of a bank.

Adoption is pretty much their only option. But the main problem is that they are a large and lumbering corporation, full of sloppy and lazy ingrained practices and petty internal rivalries. They are going to spend a long time in freefall before they are able to adapt, if at all.

[ManBearPig]

If they were really smart they'd come up with a 'wrapper' for Bitcoin and shift their business model really, really quick.

[St.Bit]

They could sell BTC for cash and become THE place to buy bitcoin.

There is no competition in BTC4Cash and they're unlikely to loose that monopoly if they move fast enough. AML and every future law on bitcoin will make it impossible for small enterprises to enter that market. Bitcoin-24 has already been killed by an overmotivated prosecutor and it requires a big law department to fight off legal attacks. Western Union is used to scam people so they have that department.

WU has in contrast to Paypal, Visa, and Banks no other bitcoin threatened business model that faces to be total obsolete by bitcoin. They transfer funds for profit. I belive WU could be one of the best performing stocks of the century if they get on bitcoin early enough. Or among the worst if they don't.

[bitcoincraps]

Western Union :

Step 1 - I send 200 euro to my father in Thailand
Step 2 - My father goes to the nearest WU office and pick up 170 euro IN CASH, 25 minutes LATER in local currency
Step 3 - My father use the cash to pay a massage, 20 minutes later.

Time : 45 minutes
Fees : 30 euro

Bitcoin :

Step 1 - I send 2 BTC to my father.
Step 2 - My father use an exchange to sell 2 BTC for 200 USD. He withdraw the money. He receives 170 EURO (30 euro is the international transfer fee) 4 days LATER.
Step 3 - My father exchange the EURO to local currency (a small tax apply)
Step 4 - My father use the cash to pay a massage, 20 minutes later.

Time : 4 days and 20 minutes
Fees : 30 euro

[tosku]

Western Union :

Step 1 - I send 200 euro to my father in Thailand
Step 2 - My father goes to the nearest WU office and pick up 170 euro IN CASH, 25 minutes LATER in local currency
Step 3 - My father use the cash to pay a massage, 20 minutes later.

Time : 45 minutes
Fees : 30 euro

Bitcoin :

Step 1 - I send 2 BTC to my father.
Step 2 - My father use an exchange to sell 2 BTC for 200 USD. He withdraw the money. He receives 170 EURO (30 euro is the international transfer fee) 4 days LATER.
Step 3 - My father exchange the EURO to local currency (a small tax apply)
Step 4 - My father use the cash to pay a massage, 20 minutes later.

Time : 4 days and 20 minutes
Fees : 30 euro

If your father is going to exchange the BTC for fiat in another country and then wire it to himself, why don't you just wire him the money in the first place? And if he is receiving EUR, why doesn't he sell the BTC for EUR in a European exchange, and receive a SEPA transfer? The fee for that is like 0.2 EUR.

This is how you should be doing it:
Step 1 - You send 2 BTC to your father
Step 2 - Your father sells the BTC for cash using localbitcoins. He receives the equivalent of 280 USD / 215 EUR.

EDIT: Sorry, I missed that your father is in Thailand. What I don't understand is why you are using EUR at all.

[inge]

Bitcoin :

Step 1 - I send 2 BTC to my father.
Step 2 - My father use an exchange to sell 2 BTC for 200 USD. He withdraw the money. He receives 170 EURO (30 euro is the international transfer fee) 4 days LATER.
Step 3 - My father exchange the EURO to local currency (a small tax apply)
Step 4 - My father use the cash to pay a massage, 20 minutes later.

Time : 4 days and 20 minutes
Fees : 30 euro

In Thailand is WU infrastructur well developed, while Bitcoin infrastructur is just start developing...in Europe, at the moment, you can change Btc for Euro really fast.

[siggy]

regarding WU and BTC.....

There is another aspect of the Western Union business that I haven't seen touched upon yet...  That is their Bill Pay service.  There are a LOT of companies that have bill pay agreements with WU. 

For example..  Lets take a well known bank.. Citi ..  If you are coming up on "late charge day" and you need to pay your mortgage NOW ..  you can take cash down to your local WU branch and pay your mortgage IN CASH and have the payment credited same day. 

Same thing with my local electric company...  if you need to pay your bill TODAY or have your electric shut off, you can pay cash at the local WU branch.

