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For decades, SWIFT payment processing has been the traditional method for making cross-border transactions. With coverage across 200+ countries and major currencies, SWIFT has proven to be a reliable and trusted option. Furthermore, data encryption provides a layer of security and visibility, allowing banks to track payments efficiently.
However, being the industry standard doesn’t come without drawbacks.
Famous for its long processing times, when a payment goes through multiple banks in the SWIFT network, the process can become complicated and time-consuming, often taking several days to complete.
In terms of expense, SWIFT money transfers can accumulate high fees, primarily due to the multiple banking networks they pass through. The fees can be even higher for emerging countries making international payments, where the exchange fee markup can cost up to 10%, placing an additional financial burden on the sender.
Globally, 1.4 billion individuals are unbanked highlighting the need for a better remittance solution, especially in emerging markets that are the most affected. Traditional methods like SWIFT can overcomplicate the payment system when it doesn’t have to be.
Switching from SWIFT Payment Processing to Crypto Remittance
Sending money internationally doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg, and it certainly shouldn’t take 5+ days.
In such cases, crypto remittance is a more practical, accessible, and cost-effective option.
Technological advancements have made it easier to adopt cryptocurrencies for every day or cross-border transactions without the need to understand the intricate details of blockchain technology. Crypto exchange wallets, crypto neobanks, and crypto-friendly fintechs can help individuals with fiat onramps using their vIBANs to convert fiat currency into crypto. European businesses can now build a flow of funds on top of a crypto-banking-as-a-service platform to simplify the process.
Once the conversion is finalized, users can make on-chain crypto payments to anyone in the world, and the recipient will receive the funds instantly. Compared to SWIFT money transfers, which can take days to finalize, the process is faster, more accessible, and costs between 0.25% – 2%, depending on the service provider used.
Building a Crypto Infrastructure to Close the Remittance Gap
As a viable SWIFT alternative, crypto technology can help improve the banking and payment infrastructure. Blockchain-based payments’ lack of multiple intermediaries makes them a much more viable option compared to the traditional, expensive, slow, and inefficient methods.
Striga’s cross-border payments API makes international payments easier without the need to manage compliance. Crypto and fintech companies in Europe can now build and launch their businesses using a single set of APIs, allowing easier crypto adoption among end users.
With a simple two-tier KYC process, businesses can onboard their end users, issue vIBANs for native crypto onramps, and allow them to send and receive crypto worldwide using the in-house wallet. All this with minimal fees.
At Striga, we understand that clunky and complicated APIs can be annoying. So we built one set of APIs to simplify the development and integration process. As crypto infrastructure as code, Striga offers you a stable and reliable platform to build your business on, with a pricing plan that suits your needs best.
Crypto infrastructure as code: Launch today to make crypto accessible for your end users.
Striga Crypto-native Banking as a Service:
Your path to building and launching financial products
Join the financial businesses that use Striga’s cloud platform to delight their customers and launch their own products without the complexities that come when dealing with core banking solutions’ relationships, licensing, compliance and payments methods.
