"RESEARCH PREDICTS BLOCKCHAIN WILL REVOLUTIONIZE $2.83 TRILLION PAYMENT INDUSTRY—HERE’S HOW"
Circa late 2013, I was a moderator on the XRPTalk forum - the precursor to XRPChat and IMHO, a major catalyst in the growth of the early XRP crowd that eventually evolved into one of the largest cryptocentric communities on the internet.
Back then, all of us suffered from severe financial wounds inflicted monthly by all the rent-seeking middlemen of the Global Payment industry; however, we sensed a hopeful zeitgeist in the air.
Why?
Because we clearly saw the Sword of Damacles hovering over each significant cog of the corrupt, worldwide money shuffling machine.
And that sword was called blockchain technology. With it, fair, low cost and speedy cross-border transfers were not only possible, but inevitable.
Fast forward to the present and observe how the speed, convenience and ultra-low transaction fees of XRP, XLM, LTC, SOL, ZIL (Hell, even BTC on the Lightning Network) shines a big, bright spotlight on just how slow, exploitive and costly money transactions have become.
Many of the staid, "household name" businesses such as: Western Union, Moneygram and virtually any major bank or credit union "providing" wire transfer services now are standing with egg on their face.
A few willingly (but most, grudgingly) apologized for their questionable corporate behavior in the past.
But you never hear them flat out state that anything was shady, unethical or selfish.
And of course, no one has yet to utter the word "recompense."
(I think "greedy" or "perversely cruel" fits the bill better, no?)
Historically, money transfers to receivers in the poorest parts of the world come predominantly from the lowest wage earners of the sender's society.
Also called "Remittances" (litererlly meaning "to send back"), money sent back home is vital for survival; often making the difference between life or death.
"Dire Circumstances" is a way of life for poor people.
Fact: Historically, although remittances were the bulk of their businesses, the top money transfer companies treated them in much the same manner; that is, compared to regular domestic transactions, remittances - especially the ones sent to poor countries - required the most ID verification, incurred the highest transfer charges and took over three times longer to complete the transactions.
Imagine that?
Submitted FYI.
May you and yours be well and loving life today.
In Lak'ech,
JaiChai
