Strike chief executive Jack Mallers announced partnering with Bitnob to use the Lightning Network to enhance inbound remittances into Africa.
Mallers acknowledged the conclusion of the negotiations with Bitnob in his address at the AfroBitcoin event held in Ghana. He considered Bitnob a strategic partner to ease cross-border payments. Mallers admitted that Lightning Network had realized vital markets in Africa, given its expansive operations in Kenya, Ghana, and Nigeria.
Strike-Bitnob Partnership Confirmed
Strike revealed the partnership while standing on stage alongside Bitnob’s chief executive in Nigeria, Bernard Farah. Mallers revealed the partnership following the demonstration of Lightning Network functioning.
Mallers’ revelation during the Bitcoin conference in Accra lauded the mobile application Bitnob for easing money transfers into Africa. In particular, he considered the acceptability of Lightning Network among Afro-remitters. The only Strike representative admitted the partnership was timely, given the popularity of the layer-2 payment networks established on Bitcoin.
The short presentation of the Bitnob application indicated the Send Globally feature facilitates instant, low-cost cross-border payments. Mallers celebrated the noble design of the Send Global feature for accommodating on-Bitcoin users.
Benefits of Send Global Feature
Bitnob executive Bernard Farah indicated the no-transaction feature is accessible to Ghanaians, Kenyans, and Nigerians. Farah compared the Bitnob feature to rival platforms. He noted that while Wise charges a small commission, Western Union fees exceed 10% of the money transferred.
Also read:Farah clarified that recipients get instant conversion of dollar payments into their respective currency in the three African countries. Besides Bitnob accounts, the feature facilitates direct deposits to the recipient’ preferable bank and mobile money.
Bitnob application offers a timely solution for cross-border remittance set to foster the 3 local economies. Farah estimated Nigeria’s remittances exceeded $17 billion in 2020. Farah utilized the World Bank discovery that Africans incur 8.9% translating to 17.8 transfer fees for every $200 remitted.
Farah equated the wealth sunk in fees to $1.5 billion in Nigeria alone. This translates to the annual gross domestic product of Samoa.
Farah’s demonstration in Accra suggests that if Nigeria embraced the Bitnob application and Bitcoin, they would eliminate the fees lost in remittances. Also, the decision would benefit Nigerians nationwide.
Farah confessed Kenyans and Ghanaians would reap similar benefits as thousands of their peers living overseas are remitting billions to them. He noted that remittance has increased with crypto awareness and popularity in Africa.
Bitnob Similarity with Paypal’s Venmo
Mallers’ feedback from the demonstration equated the experience to the Venmo application utilized by PayPal to offer instant peer-to-peer transactions. He noted the Venmo application as facilitating frictionless payments within the United States. Mallers commended Lightning Network for delivering dollars to Naira and vice versa.
However, Farah revealed that the Bitnob application is yet to expand beyond the three countries. However, he confessed the rollout to other countries.
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