Bitpesa, LocalBitcoins, Paxful cut Africa’s high remittance costs

In sub-Saharan Africa, remittances have become a major economic lifeline. But this is no surprise as we see an increasing number of migrants in search of greener pastures. These migrant workers eventually need to transfer money to their loved ones back in their home countries. This situation inevitably leaves the migrants at the mercy of third-party institutions such as banks and money transfer operators that charge exorbitant fees. But blockchain technology and cryptocurrency now offer hope to radically transform the African remittances industry in favor of migrant workers and their families.

On average, it costs about 9.3% of the value to be transferred to send an equivalent of $200 to sub-Saharan African, the most expensive region in the world for remittances.

For regions predominantly constituting of mostly developing countries, one would expect that the remittance rates charged would be lower or at least fair, but the reverse is the case, according to the World Bank. In South…