The demand for cross-border payments dates back to ancient times when people employed trade by barter as a form of exchange. No one region had it all, and people needed to transact with other individuals from outside their locality. The first problem they encountered was a recognized standard for buying and selling.
Several years later, the same issue remains unresolved. This is due to various factors, most of which depend on the government. Meanwhile, private entities are creating alternative solutions for enabling global transactions without restrictions.
This article will dig deep into what it takes to have a truly global payment system. It will further explain why and how Tectum SoftNote.Cash meets the requirements.
Understanding True Cross-Border Payments
The word “cross-border payments” is the conjoining of “across the border” and “payments”. In simpler terms, it translates to funds transfer between geographically, politically, and economically different areas.
People cannot live in isolation and must interact in various ways. One of the important reasons for interaction is commerce or business transactions. For a better understanding, let’s use examples from current countries.
Saudi Arabia has crude oil that can produce petroleum, diesel, etc. when refined. The country can either sell crude oil directly or refine it and sell the products. If Germany, for example, wants to buy petroleum or diesel from Saudi Arabia. Considering Saudi Arabia and Germany do not have a “uniform currency”, these two nations must create an agreed transaction standard.
The transaction standard involves adopting either the Euro or the Saudi Riyal. On the other hand, they can adopt another currency as the base for exchange. Buyers and sellers will utilize this base currency as the unit for measurement and conversion.
Challenges Associated With Cross-Border Payments
At the moment, the US Dollar is the base currency for cross-border payments. The standard is evident in how most commodities are valued in Dollars. Meanwhile, this is not limited to online stores and small businesses. Even international monetary organizations value money in USD.
Considering it is the standard, this article will examine the challenges of using US Dollars for cross-border payments.
- Centralized and Controlled: The first challenge of using the US Dollar for cross-border payments is the United States government controls it. The central bank decides how people can access and spend the Dollar.
- Politicized Restrictions: Since the Dollar is under the US government’s control, they can do as they please. More so, the United States is already using its native currency as a political tool for sanctions against various countries.
- Expensive Transfer Fees: Any country that can navigate these challenges has to deal with the cost of transactions. It costs $12 to send $200 through the Western Union rapid transfer. This means that anyone who wants to send $1000 must pay $60 in fees.
- Slow Transactions: Some might argue that the above fee does not apply to all transactions. We chose that reference because it is the fastest way to receive cross-border payments in US Dollars. There are much cheaper methods, which come at the cost of transaction speed. For example, ACH transfers can take up to 4 working days before the individual receives the funds. In this regard, your family or friend may get the money the following Tuesday if you send it by Thursday.
- Fraud and Security Risks: Even if you tick all the boxes above, there is no guarantee that you will receive funds sent to you. The banking system is fraught with various vulnerabilities. Individuals have severally reported cases of missing funds from their accounts without trace or cause.
- Lack of Transparency: While there are security risks in the traditional finance system, they are sometimes exaggerated. In fact, the major challenge is the lack of transparency in operations and policies. This explains why banks can close people’s accounts and seize the funds without plausible reason. Even when transactions stall, there is no proper explanation and proof of why the case is so.
Tectum SoftNote.Cash: Facilitating Truly Global Transactions Without Restrictions
This article mentioned earlier that some -private entities are stepping in to fill the void and making cross-border payments possible. Tectum is one such organization, and we are bridging the gap through SoftNote.Cash.
For those who do not know about this product, SoftNote.Cash is a crypto cash that facilitates spending Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies like fiat notes. Think of it like a mini blockchain wallet that compartmentalizes digital assets. For a better understanding, consider the example of fiat notes and your bank account.
Your bank account contains the bulk of your funds. If you want to use cash, however, you have to break it down into various bills. SoftNote.Cash breaks your Bitcoin into smaller units for easier spending.
Advantages of Tectum SoftNote.Cash
This section will outline what makes this innovation a truly global payment system.
- Decentralized: Unlike the US Dollar, Tectum SoftNote.Cash is completely decentralized. No central body controls how people acquire, send, and spend SoftNote Cash. Everyone from any part of the world can use this product for transactions.
- Cheapest Transfer Fees: While facilitating transactions, SoftNote.Cash ensures that people do not have to pay an arm and a leg. The T12 protocol only charges between 0.5-1% of the amount sent in transfer fees. This is a steal compared to Western Union and SWIFT payment systems that charge people as much as 5-6% in fees.
- Transparent and Secure: SoftNote.Cash is a secure payment gateway that utilizes multiple authentication measures to ensure security. After every transaction, the wallet changes the unique passcode to ensure malicious third parties do not exploit SoftNote.Cash holders. In addition, funds can never go missing from the system. Individuals can track every transaction via the Explorer.
- Fastest Transactions Speed: SoftNote.Cash is built on Tectum the fastest layer 1 blockchain. This ensures that all SoftNote.Cash transactions are instant. Our network can handle up to 3.5 million transactions per second. Therefore, users need not worry about network congestion and transfer delays.
How to Use Tectum SoftNote.Cash to Send and Receive Money Globally
As shown above, Tectum SoftNote.Cash is the perfect solution for cross-border payments. The best part about this product is how easy it is to use it. Anyone can access and spend this crypto cash without having technical blockchain knowledge.
Here is a brief guide on how to use SoftNote.Cash
- Create an account with SoftNote Wallet
- Visit the SoftNote.Cash website
- Click on the “Import” button
- Import your tokens from SoftNote Wallet to SoftNote.Cash
- Input your Tectum ID and the SoftNote you want to spend
Alternatively, you can fill a SoftNote.Cash bill without having to create an account.
Follow these steps to fill a bill with crypto:
- Visit the SoftNote.Cash website
- Click on the “Fill” button
- Choose whether you want to fill Green or Blue Bills
- Select the token and quantity you want to add
- Enter your email and Tectum ID
- Send the tokens you want to spend to the address on your screen
- Fill out the columns with the wallet address from where the token was sent
- Enter the transaction hash and click “finish” to complete the process.
Meanwhile, individuals and business owners can receive SoftNote as a crypto payment method.
To receive SoftNote.Cash, follow these steps:
- Visit SoftNote.Cash website
- Click on “Accept”
- Enter the SoftNote Bill’s serial number
- Input the secret code
- Click on “finish” to complete the handover.