Stablecoin Remittances Fail to Impress in Banca d'Italia Test

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

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

In only three comparable routes, USDC was cheaper than Wise: Italy-to-Argentina, Italy-to-South Africa, and Brazil-to-Italy. However, in four other routes, including both UAE corridors, USDC cost more than Wise.