The winter has still covered the entire cryptocurrency industry but it does not mean that the crypto sector is not expanding.
The industry has been expanding significantly and its cross-border utility is coming in very handy.
International payments companies are realizing that blockchain technology is very useful for cross-border transactions.
The major benefit they have to offer is that the transaction fees through the blockchain channels are very low.
Compared to traditional cross-border transaction methods, blockchain transactions are very cheap and convenient.
Bitnob and CoinCorner form a Partnership
Bitnob and CoinCorner are now among the companies that are eager to open up borders for their users in a way they had never been opened before.
The firms want to offer cross-border transaction facilities to users that would involve multiple currencies. However, they will be facilitating international transactions via a blockchain network.
The companies are aiming to offer the users the ability to carry out transactions not just between neighboring countries but continents.
Transfers between Africa and Europe
Both companies have worked together to develop a platform where the users will be able to carry out international transactions from different continents.
The firms have revealed that for now, their aim is to streamline the process between two major continents; Africa and Europe.
Traditionally, people on both continents have relied on third-party payment service providers such as Western Union to facilitate cross-continent transactions.
However, with companies such as Western Union, there are too many details that the senders and receivers have to provide. Then come the heavy transaction fees that the centralized entities charge.
Still, it does not mean that the transaction would pass because it is reviewed and approved by so many middle parties involved from both continents.
There are many people in Europe who originally belong to Africa, and use such centralized channels for sending remittances to their home countries.
According to the research carried out by the World Bank, the year 2020 alone, saw more than $40 billion worth of remittances sent to the African continent from Europe.
In the African continent, Nigeria is the country that is receiving half of the total remittances sent into the continent from Europe.
The process not only takes time but also costs a lot of money just to send the money over. Bitnob and CoinCorner aim to get rid of the entire hassle for good.
The Firms Use Lightning Network
The companies have tried dealing with the cross-continent transaction matter by introducing the Bitcoin Lightning Network. It is the layer-2 network of the primary blockchain of Bitcoin.
The network is responsible for facilitating large volumes of transactions within seconds, something that was not achievable with the primary Bitcoin blockchain.
People from anywhere in Europe with access to the Lightning Network offered by Bitnob and CoinCorner can use it to send funds to Africa. Even users based in the UK can use the network for the same purpose.
Three Major Countries Targeted by the Companies
Bitnob officials have revealed that for now, they are supporting three major countries in the African continent. Users from Europe and the UK can transfer funds to Ghana, Kenya, and Nigeria.
They can process the transaction using the euro or the sterling option and can choose the local currencies (GHS, KES, and NGN) for the respective countries.
Funds are transferred in Bitcoin
According to the developers, as soon as the users trigger a transaction, the funds are converted to Bitcoin.
The conversion takes place only for the transfer purpose and the moment it is transferred, it is converted back to the selected fiat.
The users do not have to worry about the BTC volatility because the transfer is instant so funds will be lost or added in the process.
The target is not to keep the services limited to these three countries in Africa but to expand throughout the continent. Going forward, the same utility will be expanded to the middle-eastern part of the world.