Cryptocurrencies and digital assets all have a role to play in the world of remittances and money transfers. Stellar is making inroads in this regard thanks to a new partnership with TransferTo. It’s an important step in the right direction, and one that shows Stellar may be able to rival Ripple in the long run.
A Major Partnership for Stellar
Even in this day and age, international money transfers are still incredibly expensive. Regardless of where money is being sent to or from, it is evident that competition and cheaper fees are in high demand. The likes of MoneyGram and Western Union are entrenched in the financial sector, although their fees are still quite high, all things considered.
Considering that both companies are looking at using Ripple’s technology to make transfers cheaper, a lot of interesting changes are bound to happen. Ripple is not the only company targeting the financial sector in this regard, though, as Stellar is trying to do the exact same thing. Competition among digital asset firms is a good thing, as it gives service providers more options.
Stellar is slowly making inroads in this regard. Although its latest partnership is not with a household name like Western Union, TransferTo should not be underestimated. TransferTo is one of the companies exploring cross-border mobile payments in emerging markets. Its focus on real-time and low-cost transfers is in line with what Stellar is trying to achieve.
TransferTo’s Chief Customer Officer, Aik-Boon Tan, noted:
We always aim to be at the forefront of the payments industry, and by partnering with Stellar our goal is to trial the blockchain technology and scale our cross-border payment service to better serve our partners and reduce costs. This can enable our partners to better serve both the migrant workers sending money home and their families receiving it.
Any partner of Stellar.org will benefit from the additional network coverage provided by TransferTo. This should allow for cheaper and more efficient money transfers to 70+ countries. It is a very positive development for the remittance industry as a whole. Many regions rely on international money transfers for financial stability. If those money flows can be streamlined and made cheaper, interesting things are bound to happen eventually.
It is rather interesting to see Stellar compete with Ripple when it comes to international money transfers. A very interesting situation is created as a result of this new partnership, although it remains to be seen if and when any of Stellar’s functionality will be integrated into TransferTo. Revamping the financial sector will not happen overnight, but the current situation warrants some cautious excitement.
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