Is Bitcoin the answer to Pinoys' money transfer concerns?

Good news for Filipinos on-the-go, another Bitcoin company opened up in the Philippines as an alternative to money transactions using digital cash.

 

Founded by two Filipinas, Negros Occidental-based Bitcoin Pinoy lets Filipinos buy and sell Bitcoins online. 

 

The company was supposedly established to serve "both the Bitcoin ecosystem and the Filipino  economy," according to California website Baystreet. 

 

“We are honored to help Filipinos join the Bitcoin economy. We offer a secure and reliable method of securing Bitcoin and already have many satisfied customers," Faith Tondares, a BitcoinPinoy founder, told Baystreet.

 

"Over the next 12 months you will see more services being rolled out and Bitcoin Pinoy continuing to hire," she added.

 

Customers of Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co., Bank of the Philippine Islands, United Coconut Planters Banks, BDO Unibank may sign up with Bitcoin Pinoy. Filipinos overseas can also remit their earnings through Bitcoin Pinoy.

 

The digital currency may befuddle and scare the uninitiated. However, a bit of Google-fu reveals that the currency isn't as befuddling as it appears.

 

Digital crypto-currency

 

In plain English, as Venture Beat defines it, Bitcoin is the internet version of money. Exchanges using bitcoins is comparable to direct bank deposits, though it doesn't really need an intermediary such as banks and money transfer companies.

 

Doing away with middlemen significantly reduces the fees in money transfers because the exchanges are practically free. 

 

The current exchange rate for one bitcoin is P28,028.98 as of Wednesday, Feb. 19.

 

While the exchange rate and the ease of transaction may seem an ideal way to handle money, early adopters may want to consider the risks involved in using digital cash.

 

Bitcoins are prone to day-to-day fluctuations, with exchange rates rising to $1,200 apiece one day then dropping to $600 the next.

 

Fluctuations are due to its current peer-to-peer state, threat management developer Kapersky Labs noted in an e-mailed statement. Because the exchange rate is based solely on user interactions, no central authority or regulator is involved—meaning there are no written rules covering the transactions.

 

Bitcoin users also face common threats like fraud, hacks, and seizures. 

 

The most recent hacking removed an estimated BTC4,100 (P114,100,000) from Inputs.io, a web wallet service. Seen by some as an inside job, proprietor TradeFortress has yet to be made accountable for what had happened. 

 

"There are still countries in this region where no regulations exist to bind its users, and the fact that reversals cannot be done for Bitcoin transactions must make people more concerned about using the crypto-currency," said Bryan Sat, a manager for Kaspersky Lab Philippines in the statement.

 

Backing up web wallets

 

For those still determined to maintain an online wallet, Kapersky Labs gave a few tips for Filipino users:

"James Howells, an IT worker from South Wales, once discarded an old hard drive containing his wallet which had around 7,500 Bitcoins inside or the equivalent of today’s $6,235,000 (over P287 million)," according to Kapersky. 

 

Another option

 

Ultimately, the burden is on consumers if they want to expand their financial realm to Bitcoin

Another Philippine site, BuyBitcoin.ph, is also offering Bitcoin-related services. 

 

Money transfers by Filipinos who live and work abroad rose by 9.5 percent to a record-high of $2.286 billion last November, according to Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, saying it was the eighth consecutive month last year that remittances breached the $2 billion-mark. — VS/VC, GMA News