Skip to main content

Chipper Cash Extends Peer-to-Peer Money Transfer Service to South Africa

Chipper Cash, an African fintech start-up, has extended its peer-to-peer instant money service to South Africa. In addition to being able to use the remittance service, South African users will be able to buy, sell, and transfer cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, ethereum, and the USDC stablecoin.

South Africa Ripe for Disruption and Innovation

According to a report that quotes the start-up’s VP for strategy and partnerships in Africa, Pardon Mujakachi, Chipper Cash has made the foray into South Africa because it believes the country “is ripe for disruption and innovation in the financial services market.”

The report also quotes the VP revealing the fact that it takes “three days for a person in the U.S. to send money to South Africa” while on the other hand, it takes up to 48 hours to move funds from one bank to another.

It is such inefficiencies that often drive users to informal channels, argued Mujakachi. The VP also shared figures of the estimated number of users that are forced to use such informal channels. He said:

People end up using informal channels to send money. If you look at the outbound remittances from South Africa, 68% is going through informal channels. Even with the domestic remittances, a sizeable amount goes through the informal channel.

According to the Chipper Cash VP, it is such domestic remittances that will be the fintech firm’s starting point in South Africa. However, only verified users will be allowed to use this app.

Dominance of Legacy Money Transfer Organizations

Chipper Cash, just like other fintech start-ups before it, is attempting to claim a sizeable portion of the cross-border remittance market share from established money transfer organizations (MTO).

By offering lower transaction costs, Chipper Cash potentially stands a chance of eating into existing MTOs’ market share. However, it remains to be seen if this mobile app is going to win over South Africa’s financially excluded groups. This is because in addition to lacking the required verification documents, some in these financially excluded groups have no access to devices that are needed to use the mobile app.

What are your thoughts on this story? Tell us what you think in the comments section below.



from Bitcoin News https://ift.tt/3kJt67g
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Mt Gox Creditors Updated, Trustee Says Rehabilitation Custodian Is ‘Currently Preparing to Make Repayments’

On August 31, 2022, the Mt Gox trustee Nobuaki Kobayashi explained in a recent letter that the rehabilitation custodian is “currently preparing to make repayments” to Mt Gox creditors. Trustee Updates Mt Gox Creditors — Repayment Date and Exchange Still Unknown Last week speculation and rumors concerning the release of 140K bitcoin ( BTC ) from Mt Gox littered social media platforms and headlines. Bitcoin.com News covered the situation six days ago as a number of people and Mt Gox creditors called the rumors “ fake news .” During that same period of time, a bitcoin whale transferred 10,000 BTC to unknown wallets, and a 2018 annotation , heuristics, and clustering methods show the funds likely originated from the June 2011 Mt Gox hacks. Following the mysterious whale transfer, last Wednesday, Mt Gox published an official update from the court trustee Nobuaki Kobayashi that explains the court is “currently preparing to make repayments” to creditors. Mt Gox creditors have been wait...
Post a Comment
Read more

Fidelity Discusses Bitcoin as Portfolio Insurance — Could Soon Stand in ‘Stark Contrast’ to Path Fiat Currencies Take

Fidelity Digital Assets, a subsidiary of Fidelity Investments, says that bitcoin could be considered portfolio insurance. The firm notes that the cryptocurrency “may soon stand in stark contrast to the path that the rest of the world and fiat currencies may take — namely the path of increased supply, additional currency creation, and central bank balance sheet expansion.” Fidelity Says Bitcoin Could Be Portfolio Insurance Fidelity Digital Assets, a subsidiary of Fidelity Investments, recently published a research study titled “The Rising Dollar and Bitcoin.” The research outlines “how bitcoin could be considered portfolio insurance” as the rising dollar impacts global currency markets. “The strengthening U.S. dollar is wreaking havoc among other countries and may put pressure on the Federal Reserve to soon reverse its tightening monetary actions, something that has precedent based on 1985’s Plaza Accord,” Fidelity explained. In addition, “more monetary debasement may be needed to ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Economists Discuss Russia, China Potentially Developing Gold-Backed Currency That Could Undermine US Dollar

Economists have weighed in on reports that China and Russia may be developing a new gold-backed currency that could undermine the U.S. dollar’s status as the world’s primary reserve currency. Russia and China May Be Developing Gold-Backed Currency Several experts have shared their views on Russia and China potentially creating a new gold-baked currency, Fox Business reported Saturday, emphasizing that China has been buying up huge quantities of gold while Russia was forced off the U.S. dollar due to sanctions imposed on the country following its invasion of Ukraine. The news outlet noted that some experts have cautioned that these moves, along with the closer relationship that has developed between Moscow and Beijing, point to the likelihood of China attempting to launch a gold-backed currency. However, neither Russia nor China has officially confirmed plans for such a currency. Craig Singleton, senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and a former U.S. diplomat,...
Post a Comment
Read more