Leah Callon-Butler, CoinDesk columnist and the director of Emfarsis wrote how the famous Chef Bagus closed the doors to his restaurant in the Balinese tourist resort of Kuta in Indonesia because of the current coronavirus pandemic, leaving in the kitchen the hallmark aroma of his world-famous BBQ ribs. You can read the full article here: An Indonesian Chef and the Remittance Industry’s $554B Problem
“I believe in karma,” says Chef, with a smile. “Helping others during this situation is good for them and good for us as well,” he explains, with deep conviction. His optimism is infectious. Chef Bagus and his crew emptied the chiller, cleared the shelves and cooked every last ingredient on hand. Then, they promptly donated the food – about 150 boxes in total – to a local charity distributing meals to the needy.
The article explained the problem of remittance particularly in developing nations. The issue, Leah said, is that it is prohibitively expensive to make small cross-border transactions. “the funds pass through many hands – each taking a clip – before arriving at the intended destination,” she added.
“The exorbitant cost of sending a large number of tiny, uncoordinated transactions negated the value of doing anything at all.”
Leah said that while the United Nations puts forward a goal to curb global remittance fees, there’s still a lot of work to be done. She believes whoever cracks the balance between remittance cost and strict regulations will be able to tap into the largest underserved segment in the world.
You can read the full article here:
An Indonesian Chef and the Remittance Industry’s $554B Problem
Published: CoinDesk by: Leah Callon-Butler (June 13, 2020)