Strike, a Bitcoin-based financial app and payment network, is expanding its services to the Philippines in a bid to improve cross-border payments and remittance markets. The country is considered one of the biggest remitting markets globally, with around $12.7 billion in cash remittances sent from US-based Filipinos to the Philippines in 2021.
Low-Cost and Instant Micropayments with Lightning Network
Jack Mallers, CEO of Strike, commented that the technology they have developed provides a solution to the challenges of international payments, which have been a major pain point for a long time, with limited innovation from traditional providers like SWIFT and Western Union. Strike utilizes the Lightning Network, a layer-2 payment protocol on top of Bitcoin, to provide instantaneous and low-cost micropayments. The platform allows users to transfer US dollars to local fiat currencies, such as the Philippine peso, for less than one cent per transaction.
Easy, Fast and Accessible Cross-Border Payments
Unlike other Bitcoin-based financial apps, users of Strike don’t need to touch Bitcoin as the app uses it to transfer money between accounts, regardless of its price. Mallers stated that the company’s goal is to make Bitcoin accessible to users who can benefit from its payment network. For instance, if a user wants to send $5 to the Philippines, the transaction takes seconds to minutes to process and the Bitcoin is converted into the local currency via the Lightning Network.
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Plans for Global Expansion
Strike plans to expand its services to other regions such as Latin America and Africa due to the high demand from users and partners. The company has received partnerships from various regions, including the UK, Europe, and 20 new countries in Africa. In January 2023, Strike partnered with payments provider Fiserv and its parent company, Clover, to expand its services. The company also raised $80 million in a Series B round in 2022 to drive its efforts in developing payment solutions for merchants, marketplaces, and financial institutions. Strike has launched Bitcoin Lightning Network-based remittances for African countries recently.
Financial Inclusion for Everyone
Mallers stated that the ultimate goal of Strike is to make cross-border payments and global payments faster, cheaper, and more accessible. The app enables users to send amounts as small as 10 cents to their families, without the need for an international wire transfer, as traditional financial systems would result in fees that outweigh the benefits. Mallers believes that remittance networks and apps like Lightning and Strike will play a major role in expanding financial inclusion over the next decade, from the 2 to 3 billion people currently included in the global international payments system, to all 8 billion.
