Families Lose Billions in Remittance Fees Every Year, Stablecoins Could Change That

If you’ve ever sent money abroad, you probably know how time-consuming and expensive it can be. After you send the money, you might have to wait days or even over a week for it to reach the recipient. Not only that, but some of the money you sent disappears in fees. Now imagine that happening not just once, but millions of times, every single month, for families who are relying on those transfers to survive.

That’s the reality for migrant workers. They send home hundreds of billions of dollars every year, but the banks and transfer services collect their cut before the money even reaches the recipient.

By 2025, the World Bank predicts global remittances are going to hit $913 billion. The average fee on those transfers is about 6.5%. That works out to more than $59 billion vanishing into fees. This is money that’s supposed to be paying for rent, food, medicine, or school.

Now here’s where things get interesting. A stablecoin app called Rizon analyzed the numbers and its researchers found that if families used stablecoins instead of traditional transfers, they could save more than $39 billion a year. And because stablecoins like USDC are tied 1:1 to the U.S. dollar, you avoid the usual volatility that comes with other cryptocurrencies.

For example, let’s look at a typical $50 transfer. With the old transfer system, you lose about $3.25 in fees. But with stablecoins, it’s closer to $1.09. That’s about a 66% drop. Imagine that across billions of transfers. It adds up fast.

Which countries would save the most?

Some countries depend on remittances more than others, and they’re the ones who would benefit the most from reduced fees. Here’s what data tells us:

Researchers calculated potential savings by country by assuming the top remittance-receiving countries in 2023 will keep receiving the same share of remittances in 2025. They then applied those shares to the World Bank’s global projection for remittances that will be sent in 2025.

Researchers found that:

• India could save about $5.5 billion a year.
• Mexico could save a little over $3 billion.
• China could save $2.3 billion.
• The Philippines, Pakistan, and Bangladesh could all save between $1 and $1.8 billion each.
• Even countries further down the list, Guatemala, Nigeria, Egypt, Ukraine, could still save close to a billion dollars combined.

More than just cheaper

Stablecoins don’t just make things cheaper. They actually change how remittances work.

Right now, you send money, you wait, it shows up in local currency, and the recipient is stuck with whatever the exchange rate happens to be. With stablecoins, the transfer is instant. And the recipient doesn’t have to immediately swap into local currency, they can keep their money in dollars, which is a huge deal if your country is dealing with inflation.

They can also spend it directly with a Visa card, send it to someone else, or withdraw local cash. It’s not just cheaper, it’s a completely different experience.

Why this matters

Using stablecoins for remittances isn’t about gambling on crypto. It’s about getting money home quickly, safely, and without all the middlemen. With the potential savings that can be achieved through stablecoins, we’re talking about billions of dollars that will go toward food, housing, and medical expenses. Migrant workers work tirelessly abroad so their families can live better at home. Letting them keep more of what they earn is not just efficient. It’s fair.

How researchers did the math

Rizon’s analysis used the World Bank’s 2025 projection of $913 billion in global remittances. With today’s average fee of 6.5%, that would mean around $59.3 billion lost each year in transaction costs. Based on Rizon’s fee structure, 0.075% on-ramp, 1.5% foreign transaction, and $0.30 per transfer, a typical $50 remittance would fall from $3.25 with traditional transfer methods to $1.09, a 66% reduction. Applied globally, that translates to about $39.4 billion in potential savings annually, assuming broad adoption.

For country estimates, researchers assumed that each nation will receive the same share of global remittances in 2025 as they did in 2023, and applied that share and potential savings calculations to the projected total remittances of 2025.

Notes: This post was edited/created using GenAI tools.

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