A lot of other banks and utilities have this same agreement with WU.

So, for those of you who keep saying "When I can pay my mortgage in BTC then.. bla bla bla.."  ... well get ready for the bla bla bla.. cuz if WU starts dealing in BTC, you can do exactly that.. PAY YOUR MORTGAGE WITH BTC.

Sigg

[Mcoroklo]

Western Union is really big in Asia, so they will be an important player for Bitcoins. If I remember correctly, the CEO even mentioned Bitcoins as something they considered implementing.

I think it will happen soon. They are not stupid enough to wait till the Silicon Valley guys kill their remittance income forever.

[Adrian-x]

Western Union is in the living dead, the first bitcoin zombie!

It is the other way around.
Western Union can be a trusted fiat interface to Bitcoin (an exchange).
Migrant Workers send money to places with higher inflation, they but Bitcoin in developed places with relatively lower inflation.
There is a net benefit to workers, the people who get the money and a stabilizing / strengthening of the benefiting country. It doesn't server corporate interest exploiting the imbalance. (It could but it would strength the Bitcoin economy)

There is more to consider but my guess is it's a go. 

[Gordonium]

Step 2 - My father use an exchange to sell 2 BTC for 200 USD. He withdraw the money. He receives 170 EURO (30 euro is the international transfer fee) 4 days LATER.

There are other ways to convert BTC to FIAT thatn MtGox. And besides, soon you can just spend your Bitcoins, no need for converting.

[Anon136]

Western Union is  looking too archaic to survive the rise of Bitcoin.

I mean, the first real-world killer app of Bitcoin is for overseas workers to send remittances back to their families without obsolete companies like Western Union stealing a large chunk of it in what amounts to an unfair tax.

What can Western Union do?
1) Adopt bitcoin and lose revenue
2) Ignore bitcoin and be made irrelevant
3) Fight bitcoin and lose

Western Union is in the living dead, the first bitcoin zombie!

or

4) change their business model

[firefop]

Western Union is  looking too archaic to survive the rise of Bitcoin.

I mean, the first real-world killer app of Bitcoin is for overseas workers to send remittances back to their families without obsolete companies like Western Union stealing a large chunk of it in what amounts to an unfair tax.

What can Western Union do?
1) Adopt bitcoin and lose revenue
2) Ignore bitcoin and be made irrelevant
3) Fight bitcoin and lose

Western Union is in the living dead, the first bitcoin zombie!

or

4) change their business model

At some point (this will be the signal that we've achieved 'adoption' and that bitcoin will never fail) one of the big-boys (payment processors) will jump on the bitcoin bandwagon. . . It would be great if it were Western Union. They could retool their entire network to use bitcoins on the backend while at the same time reducing equipment costs and increasing profits (nobody is going to bat an eyelash at paying their standard fees for moving fiat to btc or vice versa). It would also open a new line of business for them when integrating bitcoin into their billpay and other features.

The block-chain would effectively replace their own server costs for actually conducting transactions. Maybe they could slightly lower their feels across the board and be even more competitive on price (due to btc transfers being so cheap to conduct). If they also offered wallet services they would eventually cross the line from being a payment processor into effectively being the largest bank in the world (at some point) and almost immediately the largest exchange.

One of the payment processors will do this eventually... but it's up to them to decide who.

[notme]

Western Union is  looking too archaic to survive the rise of Bitcoin.

I mean, the first real-world killer app of Bitcoin is for overseas workers to send remittances back to their families without obsolete companies like Western Union stealing a large chunk of it in what amounts to an unfair tax.

What can Western Union do?
1) Adopt bitcoin and lose revenue
2) Ignore bitcoin and be made irrelevant
3) Fight bitcoin and lose

Western Union is in the living dead, the first bitcoin zombie!

or

4) change their business model

At some point (this will be the signal that we've achieved 'adoption' and that bitcoin will never fail) one of the big-boys (payment processors) will jump on the bitcoin bandwagon. . . It would be great if it were Western Union. They could retool their entire network to use bitcoins on the backend while at the same time reducing equipment costs and increasing profits (nobody is going to bat an eyelash at paying their standard fees for moving fiat to btc or vice versa). It would also open a new line of business for them when integrating bitcoin into their billpay and other features.

