MoneyGram, Western Union, and similar companies eat up 1.5% of El Salvador’s GDP in remittance fees annually; Will this change with the adoption of Bitcoin?
Cryptocurrency trader and entrepreneur Willy Wu reminded the crypto community of the huge amount of earnings Western Union, MoneyGram and the like in El Salvador’s GDP were resisting annually, as if hinting that Bitcoin adoption might fix this now.
MoneyGram and Similar Companies Lose $400 Million Every Year Thanks to Bitcoin
According to an article published by CNBC, former Ripple partner MoneyGram and Western Union transfer workers are making huge profits on the cash fees its citizens who live and work outside this small Latin American country send to El Salvador.
Last year, residents of the region received nearly $6 billion in remittances, a total of 23% of El Salvador’s GDP. Now, according to the country’s president, Nep Bukele, Bitcoin will help citizens avoid such huge fees for remittances coming from their relatives abroad. These payments are received by about 70% of the population of El Salvador.
According to Willy Woo, the average amount of cash transferred to the state per month is $195 – about half the income of the average family. The salary that can be earned here is $365.
Western Union and MoneyGram were each responsible for taking 1.5% of El Salvador’s GDP through transfer fees to the poor.
Migrant workers mainly send money back to their families back home. $195 is the average monthly transfer that represents 50% of a household’s income. https://t.co/vhM1OXy432
– Willy Woo (woonomic) September 10, 2021
$30 of Bitcoin to connect to a local Chivo BTC wallet
Currently, the government of El Salvador is doing its best to get local residents to sign up for a Chivo wallet, which they can use to receive Bitcoin and use it to pay for goods and services.
Launched by the government, this wallet does not collect fees for cryptocurrency transactions. Each person who subscribes to this wallet will get $30 in Bitcoin.
Arcane Assets CIO
Eric Wall, chief investor at Arcane Assets, believes that the Bitcoin initiative in El Salvador is a “centralized and forced show” as many citizens have been marching in protests against the adoption of Bitcoin as legal tender.
The government has promised to punish merchants who refuse to use bitcoin as a legal domestic medium of exchange.
Currently, local McDonald’s restaurants are already accepting BTC.
Is it just me or is the true transparent virtue “just donated $30 / bought a house in El Salvador” making the point
Am I right because I’m sick of this?
Do you want to do something good? Working to contribute to the infrastructure of the Salvadoran Bitcoin is not a forced central offer
– Eric Wall (@ercwl) September 10, 2021