Bitcoin is designed to disrupt the money remittance service as we know it today. With its global availability and much lower fees, it only makes sense to use Bitcoin for cross-border payments. The final 2016 report by World Bank Group goes to show that sending money from G20 countries remains ludicrously expensive, Russia being the only country bucking the trend. Below are the most expensive G20 countries to send remittances from.
#4 Germany
It is somewhat surprising to see Germany being ranked number four in the top most expensive G20 countries to send remittances from. They are also the only Western European country above the G20 average. At the end of Q3 2016, the average cost of sending money from Germany to any other country in the world was 8.56%. To put this into perspective, a 200 euro transaction would result in 17.12 euros worth of fees
In 2016, and even in 2017, such high fees will need to be removed from the equation, particularly where Western European countries. Of the G20 countries, Germany is well ahead of France and Italy where fees are concerned. The UK still has a 7.35% fee for remittances, which may even grow higher depending on how the government handles the Brexit in the coming months.
#3 Australia
Even though Australia is becoming a fintech force to be reckoned with, the country still has some of the highest remittance fees in the world. That is when it comes to sending money from Australia to anywhere else in the world. Future growth in the fintech sector may help push these fees down by quite a margin. As disruptive solutions bring more competition to the market, remittance fees will undoubtedly lower.
#2 Japan
In the remittance sector, one doesn’t often talk about Japan. The land of the rising sun is quite an expensive region to send money from, with an average fee of 11.30%. That being said, this percentage is an improvement compared to Q2 2016, during which the average transaction fee was 16.72%. It appears Japan is taking big steps forward regarding lowering the current remittance fees, which is a positive development. If the government plays their cards right, Japan will surpass Australia in the coming years.
#1 South Africa
For quite some time now, South Africa has been a region where sending remittance transfers is incredibly expensive. As of Q3 2013, sending money from South Africa to the rest of the world was subject to an average fee of 16.95%. That means over one/sixth of the total amount paid is made up of fees alone. An astonishing number, unfortunately things only seem to get worse as more time passes.
To be more precise, South Africa’s remittance fee average was a whopping 16.72%. It is unclear how the high fees came about, although it seems that this trend has been going on for quite some time now. Countries dealing with capital controls tend to fall victim to high remittance fees over time. Bitcoin can make a big impact on the South African remittance sector over time, although it is uncertain if cryptocurrency is used for this type of purpose as of now.
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