The block-chain would effectively replace their own server costs for actually conducting transactions. Maybe they could slightly lower their feels across the board and be even more competitive on price (due to btc transfers being so cheap to conduct). If they also offered wallet services they would eventually cross the line from being a payment processor into effectively being the largest bank in the world (at some point) and almost immediately the largest exchange.

One of the payment processors will do this eventually... but it's up to them to decide who.

Just be careful with that bolded part.  When we achieve 'adoption' is exactly when we will see the largest correction in bitcoin history.  After the masses ride through the one last boot shaking crash, we can finally have some semblance of stability.

[nicolazza]

Western Union :

Step 1 - I send 200 euro to my father in Thailand
Step 2 - My father goes to the nearest WU office and pick up 170 euro IN CASH, 25 minutes LATER in local currency
Step 3 - My father use the cash to pay a massage, 20 minutes later.

Time : 45 minutes
Fees : 30 euro

Bitcoin :

Step 1 - I send 2 BTC to my father.
Step 2 - My father use an exchange to sell 2 BTC for 200 USD. He withdraw the money. He receives 170 EURO (30 euro is the international transfer fee) 4 days LATER.
Step 3 - My father exchange the EURO to local currency (a small tax apply)
Step 4 - My father use the cash to pay a massage, 20 minutes later.

Time : 4 days and 20 minutes
Fees : 30 euro

1 send btc to your father's wallet
2 your father pay a massage in bitcoin

Time: 5 minutes
Fees: 0.0005 btc

[notme]

Western Union :

Step 1 - I send 200 euro to my father in Thailand
Step 2 - My father goes to the nearest WU office and pick up 170 euro IN CASH, 25 minutes LATER in local currency
Step 3 - My father use the cash to pay a massage, 20 minutes later.

Time : 45 minutes
Fees : 30 euro

Bitcoin :

Step 1 - I send 2 BTC to my father.
Step 2 - My father use an exchange to sell 2 BTC for 200 USD. He withdraw the money. He receives 170 EURO (30 euro is the international transfer fee) 4 days LATER.
Step 3 - My father exchange the EURO to local currency (a small tax apply)
Step 4 - My father use the cash to pay a massage, 20 minutes later.

Time : 4 days and 20 minutes
Fees : 30 euro

1 send btc to your father's wallet
2 your father pay a massage in bitcoin

Time: 5 minutes
Fees: 0.0005 btc

Yep... All of bitcoin's problems can be solved by looking at the world through a bitcoin lens instead of a usd (or $fiat) lens.  If you do that, all of the sudden bitcoin's problems become fiat's problems.  And fiat can't even be moved in reasonable timeframes.

[bonker]

Western Union :

Step 1 - I send 200 euro to my father in Thailand
Step 2 - My father goes to the nearest WU office and pick up 170 euro IN CASH, 25 minutes LATER in local currency
Step 3 - My father use the cash to pay a massage, 20 minutes later.

Time : 45 minutes
Fees : 30 euro

Bitcoin :

Step 1 - I send 2 BTC to my father.
Step 2 - My father use an exchange to sell 2 BTC for 200 USD. He withdraw the money. He receives 170 EURO (30 euro is the international transfer fee) 4 days LATER.
Step 3 - My father exchange the EURO to local currency (a small tax apply)
Step 4 - My father use the cash to pay a massage, 20 minutes later.

Time : 4 days and 20 minutes
Fees : 30 euro

That just screams opportunity to me: if Thais set up as locabitcoin agents they can make good money and offer a faster and cheaper service than Western Union. There is mountains of room for locals in poor countries to make money by killing Western Union.

[notme]

Western Union :

Step 1 - I send 200 euro to my father in Thailand
Step 2 - My father goes to the nearest WU office and pick up 170 euro IN CASH, 25 minutes LATER in local currency
Step 3 - My father use the cash to pay a massage, 20 minutes later.

Time : 45 minutes
Fees : 30 euro

Bitcoin :

Step 1 - I send 2 BTC to my father.
Step 2 - My father use an exchange to sell 2 BTC for 200 USD. He withdraw the money. He receives 170 EURO (30 euro is the international transfer fee) 4 days LATER.
Step 3 - My father exchange the EURO to local currency (a small tax apply)
Step 4 - My father use the cash to pay a massage, 20 minutes later.

