Bitcoins hit Africa's money transfer traditions

Quote from: AgentofCoin on February 19, 2015, 03:13:36 AM

Quote from: Q7 on February 19, 2015, 12:58:55 AM

Cnn seems to be bitcoin friendly. The documentary done by Morgan Spurlock about living only on bitcoin was great and now we have this.

Was great? Past-tense? Have you seen it early?

It's great, it doesn't go deep into bitcoin but it's not needed since it's nicely thought for the average joe.

After ton of bad news it is great to hear something good.

Problem is the internet connection in Africa is not the most reliable in the world.

But of course a non reliable way of transfer still is better than no way of transfer

yes. btc can help africa's people get a grip on money. but i doubt their governments will be very happy about this. they chop things off with machetes over there.

That moment when they actively use bitcoin and bitcoin price fall to rock bottom overnight would be a disaster

Sure it's positive news, but is it really that big of a deal?

How much are sub-saharan Africans spending in bank fees (or would be spending if they had the accounts)? Is it really impacting their ability to pay their bills? Access to the internet also costs money, does this not equal the cost of bank fees?

I'm not trying to be an ass here, these aren't rhetorical questions, if anyone can educate me...don't hesitate!

Go Africa... it cha birthday! Cheesy

Quote from: Quartx on February 22, 2015, 07:34:21 AM

That moment when they actively use bitcoin and bitcoin price fall to rock bottom overnight would be a disaster

Wild ass guess... but maybe they'll be buying coins too Wink

Quote from: Brewins on February 22, 2015, 06:20:21 AM

Problem is the internet connection in Africa is not the most reliable in the world.

But of course a non reliable way of transfer still is better than no way of transfer

Funny that you say that. I know of a few doc's that went down to Africa with their cellphones and had amazing service while out in very small villages and were able to check-in with their families at home everyday. They couldn't stop raving about how "the middle of Africa has wireless coverage figured out better than the US".

They don't need internet connection or smart phones... as mentioned towers are not a problem

Quote from: mercistheman on February 22, 2015, 08:53:13 AM

They don't need internet connection or smart phones... as mentioned towers are not a problem

How are they supossed to do anything without internet connection? I dont get it.

Quote from: AtheistAKASaneBrain on February 22, 2015, 03:54:55 PM

Quote from: mercistheman on February 22, 2015, 08:53:13 AM

They don't need internet connection or smart phones... as mentioned towers are not a problem

How are they supossed to do anything without internet connection? I dont get it.

Look up "Bitcoin via SMS". If you have questions, read about it...

Quote from: lyth0s on February 22, 2015, 10:29:24 PM

Quote from: AtheistAKASaneBrain on February 22, 2015, 03:54:55 PM

Quote from: mercistheman on February 22, 2015, 08:53:13 AM

They don't need internet connection or smart phones... as mentioned towers are not a problem

How are they supossed to do anything without internet connection? I dont get it.

Look up "Bitcoin via SMS". If you have questions, read about it...

Yup, transmitting over existing networks isn't a problem. They already have towers in place from using M Pesa:

Transitioning to Bitcoin services similar to Bitpesa wouldn't be an issue.

On related subject, BitPesa (Nairobi based remittance business) just raised $1.1m to expand their operations.

http://blogs.wsj.com/moneybeat/2015/02/09/bitbeat-kenyas-bitpesa-raises-1-1-million-expands-operations/

Quote from: pawel7777 on February 23, 2015, 05:09:13 PM

Damn, I wish I had gotten a piece of that. There is sick money to be made in Africa. The remittance market is huge and there are no good currencies to accommodate the demand.

Quote from: pawel7777 on February 23, 2015, 05:09:13 PM

It has just been 1 year since they started.
They have managed to get the confidence of investors so quickly.

Quote from: Daniel91 on February 21, 2015, 12:41:34 PM

It's about the time finally that media accept reality, that bitcoin is superior to any other ways to send funds abroad.
I guess, they had to accept obvious fact that for the people in Africa, without bank accounts, bitcoin is really God's blessing.
Hope to see more positive reports soon

Yes mate..BTC has been a real blessing.. Cant wait for more news like this..

Finally the killer app is here: http://www.bitsim.co/

This "smart SIM extension" has great potential, because it uses simple SMS technology on non-feature phones. Contrary to the beliefs of some people in the Bitcoin community, 3G infrastructure is not widely available in most African countries (or is extremely costly to connect with) and even the cheapest feature phones are still too expensive compared to the average income in most of Africa.

Hopefully this will be available soon.

ya.ya.yo!

Amazing news. Who could have predicted such development for Africa.

Quote from: yayayo on April 20, 2015, 01:35:12 PM

Sending bitcoins through sms has been possible for sometime now, right?
How is this different?