The promise of stablecoins as a low-cost cross-border remittance solution has run into empirical reality. The Bank of Italy (Banca d’Italia) released a study in July 2026 testing real-world transfers of 200 USDC across 10 international corridors, including routes to Argentina, Brazil, South Africa, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Japan.
Total transfer costs varied from 0.30% to nearly 9%. While the average fee on the blockchain network itself was just 0.4%, costs surged during the on/off-ramp stages - the process of purchasing tokens on an exchange, withdrawing them, and converting them back into local currency.
The research team concluded that this system does not offer a consistent cost advantage over traditional banking rails. The most efficient route was recorded on transfers from Italy to Argentina with a 0.30% fee. However, the reverse direction, from Argentina to Italy, proved to be the most expensive corridor, with expenses reaching 8.96% due to a sharp gap between the official exchange rate and Argentina’s local market rate.
Winning on Blockchain, Stalled at Local Banks
The on-chain portion of these transactions was completed within 15 minutes in 7 out of 8 test corridors. The issue was that the funds did not reach the recipient immediately. Final settlement remained entirely dependent on the speed of fiat banking systems in each country.
Transfers connected to instant payment networks such as TIPS in Italy, Pix in Brazil, or Transferencias 3.0 in Argentina were completed in under 20 minutes overall. In contrast, recipients in South Africa had to wait 1 to 2 business days due to sluggish local fiat infrastructure.
These findings align with remarks made by Bank of Italy Governor Fabio Panetta in May 2026. The data confirmed that USDC was cheaper on only 3 test routes: Italy-Argentina, Italy-South Africa, and Brazil-Italy. Across the 4 other corridors, including both directions of the UAE route, crypto transfers incurred higher costs than traditional bank transfers.
Pushback from Industry Players
Industry groups presented different field findings. The platform Borderless.xyz found that stablecoin-based transfer pricing remains competitive across 260 cross-border business corridors. Hyundai also moved $20,000 from the United States to Mexico in just 7 minutes, while SBI Remit continues to expand its network through a partnership with Fasset.
The Bank of Italy acknowledged that the scope of its study remains limited. The trial evaluated only a single stablecoin with a small transaction sample size, meaning it cannot yet be used to measure the performance of all service providers across global remittance routes.
Blockchain speed is not the sole deciding factor. As long as fiat on- and off-ramps continue to charge high fees, the economic value of stablecoins will always be trimmed at the final gate. Via crypto.news.
Also read: What Is DeFi (Decentralized Finance)?
Disclaimer: This article is for informational and educational purposes only, not financial advice. Cryptocurrency assets are highly volatile and carry significant risk. Always do your own research (DYOR) and never invest more than you can afford to lose.
