The world’s leading Bitcoin Lightning Network-based digital payment system, Strike, has announced a partnership with Bitnob, an African payments platform, according to a press release published by Businesswire on December 6th.
Through the Strike “Send Globally” feature, this cooperation intends to make rapid, inexpensive transactions to Africa. Starting on December 6th, it will be accessible to all of its customers in the United States, with the first coverage for Ghana, Kenya, and Nigeria.
Founder and CEO of Strike, Jack Mallers, said:
High fees, slow settlement, and lack of innovation in cross-border payments have negatively impacted the developing world.
He added that Payments firms find it difficult to operate in Africa due to the high costs of sending money in and out of the continent and the suspension of services by long-standing providers.
As a result, individuals are unable to send money to their loved ones back home. People who use Strike can quickly and conveniently move U.S. money across international borders.
Besides this, one of the many reasons for Africans to transition to cryptocurrency is the economic instability in most African countries. A company like Bitcoin has no central location, so it isn’t affected by the inflation rates of a single country – making people from those nations feel safer about their money. Furthermore, payments are simpler across borders with Bitcoin.
According to KuCoin, a crypto exchange, transactions climbed by up to 2,670% in 2022. The steep inflow is an extraordinary growth tendency that is related to the low levels previously seen in earlier times. African cryptocurrency transactions make up about 2.8% of total world volumes.
Bitcoin Lightning Network’s New Feature
According to the press release, a Strike user may immediately send money to Nigeria, Ghana, and Kenya with no transaction costs by using Send Globally. Direct deposits into a recipient’s bank, mobile money, or Bitnob account occur after payments are instantaneously translated into naira, cedi, or shillings.
Additionally, including in nations with fewer options for cross-border money transfers, this feature enhances the speed, affordability, and simplicity of payments to Africa.
Bernard Parah, founder and CEO of Bitnob argued that the present financial system is not built up to provide fair access for individuals and organizations from Africa:
What we have built reduces the pressure on our financial institutions in sourcing USD liquidity. People can now easily exchange value from the U.S. to people in Africa in the cheapest way possible.
Moreover, through partnerships like Chipper Cash, one of Africa’s leading peer-to-peer and cross-border payment service providers, the Bitcoin Lightning Network Strike will continue to provide payment services across the continent.
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