In today’s part II of our crypto & remittances series, we will discuss the countries and regions that will gain from increased adoption of crypto for cross-border payments and remittances.
In Crypto & Remittances Part I, we explored the benefits crypto can provide to the global remittances industry in terms of speed, low cost, fairness, transparency and other disruptive benefits. In this part we will discuss the countries and regions that will gain from increased adoption of crypto for cross-border payments and remittances.
Out of the estimated $700 billion sent globally by migrant workers to support their families, remittance to India is around $83 billion, contributing to over 10 percent of the total global amount.
The International Day of Family Remittances (IDFR), which was adopted by the UN General Assembly recognizes more than 200 million migrant workers, women and men, who send money home to over 800 million family members.
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Imagine if the UN would in the future ask its member states to adopt crypto and blockchain-based technology for these remittances. Much more money would be in the hands of the family through lowering of enormous fees and commissions, families that rely on remittances for their food, shelter and living.
India is the top nation to receive over $83 billion in remittances during the 2020 fiscal year, which fell by 0.3%, as compared to USD $83.3 billion in 2019, according to a recent World Bank report.
The report said India’s remittances fell by just 0.3% in 2020, with much of the decline due to a 17% drop in remittances from the United Arab Emirates, which offset resilient flows from the United States and other host countries.
To send $83 billion, as per an estimate, close to $3.7 billion has been paid as commission, fees and charges to banks and financial institutions, and that is only for India itself.
So based on that estimate, and assuming similar fees and charges are in place for the global remittances industry as a whole, close to $31 billion in additional amounts have been paid to send the more than $700 billion annually by senders for cross-border payments service every year.
If cross-border remittances are routed by cryptocurrencies, billions of dollars can be saved by simply removing the middlemen who take outrages fees from the most vulnerable in our societies.
With India leading the race, China is the second largest country to receive $59.5 billion in remittances in 2020 against their $68.3 billion in 2019, followed by followed by Mexico with $42.8 billion, the Philippines received $34.9 billion, Egypt with $29.6 billion, Pakistan with $26 billion, while France records $24.4 billion and Bangladesh received $21 billion in 2020, as per World Bank data.
Emphasizing the importance of blockchain in remittances sector, one of India’s leading private banks, Yes Bank, which has signed partnership with Ripple to help facilitate inbound remittances from North America, the Middle East and the United Kingdom have said that blockchain can help India’s financial institutions develop world-class payment platforms.
Blockchain technology in cross-border payments can enable secure transfers between an infinite number of bank ledgers. This allows one to bypass banking intermediaries who serve as middlemen to help transfer money from one bank or institution to another. The transaction is secure, quicker, and cheaper and has end-to-end visibility anywhere in the world, the bank said.
In the top 10 countries ranked receiving remittance, South Asian nations leads with over $235 billion, followed by European nations with $44.5 billion, South America with $43 billion and Middle East nations with $29.6 billion.
Looking at the scope moving forward, central banks across the world are considering launching their own central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), which could also play a major catalyst towards adoption of digital assets in cross-border payments.
With the adoption of crypto, remittances would become fast, cheap, reliable and fully secure. It will also help billions of unbanked to be included in the mainstream financial system.
Taking this forward, Klever was set up with the aim to serve unbanked people across the globe. Offering true and secure ownership of cryptocurrency with its crypto wallet ecosystem, Klever through its Klever app, Klever Swap, Klever Exchange and Klever OS serves over 3 million users worldwide, many of whom rely on Klever to send money home across national borders with instant delivery.
