Stablecoin Remittances Fail to Show Consistent Cost Advantage: Bank of Italy Study

The Bank of Italy conducted research on stablecoin-based remittances and found that they did not consistently offer cost advantages over existing channels. The study involved testing $200 USDC transfers across 10 two-way corridors linking Italy to various countries, including Brazil, Argentina, Japan, the United Arab Emirates, and South Africa.

The researchers discovered that most costs came from exchange fees and foreign-exchange costs, rather than blockchain transaction fees. Total costs for stablecoin remittances ranged from 0.3% to nearly 9%, with settlement times varying between 20 minutes in countries with instant-payment systems and 1-2 business days in those without.

The study compared these costs to the World Bank's global average remittance cost of 6.65% and found that stablecoin transfers were cheaper in most corridors surveyed, but only beat Wise in three out of seven comparable corridors.