The South Korean government is moving to lessen the burden on FinTech companies who use bitcoin for foreign currency transfers by lowering their minimum capital requirements.According to a report from Korean news outlet PulseNews, local FinTech companies who offer bitcoin-mediated foreign currency transfer services will see easier regulations come July this year.There are about 20 FinTech companies who use bitcoin for foreign currency transfer services to Korean citizens.The South Korean government is set to lower the minimum equity capital criteria for FinTech companies in the foreign remittance space, according to the revised Foreign Exchange Transactions Act.The publication cites a financial industry source who pointed to the call made by the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, the government body that oversees the financial policies of the South Korean government.Against the previous minimum of more than ₩2 billion ($1.76 million), Korean FinTech firms will see that figure cut in half.

Effective July 18, they will be required to hold ₩1 billion (approx.$882,000) in equity capital to offer foreign exchange currency transfer services using bitcoin in Korea.The Foreign Exchange Transactions Act was originally revised in February this year as the South Korean government allowed FinTech agencies, beyond banks, to offer foreign currency transfers if registered as such.However, the ₩2 billion minimum capital requirement was a figure too steep for FinTech companies.None of the 20 bitcoin-based remittance companies, met that criteria.A typical bitcoin-mediated foreign currency transfer is initiated when a sender deposits money in a fiat currency.The fiat currency is paid to a local bitcoin exchange, which sees the money’s equivalent in bitcoin transferred to a bitcoin company in the recipient’s destination.Here, the company uses a bitcoin exchange service to cycle the bitcoin back to fiat, before the recipient receives the money in the local currency.Traditional bank remittance through SWIFT routinely takes about 3-4 days between payment and settlement of the transaction and incurs up to 6% of the remittance in fees.

PayPal and other wire transfer agencies have made transfers faster and somewhat cheaper over the past decade.However, a bitcoin-based remittance agencies offer same-day foreign transfers with a significantly cheaper fee, about 1% or below.Even banks have taken notice, taking advantage of bitcoin’s benefits.In November, South Korea’s Shinhan Bank announced a remittance service, backed by bitcoin, to benefit money transfers in the Korea-China corridor.bitcoin kaufen per paypalOne of South Korea’s largest financial institutions with over $250 billion in assets, Shinhan Bank is using an intermediary Hong Kong bitcoin exchange to facilitate the remittance service.bitcoin tutorCommercial banks in Korea pay out as much as ₩500 billion (approx.bitcoin cheater

$450 million) in remittance fees each year.INSIDE the world’s first Bitcoin store in Hong Kong, a visitor from Tokyo hands over a wad of thousand-dollar bills and waits for a clerk to process the transaction on a laptop.Moments later, a notification on his phone shows that bitcoins have been added to his “digital wallet”, one more transaction in a city that has become a regional hub for the crypto-currency.Entrepreneurs in Hong Kong are scrambling to offer new services for bitcoin investors and enthusiasts in the region, despite a dip in confidence after the collapse of Mt Gox, a Japanese online exchange.bitcoin buddhaThe former British territory’s status has been enhanced by mainland China making it hard for the Bitcoin business—banning financial institutions from dealing in bitcoins and closing the bank accounts of online trading platforms.bitcoin facility meaning

Should the Lions pick all 15 players from one team?A new front in the legal fight over Donald Trump’s travel banQatar Airways wants a 10% stake in American AirlinesIreland and Afghanistan become the first new Test nations in 17 yearsWhy calculating a British parliamentary majority is so trickyHumanist nuptials are popular in Scotland but only beginning in UlsterHong Kong, on the other hand, continues to be run under the “one country, two systems” set-up, agreed before it was handed back from British to Chinese sovereignty.bitcoin catching up slowSo it has its own monetary authority and its own British-style legal system.circle bitcoin ios appA slew of startups are racing to lay out a network of Bitcoin ATM machines (where you pay money in to obtain bitcoins) and to open exchanges for online buying and selling,  while a handful of bricks-and-mortar businesses  are starting to accept payments in bitcoins.ethereum record price

As in so many areas, straightforward regulations and high-quality local talent have been the key to Hong Kong’s early success.Promising ventures have found no shortage of capital in the city.Li Ka-shing, a Hong Kong tycoon and Asia’s richest man, was an early investor in BitPay, a Bitcoin payment technology.Still, the industry is experiencing growing pains, too.Two of the city’s first Bitcoin ATMs stopped working soon after being set up in March.bitcoin-cli howtoAurélian Menant, a former investment banker who left his job last year to start Gatecoin, a digital-currencies exchange website, waited nine months for his company to be granted a licence as a money-service operator.Yet in spite of the teething problems, many observers believe Hong Kong’s transparent legal framework and its position on China’s doorstep can make it a leading global centre for Bitcoin, just as it has been for many other commodities.