Strike and Mobile Money Integration: The Seamless Path to Bitcoin in Africa

Innovative solutions are making it really easy for people to get their hands on Bitcoin. This is proven as seamless integration of mobile money services with Strike enables people to purchase bitcoin through a truly accessible, efficient and user-friendly transaction.

Empower the Individual with Bitcoin

It became a key driver of financial inclusion in countries where traditional banking infrastructures remained limited. In Malawi, like in other African countries, mobile money services like M-Pesa or Airtel Money have made it relatively easy to send and receive money within national borders. This collaboration utilizes Strike's offerings to enable users to directly purchase Bitcoin using their mobile phones. It is on these mobile phones that they use the Machankura Wallet to send and receive money over boundaries with no internet. Machankura is accessible on any mobile phone using its USSD code, such as in Malawi, using (*384 *8333 *0265#).

Flexible Purchasing Options

The flexibility for the users should be one of the unique selling propositions of this integration. People can buy Bitcoin in portions, according to their economic budgets:

Direct P2P Transactions: Users are able to perform direct peer-to-peer transactions by purchasing as little as 100 sats. Using such a low entry point makes Bitcoin available even for those people who have very minimal resources.
Azteco Vouchers: For those looking for something a little more formal, Azteco vouchers allow purchases as low as $1. This makes it ideal for beginners because they can purchase Bitcoin locally and transact globally with no need for an internet connection.
Strike App Purchases: The Strike app makes this available at as low as $5. Its very user-friendly user interface takes people through the process in just a couple of taps on their mobile device.

Onchain and Lightning Network

Implement the capability to choose between an onchain and a lightning network transaction.

Onchain: A traditional Bitcoin transaction will go on the blockchain. This is secure in that it allows the decentralized nature of blockchain transactions, but can be costly in fees and confirm time.
Lightning Network: This is considered a layer-2 solution for faster and cheaper transactions. Users can instantly pay, which is very good for everyday transactions or even buying small things. In fact, it would render Bitcoin practical enough for everyday living.

Improving Financial Inclusion

The combination of Strike with mobile money drives huge things in terms of financial inclusion, not only in Malawi but in Africa as a whole. These platforms create easy access to Bitcoin, allowing people to participate in the global economy, make remittances more affordable, and replace the existing broken money.

Besides, Bitcoin's low transaction cost and very friendly interfaces took the mystery out of Bitcoin; thus, freedom money is used by more and more people. While awareness increases, so too does the potential for economic empowerment and innovation.

Conclusion

Strike integrated with mobile money-a game changer in terms of Bitcoin accessibility for people in African countries such as Malawi, whereby one is afforded the capability to buy Bitcoin for as low as 100 sats via P2P or $1 via Azteco vouchers, or $5 via Strike, making this revolutionary financial tool accessible to many. It's an innovation for individual empowerment. With growing adoption, the future of finance in Africa has never looked brighter.

0 sats \ 2 replies \ @KenyaCoin 22 Sep

The combination of Strike with mobile money drives huge things in terms of financial inclusion, not only in Malawi but in Africa as a whole.

Except, Strike actually integrates in very few countries in Africa:

https://strike.me/faq/which-cash-payment-methods-are-available-by-country/

There is "Send Globally", which is not reflected in the chart from the FAQ in the link (above), but even then there are significant gaps (e.g., Strike's Send Globally feature does not list Malawi as a country you can send to):

https://strike.me/faq/which-countries-are-available-for-send-globally-eu/

In places where Strike and Strike's Send Globally are available , ... they definitely dominate on the cost factor, relative to not only traditional remittance methods but to new fintech, p2p, and other approaches

0 sats \ 1 reply \ @hasherstacker OP 23 Sep

Thank you for this. But...

It's all about the ability to buy Bitcoin easily. Once the individual has Bitcoin, they can send funds to anyone, anywhere else in the world.

People can buy Bitcoin in portions, according to their economic budgets:

Direct P2P Transactions: Users are able to perform direct peer-to-peer transactions by purchasing as little as 100 sats. Using such a low entry point makes Bitcoin available even for those people who have very minimal resources. Azteco Vouchers: For those looking for something a little more formal, Azteco vouchers allow purchases as low as $1. This makes it ideal for beginners because they can purchase Bitcoin locally and transact globally with no need for an internet connection.

Strike App Purchases: The Strike app makes this available at as low as $5. Its very user-friendly user interface takes people through the process in just a couple of taps on their mobile device.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @KenyaCoin 23 Sep

When you are financially poor, money that comes in must, essentially, instantly go out (i.e., there are expenses, purchases, or debts where those funds received will be used).

It's the same everywhere in the world where the poor are, but in most of Africa, being financially poor is the norm, not the exception.

Thus integration where spending bitcoin to pay in fiat is necessary, otherwise the bitcoin earned (or bought) is limited (or useless) to those who do not save and are not in a financial position to where saving in bitcoin is an option. When there is wider acceptance of bitcoin by individuals, merchants, and lenders, then at that point funds received can be turned around and spent immediately. But today, there's a wide gap between when bitcoin comes in and the ability to use it for spending that would otherwise be done in fiat funds.