There is no denying Bitcoin has a global appeal, while other financial tools and platforms can never achieve that status. In fact, when comparing all different forms of payment in the world, only gold comes close to what Bitcoin can achieve. A global appeal, very low fees, and no control by banks make Bitcoin a serious contender.

Bitcoin and Gold Trump Everything

Now and then, some interesting infographics will show up on social media. People often like to compare different offerings and services to see which comes out as ‘best”. In the financial world, there are many different things to compare, even though there are a lot of similarities. Unfortunately, those similarities are not beneficial to either consumers or enterprises.

Looking over the available financial tools at one’s disposal today, it is not hard to see how things need to be improved. Popular services such as PayPal, Skrill, and Stripe, are all rather expensive when it comes to transferring money. Skrill is perhaps the cheapest, with a 1% fee capped at a maximum of US$10. PayPal’s 2.7% fee is cheaper than Stripe’s 2.9% US$0.30.

Western Union, one of the most expensive companies in the world, is very expensive to use. The infographic shows its feet between US$5 and US$20, but they can be much higher than that. Not too long ago, a 500 EUR transfer would result in nearly 50 EUR in fees. Not the most convenient solution either, despite

Competing services, such as TransferWise, are not overly cheap either. There is a 1.5% transaction fee, depending on the amount being sent. While still cheaper compared to traditional offerings, it is more expensive than it should be. Surprisingly enough, GoldMoney is a service that lets users send gold worldwide without paying any fee. An interesting concept, for those who prefer centralized solutions.

For those users who like their finances to be decentralized, Bitcoin is the best option. With a transaction fee of 0.0001 Bitcoin per 1,000 bytes, it is unlikely most people will pay more than a few dollars to send tens of thousands of dollars around the world. There is a caveat, though, as network congestion can push up the transaction fees.

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