Read the passage and mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the best answer to each of the following questions from 3...

Read the passage and mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the best answer to each of the following questions from 31 to 40.

        For as long as migrants have pursued opportunity, money has flown back home through channels that are reliable yet sclerotic. Legacy rails privilege domestic speed but hobble cross-border transfers with lag, opacity, and intermediary tolls. In many corridors, large banks and MTOs set the tempo, not the sender’s urgency. Small sums – those that matter for groceries or school fees – are penalised by fixed charges and cash-out frictions. [I] The result is a paradox: the poorer the recipient and the smaller the amount, the harsher the proportionate fee.

        Digitisation moved the counter onto smartphones but left the plumbing intact. KYC/AML variations, costly brick-and-mortar cash-out points, and uncertain recourse still make compliance onerous and settlement brittle. Average fees north of six percent siphon billions in deadweight costs from low- and middle-income economies each year, while the unbanked remain distant from formal finance. [II] Market concentration among incumbent MTOs keeps price competition tepid, especially where physical networks are expensive to maintain.

        Cryptocurrencies propose different infrastructure rather than a shinier interface. Peer-to-peer transfers ride open networks, settle near-instantly, and do not require shared correspondent accounts or branch coverage. Addresses substitute for bank details; wallets can hold funds or earn yield, a hedge in inflation-prone settings. Because transfers are disintermediated and near-instant, micro-remittances cease to be prohibitive and become routine. [III] In this model, the rail itself is global by default, and the marginal cost of sending $5 is not punished for being small.

        Evidence suggests adoption is no longer fringe: many U.S. senders already try crypto when moving funds abroad, reporting lower fees – often several percentage points – versus legacy methods. UN analyses imply that even modest efficiency gains in digital payments could lift tens of millions from poverty if savings reach recipients at scale. [IV] Where corridors are fee-heavy and recipients are unbanked, crypto-backed micro-remittances act like capillaries of inclusion, converting trickles into dependable flows that compound into development.

(Adapted from Coinbase Institute, “Crypto and Remittances,” 2021)

Question 31. The word sclerotic in paragraph 1 mostly means ______.

A. pleasantly brisk                                        B. marginally flexible

C. moderately agile                                        D. painfully rigid

Question 32. What does the passage identify as the key limitation of digital remittances built on legacy rails?

A. They guarantee universal bank access for recipients through automatic account creation and card issuance.

B. They eliminate fees entirely by bypassing banks and replacing KYC requirements with self-attestation.

C. They improve user interfaces but retain slow, intermediary-laden settlement that inflates cross-border costs.

D. They standardise regulations globally, removing compliance gaps across jurisdictions and currencies.

Question 33. According to paragraph 2, with average fees just over 6%, over $35 billion ______.

A. becomes available each year for micro-loans once remittance corridors are deregulated

B. is invested by MTOs into branch expansion and new correspondent relationships

C. funds AML technology upgrades that primarily benefit unbanked rural communities worldwide

D. is diverted annually from recipient economies as charges on incoming remittances

Question 34. Which of the following best summarises paragraph 1?

A. Migrant senders prefer cash counters because digital tools are unreliable and widely distrusted in host countries.

B. Domestic payment systems already solve most remittance pain points, making fees negligible for low-value transactions everywhere.

C. Legacy cross-border rails, dominated by incumbents, render small transfers disproportionately costly despite migrants’ urgent, routine needs.

D. Regulatory barriers have eliminated most MTOs, creating a vacuum that charities struggle to fill effectively.

Question 35. What do crypto wallets enable for recipients?

A. Print local banknotes                                B. Hold and earn yield

C. Avoid identity checks                                D. Cancel exchange rates

Question 36. Where in the passage does the following sentence best fit?

This fragmentation compounds compliance burdens and inflates settlement risk across borders.
A. [III]                        B. [II]                                C. [I]                        D. [IV]

Question 37. The phrase deadweight costs in paragraph 2 refers to ______.

A. wasted fees        B. inflation losses                C. regulatory fines        D. hidden taxes

Question 38. Which of the following can be inferred from the passage?

A. Uniform KYC/AML standards have minimised compliance friction, so settlement delays rarely affect recipients in rural regions.

B. Because digital apps exist, most remittance corridors already exhibit vigorous price competition, making alternative rails largely redundant today.

C. If fixed fees dominate pricing, shrinking transfer sizes amplifies effective costs, so crypto’s lower marginal cost especially benefits frequent, small payments.

D. Yield-bearing wallets primarily serve wealthy senders, since inflation is negligible in typical recipient economies.

Question 39. Which of the following best paraphrases the underlined sentence in paragraph 3?

Because transfers are disintermediated and near-instant, micro-remittances cease to be prohibitive and become routine.

A. Since bank branches are ubiquitous, sending very small amounts benefits from bulk discounts and guaranteed same-minute settlement in corridors.

B. Cutting regulators out ensures any transfer, regardless of size, is immediately free and legally incontestable across all jurisdictions worldwide.

C. By removing middlemen and reducing delay, tiny cross-border payments stop incurring punitive frictions and become practical everyday transactions.

D. Because AML checks are optional, most micro-payments bypass oversight, allowing remitters to avoid compliance while enjoying premium exchange rates.

Question 40. Which of the following best summarises the passage?

A. Remittances scarcely matter macroeconomically; aid flows and foreign investment dwarf their scale in most emerging economies.

B. Smartphone apps alone solve remittance inequities, since user experience outweighs settlement design and regulatory divergence across borders.

C. Traditional MTOs remain superior because high fixed costs are necessary to safeguard recipients from currency volatility and fraud.

D. Crypto rails, by lowering frictions and enabling inclusion, can make small remittances cheaper, faster, and more routine than legacy, intermediary-heavy systems.