A Bank of Italy test found that sending money across borders with stablecoins can cost as much as 9%, a result that undercuts the common pitch of stablecoin remittances as a cheap alternative
A Bank of Italy test found that sending money across borders with stablecoins can cost as much as 9%, a result that undercuts the common pitch of stablecoin remittances as a cheap alternative to traditional transfer services.
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The finding comes from a mystery shopping exercise run by Banca d'Italia, in which researchers tested what it actually costs to move money abroad using stablecoins. Stablecoins are crypto tokens designed to hold a steady value, usually pegged to the U.S. dollar, and remittances are the small cross-border payments migrants and families send home. For related coverage, see Best NFT Marketplaces in 2026: Match the Platform to the Asset.
The headline number from the test is that these transfers can cost up to 9%. That "up to" wording matters: it describes the high end of what the researchers observed, not a flat fee applied to every stablecoin transfer. For related coverage, see Peter Todd Warns on Single-Sig Bitcoin Risks After $38M Coldcard Drain.
Stablecoin payments are frequently promoted on the promise of lower friction and cheaper cross-border movement than banks or money-transfer operators. A cost reaching 9% sits uncomfortably against that framing, since it is high for a product category marketed as faster and cheaper. For related coverage, see OpenSea vs Blur vs Magic Eden: Which NFT Marketplace Fits?.
For the people who rely on remittances, migrant workers and their families sending modest sums, fees at that level erode a meaningful share of each transfer. The tension the test surfaces is about cost, not speed.
A stablecoin remittance is not a single frictionless hop. Costs can build up across steps such as converting local currency into a stablecoin, moving the tokens, and cashing out on the receiving end. The Bank of Italy exercise measured the combined, real-world cost of that chain rather than a headline network fee.
Because the source is a central bank rather than an industry vendor, the exercise carries added credibility in policy and oversight discussions. Institutional testing of consumer costs gives regulators and payment providers a common reference point when weighing stablecoin claims.
For firms building stablecoin remittance products, the result is a prompt to show where their pricing actually lands, especially as banks and card networks move deeper into the space with efforts like a stablecoin backed by BlackRock and Visa. It also fits a broader wave of official scrutiny of crypto payments, seen in moves such as the Bank of Russia's draft rules for organized crypto trading.
The exercise is best read as a signal for further scrutiny of specific remittance routes, not a final verdict on every stablecoin transfer model. The next question is whether providers can demonstrate consistently lower costs than the top-end figure the central bank recorded.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial or investment advice. Cryptocurrency and digital asset markets carry significant risk. Always do your own research before making decisions.
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