Time : 4 days and 20 minutes
Fees : 30 euro

That just screams opportunity to me: if Thais set up as locabitcoin agents they can make good money and offer a faster and cheaper service than Western Union. There is mountains of room for locals in poor countries to make money by killing Western Union.

Indeed.  Centralized exchanges tied to banks are only a temporary measure.

[ManBearPig]

Comparing the long-established almost Monopoly that WU have with a nascent game-changer like Bitcoin at this stage is not going to show BTC as the winner YET.

When your father can spend BTC locally, that is when WU will suffer unless they have adapted.

None of these bloated corps like WU or PayPal will be killed by cryptos, they'll incorporate them even if they do so in their slow, lumbering way.

[Spendulus]

If they adopt Bitcoin and provide a wallet service in countries where having your own computer is uncommon, they could gain revenue. They would potentially become the equivalent of a bank.

Yes, they could charge a fee from their current offices for changing bitcoin received into local currency.  The primary communications vehicle for movement of bitcoin, though would be the smart phone.  As of the end of 2012, there were as many phones in the world as there were people, and about a quarter of them were smartphones.

The problem that WU would have is that for them to act as the "Receiving End" the sender would have to send bitcoin to WU. 

And why would anyone want to do that?

Otherwise, WU could offer a service which consisted of being an exchange agent for anyone walking in off the street with bitcoins on their phone.  But anyone could do that - the first that comes to my mind would be the 'check cashing' stores.

[abbyd]

Western Union is  looking too archaic to survive the rise of Bitcoin.

To me they look like a classic "dinosaur" corporation. They'll die with their cocks in their hands. Their CEO:
Jack M. Greenberg (born 1942) was Chairman and CEO of McDonald's Corporation from 1999 through 2002...

[bonker]

Western Union is  looking too archaic to survive the rise of Bitcoin.

To me they look like a classic "dinosaur" corporation. They'll die with their cocks in their hands. Their CEO:
Jack M. Greenberg (born 1942) was Chairman and CEO of McDonald's Corporation from 1999 through 2002...

Absolutely.

Its way to large and over extended to cope with the fundamental changes that Bitcoin will bring. Personally I think it's too obese to adapt and will die. 5 years until insolvency.

[101111]

They have been around for 160 years so they're doing something right, and clearly they adopt new tech, so they get my respect, and I'll bet my bottom dollar they won't let bitcoin slip through their fingers, cos they'll want to be around for another 160 yrs. Prolly got their legal dept, IT & product managers etc already working on it.

edit: they are certainly no slouches when it comes to tech and innovation eg "In the 1970s WUI installed and leased to the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) ..... a proof of concept for the technology of packet switching which later became the Internet." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Union

[jubalix]

Western Union :

Step 1 - I send 200 euro to my father in Thailand
Step 2 - My father goes to the nearest WU office and pick up 170 euro IN CASH, 25 minutes LATER in local currency
Step 3 - My father use the cash to pay a massage, 20 minutes later.

Time : 45 minutes
Fees : 30 euro

Bitcoin :

Step 1 - I send 2 BTC to my father.
Step 2 - My father use an exchange to sell 2 BTC for 200 USD. He withdraw the money. He receives 170 EURO (30 euro is the international transfer fee) 4 days LATER.
Step 3 - My father exchange the EURO to local currency (a small tax apply)
Step 4 - My father use the cash to pay a massage, 20 minutes later.

Time : 4 days and 20 minutes
Fees : 30 euro

wait it only costs me 8$ or 0$ for international wire transfers

[abbyd]

They have been around for 160 years so they're doing something right, and clearly they adopt new tech, so they get my respect,

I don't have that much respect for a corporation that bilks immigrants for fees as high as 30% to transfer money to their families.
I'd say they're a perfect target for a bitcoin entrepreneur. If you think about it, WU is part of the global "race to the bottom" parasitic chain...

[bitcon]

i'd rather bitcoin not be tarnished by WU's name.

