Bitcoin fanboys have long cheered the fact that Bitcoin global transfer capabilities at cheap prices make using Bitcoin, as a method of global money transfer, superior to any other transfer system, on the basis of cost.
Enter Richard Branson.
Sir Richard Branson is providing funding for London-based money transfer start-up TransferWise, reports FT.
It has raised $25m to expand its marketing efforts, with Sir Richard contributing a significant but undisclosed share of the funds. He was joined by existing shareholders including Peter Thiel, the co-founder of PayPal, venture capitalists Index Ventures and Kima Ventures, the investment group co-founded by the owner of Le Monde newspaper.
TransferWise charges a minimum fee of 0.5 to 1 per cent, or £1, whichever is higher. It moves money between bank accounts in 17 currencies and takes an average of a day.
For example, to move £300 from the UK to Lithuania would cost £3, while the same transaction would cost an average of £18.10 using other operators, according to the World Bank’s remittance calculator.
-RW
Why do you use such hyperbolic click-bait titles? This system doesn't out-do bitcoin at all. How does it handle people who don't have bank accounts? How does it handle micropayments? How does it handle banks refusing transfers for all the stupid Patriot-Act type reasons they do? And the fees are still super higher compared to bitcoin. Making a 300 pound transfer to someone in another country with bitcoin would costs less than a few cents if you wanted a quick confirmation, and nothing at all if you didn't mind waiting a little bit.
ReplyDeleteWhile I applaud innovation in the stodgy banking sector, even this cheaper transfer system requires a bank account and all that goes with it. Bitcoin is person to person transfer for pennies - no regulated middlemen required. Whether this is a positive or negative feature is up to the people considering using it.
ReplyDeleteOh, and BTW - Why no headlines about Bitcoin's recent rally? Or is only a declining Btc/US dollar ratio news fodder?
How would this be better than a service like Xe (xe.com)?
ReplyDeleteBitcoin is free.
ReplyDeleteIt's pretty hard to beat free.
Some people include a VOLUNTARY transaction fee with their payment submission so that they can be sure the transaction gets priority processing, but if they have a day to wait, they can send a payment submission without any fee attached and it will get processed just the same.
What's wrong with competition? It yields more economical choices for us. I like.
ReplyDeleteIt is now clear. Wenzell is a shill for the banking system. TransferWise has nothing on Bitcoin.
ReplyDeletewow.
ReplyDeleteever hear of a check? it let's people move money. you ought to look into it.
Ever send a checque to a foreign country?Lots of fun trying to cash it.Ever seen the fees on an internaition bank checque? Not cheap. Plus the chance of getting lost in the mail - happens a lot in some countries. And the postage.
DeleteI'll stick with the ease of sending money for free from home.
Branson also dropped big bucks on Bitcoin payment processor BitPay:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/blog/atlantech/2014/05/branson-invests-in-bitcoin-startup.html
Just speculation, but maybe TransferWire will be utilizing Bitcoin protocol to do super cheap money transfers. If that's the case, then your headline is completely misleading.
ReplyDelete