11.20.2014

Bitcoin is often hailed as the solution to the world’s remittance problems

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Bitcoin is often hailed as the solution to the world’s remittance problems. It’s accessible to the unbanked, it’s nearly instant, and the fees are minimal compared to banks and other money transfer services.

But perhaps the biggest obstacle to bitcoin remittances gaining serious traction is bitcoin itself. The complex, unfamiliar nature of the cryptocurrency keeps would-be users at bay.

Bitcoin is slowly gaining public awareness, but Hong Kong-based Bitspark wants to skip the hassle and let users send remittances with zero required knowledge of bitcoin. The startup has just announced the first end-to-end cash remittances using bitcoin between Hong Kong and the Philippines.

Most bitcoin remittance services today work like this: a person takes the money they’ve earned and buys bitcoin. They then send the money from their bitcoin wallet to the recipient’s bitcoin wallet – usually a friend or family member back in their home country. Then the recipient swaps the bitcoin out for cash in the local currency.

But end-to-end cash remittance like what Bitspark has achieved is much simpler. Similar to Western Union, a customer just hands the cash over, and the recipient picks it up at the destination. Bitcoin, although it serves as the primary medium for this transaction, never enters the equation for the customer. There’s no need for a bitcoin wallet, and the cost is less than one percent commission.

A smartphone app and automated system are being developed to further streamline the process, but most people who require the service – Philippine maids working abroad in Hong Kong, in this case – want to send physical cash. For its debut, Bitspark set up a booth at the World Wide House building in Central, Hong Kong on Sunday, a location that’s popular with maids on their one day off each week.
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