[101111]

They have been around for 160 years so they're doing something right, and clearly they adopt new tech, so they get my respect,

I don't have that much respect for a corporation that bilks immigrants for fees as high as 30% to transfer money to their families.
I'd say they're a perfect target for a bitcoin entrepreneur. If you think about it, WU is part of the global "race to the bottom" parasitic chain...

it's hard to believe a US financial institution would act unethically

[ex-trader]

Plenty of big companies have died through history, just as new corporations grow and flourish, not to sound like the Lion King but it's the corporate 'Circle of Life'. Changing technology and consumer behaviour causes both.

Regarding Western Union and any other money transfer business, these are the businesses that absolutely face the most threat from BTC. However two things need to happen before it's an issue:

1. The recipients need to be able to spend the BTC directly on goods and services (like food and rent) in predominantly third-world countries, or not get charged fortunes in converting back to Fiat.

2. BTC needs to be more stable. Unless entire economies are denominated in BTC (which will NEVER happen) then exchange rates matter and there's no point sending someone 100USD in BTC to find it's 95USD by the time they convert it back because it's value has moved.

[bitcon]

2. BTC needs to be more stable. Unless entire economies are denominated in BTC (which will NEVER happen) then exchange rates matter and there's no point sending someone 100USD in BTC to find it's 95USD by the time they convert it back because it's value has moved.

You're wrong because just as easily you can send someone 100USD BTC and by time they get it its worth $110. This would encourage more people to use it instead of fiat which always inflates.

[abbyd]

2. BTC needs to be more stable. Unless entire economies are denominated in BTC (which will NEVER happen) then exchange rates matter and there's no point sending someone 100USD in BTC to find it's 95USD by the time they convert it back because it's value has moved.

There's an old story about the Weimar hyperinflation:

A man steps into a cafe and orders a cup of coffee priced at 6 million marks. He sits down, reads the newspaper, finishes his coffee, and orders another cup. When the waiter brings the bill,  it's for 14 million marks. He protests that 6 million times 2 is 12 million. The waiter replies "Next time, please order both cups in advance. While you were reading the newspaper, the price of a cup of coffee went up to 8 million marks".

[ex-trader]

You're wrong because just as easily you can send someone 100USD BTC and by time they get it its worth $110. This would encourage more people to use it instead of fiat which always inflates.

Rubbish. When I send someone 100USD it's because they want 100USD, not some amount of money that might be more or might be less....

[Anon136]

They have been around for 160 years so they're doing something right, and clearly they adopt new tech, so they get my respect,

I don't have that much respect for a corporation that bilks immigrants for fees as high as 30% to transfer money to their families.
I'd say they're a perfect target for a bitcoin entrepreneur. If you think about it, WU is part of the global "race to the bottom" parasitic chain...

you are kidding right... you know that kind of ridiculous shit is caused by government right. There is no way on earth WU could stay in business if it was just raking in 30% profit on the movement of money from one place to another.... Hell id get in my car and start driving money around if i was able to charge 30% premium and keep it for myself. You have to know that there is no way in hell WU would have to charge anything like that in a free market. Its very difficult and costly for a company like western union to get fiat from one jurisdiction into another.

[Stampbit]

western union has the advantage of being physically available and known, as well as working in a stable currency. I dont think its going to disappear from bitcoin.

[Spendulus]

Plenty of big companies have died through history, just as new corporations grow and flourish, not to sound like the Lion King but it's the corporate 'Circle of Life'. Changing technology and consumer behaviour causes both.

Regarding Western Union and any other money transfer business, these are the businesses that absolutely face the most threat from BTC. However two things need to happen before it's an issue:

1. The recipients need to be able to spend the BTC directly on goods and services (like food and rent) in predominantly third-world countries, or not get charged fortunes in converting back to Fiat.

2. BTC needs to be more stable. Unless entire economies are denominated in BTC (which will NEVER happen) then exchange rates matter and there's no point sending someone 100USD in BTC to find it's 95USD by the time they convert it back because it's value has moved.

No, the bitcoin does not need to be 'more stable'.  Not if the alternative is WU at 30% fees.  High instability does not present more risk than certain loss of 30%.

[ex-trader]

Not if the alternative is WU at 30% fees. 

Where are WU fees 30%?

The WU global average fee is about 5%. The countries where this is higher is intra-Africa i.e. from one african country to another, but the volume of these transactions are small.

The vast majority of WU transactions are from the developed world to the third world and the fees 10% or less. To replace these with BTC both parties would need computers or mobiles and an ability to spend it in BTC, otherwise they'll just get charged by someone else to change it into cash.

