Bitcoin Lightning Network Enables Instant Fiat Transfers Between Africa and Europe
Bitnob will use the “Send Globally” feature for instant transfer of fiat currencies between Europe and Africa by leveraging the Bitcoin Lightning Network.
On Monday, December 12, Bitnob and CoinCorner announced a new partnership to offer instant fiat transfers between Europe and Africa leveraging the Bitcoin Layer-2 scalability platform Lightning Network.
Bitcoin Lightning Network to Facilitate Fiat Transfers
As a result, CoinCorner users will use the “Send Globally” feature to transfer fiat currencies such as British Pounds (GBP) or Euros (EUR) instantly to African countries such as Kenya, Nigeria and Ghana.
Africa-based Bitcoin app Bitnob is playing an important role in helping Africa connect with the rest of the world. At the same time, it makes Africa a hub for crypto adoption. Using Bitnob’s “Send Globally” features, users from Europe can send EUR and GBP to recipients in Africa. This is then automatically converted to Nigerian Naira (NGN), Kenyan Shilling (KES) or Ghanaian Cedi (GHS).
However, funds sent with “Send Global” are first converted to Bitcoin (BTC) and then further transferred via the Lightning Network. When Bitnob receives the funds, it immediately converts them into local currency and deposits them into the recipient’s designated account.
According to the CoinCorner announcement, the annual remittance from the UK and Europe to Nigeria, Kenya and Ghana is approximately £12 billion. Speaking about the development, Danny Scott, CoinCorner CEO, said:
“Bitcoin’s borderless nature has always made it a great tool for sending money around the world, but now with the Lightning Network, sending Bitcoin is instant and very low cost. By partnering with Bitnob to provide a seamless cross-border experience when using of Bitcoin and the Lightning Network, we hope to remove some of the friction and costs that customers experience when using traditional currency and money transfer companies.”
Liberation of Africa south of Shara
Bernard Parah, CEO of Bitnob said the sub-Saharan region has been one of the most expensive regions in the world to send money to. It costs a whopping 8.2% to carry out transactions in this region.
On the other hand, Nigeria still ranks in the top ten remittance countries. accounted for 14.1% of global remittances in 2021. This new provision by Bitnob will help bring affordable remittances to sub-Saharan Africa while liberating the region economically.
“For us at Bitnob, this is another leap forward in economic empowerment for Africans. Sub-Saharan Africa remains the most expensive region to send money to, where sending $200 costs an average of 8.2 percent in the fourth quarter of 2020, according to the World Bank. Bitcoin is driving the future of money and this partnership highlights a strong application of what the future will look like,” Parah added.
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Bhushan is a FinTech enthusiast and has a keen flair for understanding the financial markets. His interest in economics and finance draws his attention to the emerging markets of blockchain technology and cryptocurrency. He is continuously in a learning process and stays motivated by sharing his acquired knowledge. In his spare time, he reads thriller novels and sometimes explores his culinary skills.
