Even with the help of microfinance institutions, studies from the World Bank show that there’s still more than 2 billion adults who lack access to financial services, such as a bank accounts and credit cards to save and borrow funds. The majority of these people reside in rural areas, live below $5 a day and are from Africa, estimates suggest that up to 75% of sub-Saharan African adults are yet to have a bank account.
Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency will play a large role in financial inclusion (bringing financial services to the poor), maybe more so than all microfinance institutions together. Cryptocurrencies can bring a paradigm shift for the unbanked and bring forth a lot of technological, political and economic change. But what is it about cryptocurrencies that make them ideal for helping the unbanked?
The distributed networks that Bitcoin relies on provide a financial infrastructure which is always online and accessible and because of its decentralized nature, cryptocurrencies can bypass any kind of state control and bring power to the users. Anyone who is unbanked or underbanked can create a bitcoin wallet and transfer money internationally via internet or even use the recent bitcoin debit cards, which work like any VISA card but with the advantage of having much lower fees. Also, crowdfunding and investment with cryptocurrencies has the potential to fund the future of innovation and entrepreneurship in developing global markets, more significantly so in countries with failing financial infrastructures and weak local currency. Venezuela is a great current example of how cryptocurrencies are helping people get access to essential goods, that they wouldn’t have access to otherwise, because of high inflation and devaluation of Bolivar, the local currency.
Exscudo, the bridge between two worlds
Exscudo strives to create a platform that unites the best of both worlds: the world of traditional finance and the cryptocurrency market. For that they create a platform that is easy-to-use, fast, legal, and secures access to the cryptocurrency market for every person with access to the internet and credit card. To make this happen Exscudo creates an ecosystem of services that include: a leading exchange platform, offering a wide range of analytical possibilities, supporting different types of orders, online-listings, interactive graphics, technical indicators, trading signals and copies of transactions; charts in real time, offering valuable information about both the cryptocurrency and traditional finance; compatibility between different operating systems and devices; wallets, to secure your cryptocurrencies; a card, accepted all over the world, that permits the user to make purchases with cryptocurrencies with minimal fees; and a decentralized protected messenger, allowing secure transactions between participants of a conversation. Exscudo will play its part on bringing financial services to everyone.