Show us a real example of how a Filipino maid working in UAE can send it home to a family member in BTC and they can then spend the BTC on their rent and food and I'll start to be convinced WU is at risk.

[Spendulus]

Not if the alternative is WU at 30% fees.  

Where are WU fees 30%?

The WU global average fee is about 5%. The countries where this is higher is intra-Africa i.e. from one african country to another, but the volume of these transactions are small.

The vast majority of WU transactions are from the developed world to the third world and the fees 10% or less. To replace these with BTC both parties would need computers or mobiles and an ability to spend it in BTC, otherwise they'll just get charged by someone else to change it into cash.

Show us a real example of how a Filipino maid working in UAE can send it home to a family member in BTC and they can then spend the BTC on their rent and food and I'll start to be convinced WU is at risk.

5%??

Here's the linky for calculating rates and total costs.

https://wumt.westernunion.com/WUCOMWEB/priceShopperRedirectAction.do?method=load&countryCode=US&languageCode=en

Note they make money on the currency translation as well as on the 'moving of the money'.  For the phillipine peso they do an exchange rate of 39.7, but standard at this moment is 40.9, and street is 50.

I assume you would agree with using the street exchange price, and then including the fees, there's your 30%.  More or less.

[abbyd]

They have been around for 160 years so they're doing something right, and clearly they adopt new tech, so they get my respect,

I don't have that much respect for a corporation that bilks immigrants for fees as high as 30% to transfer money to their families.
I'd say they're a perfect target for a bitcoin entrepreneur. If you think about it, WU is part of the global "race to the bottom" parasitic chain...

you are kidding right... you know that kind of ridiculous shit is caused by government right. There is no way on earth WU could stay in business if it was just raking in 30% profit on the movement of money from one place to another.... Hell id get in my car and start driving money around if i was able to charge 30% premium and keep it for myself. You have to know that there is no way in hell WU would have to charge anything like that in a free market. Its very difficult and costly for a company like western union to get fiat from one jurisdiction into another.

Well how much DO the feds skim off WU? I'm sure it all depends how many congressmen they've bribed?
Even if WU had to split the 30% 50/50 with Uncle Sam, I'd still see no reason to shed a tear for their CEO.
 
Obviously they're able to make big money because:
* They have a near-monopoly
* The majority of their customers don't speak English well, nor are they good at math
* They do a large number of small transactions

Other posters have a point that there will be friction when converting BTC to/from local currency, but I still think the business is ripe for some competition.

[Zaih]

And bloody Western Union's currency exchange fee!! Biggest joke ever.

DOWN WITH WU

[sniffinpoprocks]

Wow!! I cant believe this thread...
In the last month, I've 'lost' money I've wired into bitcoin24 trying to buy bitcoins, I've got a wire into MtGox that hasn't been acknowledge in over 2 days yet, but... Just yesterday I logged into my Western Union account online and sent US dollars; from a non-US country, to another, different non-US country and the money was available in minutes to a person who could go almost anywhere and pick it up.

WU has nothing to worry about...especially after asicminer destroys the whole economy anyway.

[Spendulus]

Wow!! I cant believe this thread...
In the last month, I've 'lost' money I've wired into bitcoin24 trying to buy bitcoins, I've got a wire into MtGox that hasn't been acknowledge in over 2 days yet, but... Just yesterday I logged into my Western Union account online and sent US dollars; from a non-US country, to another, different non-US country and the money was available in minutes to a person who could go almost anywhere and pick it up.

WU has nothing to worry about...especially after asicminer destroys the whole economy anyway.

ALL HAIL THE GREAT AND WISE!

THE OMNIFICENT!

THE MAGNANIMOUS OVERLORD OF THE POOR AND THE HUNGRY!

The Western Union....

BWAFFAFAFAFAF!

[Zaih]

Wow!! I cant believe this thread...
In the last month, I've 'lost' money I've wired into bitcoin24 trying to buy bitcoins, I've got a wire into MtGox that hasn't been acknowledge in over 2 days yet, but... Just yesterday I logged into my Western Union account online and sent US dollars; from a non-US country, to another, different non-US country and the money was available in minutes to a person who could go almost anywhere and pick it up.

