Stablecoin Remittances Fall Short on Cost Promise

The Bank of Italy has released a report indicating that stablecoin-based cross-border remittances often fail to deliver the cost and speed advantages they promise.

The central bank's analysis examined 10 real-world remittance corridors linking Italy with Argentina, Brazil, South Africa, the United Arab Emirates, and Japan. On-chain transfer fees averaged just 0.4%, but the total cost to users was frequently higher than traditional services.

The primary expenses in stablecoin remittances occur during the conversion from cryptocurrency to fiat money, including bank account deposit fees, foreign exchange spreads, and cash withdrawal charges imposed by exchanges and financial intermediaries.