SBI Remit and BitPesa are collaborating to enable easy money transfer services between Japan and several African countries. The partnership sees the Bitcoin blockchain’s utilization as an enterprise remittance vehicle.
450K People Can Now Send Money to Africa With Bitcoin
According to Forbes, the agreement sees SBI Remit being able to offer its over 450,000 customers with the ability to send money to Africa using the Bitcoin blockchain. Thus, SBI Remit will use BitPesa’s enterprise payment framework to offer liquidity to small businesses in Africa.
The collaboration also plans to focus on critical industries in the Japan – African trading matrix. Thus, the partnership supports trade in cosmetics, electronics, and used-automobiles.
According to BitPesa founder Elizabeth Rosiello, the company will employ a flexible approach to transaction settlements. This decision is to protect SBI Remit’s customers from the risk of currency fluctuation. Commenting on this approach, Rosiello said:
If it makes sense for us to settle using cryptocurrency or fiat currencies, then we do. And in this case, we’re happy that SBI feels the same way, so we’re open to using digital or fiat currencies to settle between us.
Facilitating Trade Between Japan and Africa
At the heart of the SBI Remit–BitPesa collaboration is the simplification of trade relations between Japan and countries in Africa. In the past, commerce between both parties suffered from high remittance cost and associated fees charged by mainstream financial institutions.
Furthermore, the need to convert yen by moving through many intermediary banks caused delays which adversely affect many business deals. However, through this initiative, local businesses in Africa can deal with their Japanese business partners directly using Bitcoin as the conduit between the fiat currencies of both parties.
Commenting on the partnership between both companies, Nobuo Ando, the Director of SBI Remit said:
Many companies are doing trade with African countries, and they are suffering from the high cost and the slow speed and not very precise administration. So, this is the market that we would like to go in, together with Bitpesa.
Bitcoin Remittance for the Unbanked and Underbanked
Bitcoin remittance remains one of the most significant successes scored by the emerging cryptocurrency revolution. In multiple areas across Africa and Southeast Asia, BTC has become a popular money transfer tool, competing favorably with traditional remittance services.
Companies like BitPesa in several African countries and Coins.ph in the Philippines continue to provide low-cost remittance services to people in historically unbanked and underbanked locations.
Will the SBI Remit – BitPesa Bitcoin Remittance collaboration provide a platform for improved trade between Japan and African countries? Let us know what you think below!
Image courtesy of Firstpartner.net, Shutterstock
