Over 100 migrant workers have transferred money instantly over blockchain to their families back in Myanmar over the last months as part of a successful pilot test for Everex. Offering an Ethereum-based mobile payments service, the company aims to give financial access to the world’s huge ‘Bottom of the Pyramid’ (BOP) population.
Overall, Everex reports that the average transaction took less than a minute and recorded savings of over 7% in remittance cost and currency exchange rates. Over 850,000 Thai baht (around $24,000 USD) were transferred using the Everex wallet, their mobile and web based app that sends digitized national currencies using Ethereum blockchain.
Test recipients used Myanmar money-changers to switch from cryptocurrency back to physical cash, but no centralized entity performed the actual remittance. This cut time and costs dramatically they say, since the transmission process was automated with programmable smart contracts on Ethereum
Between two and five million Myanmar citizens are estimated to be living and working in Thailand and send most of their money home via informal channels – trust-based cash system called hundi – similar to the hawala networks of the Islamic world. Everex designed their technology to replace this need as they say these systems have little transparency and often hide a mountain of extra charges in unfavorable FX rates and conversions, even if rates appear low on the surface.
With over 500 signed users, mainly in Thailand, the Everex wallet is capable of transferring any custom digital asset over the Ethereum blockchain.
(Photo: flickr)
