Banca d'Italia Study Finds Stablecoin Remittances No Match for Traditional Services

A recent study by Banca d'Italia found that stablecoin remittances do not consistently beat traditional transfer services on cost or speed. The researchers executed real transfers of 200 USDC across ten corridors linking Italy with Argentina, Brazil, South Africa, the United Arab Emirates and Japan.

The total costs of these remittances ranged from 0.30% to almost 9%, with the blockchain leg averaging only 0.4%. However, exchange purchases, funding methods, withdrawals and foreign-exchange conversion accounted for most of the expense.

The study warned that stablecoins showed 'no systematic cost advantage' over traditional channels. The researchers compared their transactions with Wise simulations for the same $200 amount, finding that USDC was cheaper in three routes: Italy to Argentina, Italy to South Africa and Brazil to Italy. It was more expensive in four, including both UAE routes and Italy to Brazil.