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Bank of Italy study finds fiat rails drive stablecoin remittance costs
Across 10 payment corridors, total remittance costs ranged from 0.3% to nearly 9%, with settlement times under 20 minutes when instant payment systems were available.
Bank of Italy researchers found that stablecoin-based cross border remittances did not show a consistent cost or speed advantage, pointing instead to frictions in fiat conversion and local payment infrastructure. According to the study, most of the differences in both end to end costs and settlement delays came from on and off ramp processes rather than blockchain transaction fees.
The researchers tested 200 USDC remittances across 10 bidirectional corridors connecting Italy with Brazil, Argentina, Japan, the United Arab Emirates, and South Africa. They reported that exchange fees and currency conversion drove most costs, while blockchain transaction fees accounted for only a small portion of the total.
Total costs across the examined stablecoin remittances varied widely, from 0.3% to nearly 9% depending on the corridor. Settlement times were under 20 minutes where instant payment systems were available, and ranged up to one to two business days where those systems were not.
Using the World Bank reported global average remittance cost of 6.65% as a benchmark, the study said stablecoin transfers were cheaper in most corridors, though they were less expensive than Wise in only three of seven comparable corridors. The authors added that improving domestic instant payment infrastructure could strengthen stablecoin based payments competitiveness, and that regulatory design affected efficiency, with prohibitionist regimes pushing users toward offshore and unregulated channels while overly restrictive frameworks increased operational complexity for retail users.