Story highlights It costs less to send Bitcoins overseas than traditional money In Sub-Saharan Africa, 75% of the population don't have a bank account African services like Beam and BitPesa convert Bitcoin to local currencies Established money transfer players pose a challenge to Bitcoin <\/p>\n
CNN Marketplace Africa covers the macro trends impacting the region and also focuses on the continent's key industries and corporations. <\/p>\n
Bitcoin -- the world's much talked about cryptocurrency -- is just that. It can't be printed, it can't be directly controlled by governments or central banks, but it can be sent around the world instantly at a low cost. <\/p>\n
And in sub-Saharan Africa, where 75% of the population don't have a bank account, experts say the currency could help millions of people pay bills and get to grips with their finances. <\/p>\n
Transferring cash via a bank or a Money Transfer Operator (MTOs) like Western Union or MoneyGram can be costly. According to the Overseas Development Institute, the average charge to transfer $200 to Africa using traditional money transfer services is 12%. If you send $200, you pay $24. The ODI added up all the transfers that happen in a year, and found remittance fees cost the African continent $1.8 billion a year. <\/p>\n
What if that money could be spent on things, rather than fees? <\/p>\n
As Bitcoin is a virtual peer-to-peer currency -- designed to operate on the border-less internet -- the costs of transferring money can be radically cheaper than traditional methods, and the process is much quicker. <\/p>\n
\"Bitcoin can greatly alter the remittances industry and beyond,\" says Michael Kimani, who heads the African Digital Currency Association, a Kenya-based group launched last May to promote digital currency technologies. \"From seven days [for a transaction to clear] using banks & PayPal, down to 20 minutes speaks volumes.\" <\/p>\n
African examples <\/p>\n
Beam is a service in Ghana that converts Bitcoin sent from abroad into the local currency, cedi. Since launching three months ago, it has attracted 30 users who pay a 3% fee on each transaction rather than the average 12% from traditional transfer services. <\/p>\n
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Bitcoin frenzy hits Africa<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Story highlights It costs less to send Bitcoins overseas than traditional money In Sub-Saharan Africa, 75% of the population don't have a bank account African services like Beam and BitPesa convert Bitcoin to local currencies Established money transfer players pose a challenge to Bitcoin CNN Marketplace Africa covers the macro trends impacting the region and also focuses on the continent's key industries and corporations. Bitcoin -- the world's much talked about cryptocurrency -- is just that. It can't be printed, it can't be directly controlled by governments or central banks, but it can be sent around the world instantly at a low cost. Continue reading