Bitcoin exchange Bitspark is looking to expand the bitcoin remittance services it offers in Hong Kong to the island nation of Indonesia. Bitspark CEO George Harrap spoke enthusiastically about the move, saying:
“We are excited to be able to bring our low cost service to Indonesia in partnership with PT Artabit… Indonesia is an exciting opportunity and a key focus for us… It’s a very different market in terms of logistics and distribution than our existing Philippines services with many people using Post Offices as the primary cash pickup location, not third party remittance stores… We are the cheapest option to send money to Indonesia and while other remittance services may support either bank pickup or post office pickups, we can do both, quicker and cheaper than the competition. It’s a win-win for the customer.”
Through Bitspark, migrant workers in Indonesia are now able to send funds and earnings back home to their families through bitcoin, and what’s even more exciting is that little to no prior knowledge of the technology behind the digital currency is necessary. Once families are notified of incoming funds, they are able to pick up their money in their own national currency equal to the market value at the time of the transfer.
According to Bitspark, the new services being offered can save migrant workers a total of $374 million. Harrap further commented on Bitspark’s notions, explaining:
“We can now do same-day transfers in Indonesian rupiah to the other end… For our remittance services we don’t care if the price is $1 or $1m. Bitcoin is the means of transmission. We’re getting the message across that bitcoin has real-world applications besides speculation.”