WU has nothing to worry about...especially after asicminer destroys the whole economy anyway.

ALL HAIL THE GREAT AND WISE!

THE OMNIFICENT!

THE MAGNANIMOUS OVERLORD OF THE POOR AND THE HUNGRY!

The Western Union....

BWAFFAFAFAFAF!

    

[ex-trader]

Wow!! I cant believe this thread...
In the last month, I've 'lost' money I've wired into bitcoin24 trying to buy bitcoins, I've got a wire into MtGox that hasn't been acknowledge in over 2 days yet, but... Just yesterday I logged into my Western Union account online and sent US dollars; from a non-US country, to another, different non-US country and the money was available in minutes to a person who could go almost anywhere and pick it up.

Exactly. BTC has a future, but it's a long way away from any proper usage, but on here there's a lot of people just drinking the BTC cool-aid, happy that the coin that is currently used mainly to speculate, invest and gamble is going to $1000USD etc.

Threads about actual usage for international money transfers are pretty absent.

[P4man]

Show us a real example of how a Filipino maid working in UAE can send it home to a family member in BTC and they can then spend the BTC on their rent and food and I'll start to be convinced WU is at risk.

You are correct; however  WU business is not only to or between developing countries. Along with moneygram its also often used to pay for B2B transactions in China, Taiwan etc. Just look at Alibaba. Those kind of transactions could be handled by bitcoin too, as the recipients would generally be sophisticated enough to handle or sell their bitcoins. How much of WU's business that represents, I have no idea, but I doubt its trivial.

[101111]

Wow!! I cant believe this thread...
In the last month, I've 'lost' money I've wired into bitcoin24 trying to buy bitcoins, I've got a wire into MtGox that hasn't been acknowledge in over 2 days yet, but... Just yesterday I logged into my Western Union account online and sent US dollars; from a non-US country, to another, different non-US country and the money was available in minutes to a person who could go almost anywhere and pick it up.

WU has nothing to worry about...especially after asicminer destroys the whole economy anyway.

You have something to worry about - lack of long term perspective.

[Spendulus]

Wow!! I cant believe this thread...
In the last month, I've 'lost' money I've wired into bitcoin24 trying to buy bitcoins, I've got a wire into MtGox that hasn't been acknowledge in over 2 days yet, but... Just yesterday I logged into my Western Union account online and sent US dollars; from a non-US country, to another, different non-US country and the money was available in minutes to a person who could go almost anywhere and pick it up.

WU has nothing to worry about...especially after asicminer destroys the whole economy anyway.

You have something to worry about - lack of long term perspective.

Plus, don't believe anything those bicycle repairmen say.  Man cannot build machines that will fly.

[Namealreadyexists]

Wow!! I cant believe this thread...
In the last month, I've 'lost' money I've wired into bitcoin24 trying to buy bitcoins, I've got a wire into MtGox that hasn't been acknowledge in over 2 days yet, but... Just yesterday I logged into my Western Union account online and sent US dollars; from a non-US country, to another, different non-US country and the money was available in minutes to a person who could go almost anywhere and pick it up.

Exactly. BTC has a future, but it's a long way away from any proper usage, but on here there's a lot of people just drinking the BTC cool-aid, happy that the coin that is currently used mainly to speculate, invest and gamble is going to $1000USD etc.

Threads about actual usage for international money transfers are pretty absent.

It's just a matter of setting up local exchanges. In fact, the currency wouldn't even leave the country, because often times the flow of remittances is offset by the flow of money from corrupt elites in the opposite direction.

Case in point Uzbekistan. Remittances from Russia make 13% of the country's GDP, but President's daughter has "millions of dollars" in foreign accounts, according to FT March 7, 2013 article.

[btc6000]

I mean, the first real-world killer app of Bitcoin is for overseas workers to send remittances back to their families without obsolete companies like Western Union stealing a large chunk of it in what amounts to an unfair tax.

Sorry but that ain't gonna happen until we get multiple reliable exchanges in each country.

I regularly transfer reasonably large sums of fiat between two first-world countries, neither of which have credible means of exchange between BTC & fiat. In the meantime, the fees at the leading FOREX brokers work out less than 0.5%, excluding the spread.

[Namealreadyexists]

It's transferring the small amounts that is comparatively expensive.