Will proposed system have more advantages than others?
The proposed system will have all the advantages of the existing systems i.e. solving problems they deal with, as well as offering users an additional convenience or an economic advantage.
Challenge 1
According to the McKinsey Global Institute report 19, for the free functioning of the remittance system both within and outside a country, there is a strong need for the absence of restrictions on part of the financial regulator of that particular country (the central bank), along with the availability of open markets.
Solution
The technological advantage of the Blockchain network solutions lies in the fact that they do not require a representation in a country, or the availability of a legal framework for their presence in order to function as a means of payment in that country. Restrictions in the form of a ban will create a black market for other electronic payment means, which is likely to complicate their use, but will not stop it completely. Technologically, a blockchain solution can only be banned by completely banning network communications at the transport level. Such advantages of that technology provide a huge potential for creating open markets without borders.
Challenge 2
The McKinsey report states that for banking services to function properly, a large amount of digital infrastructure and user identification tools are needed.
Solution
Similar to mobile money systems, usage of the existing hardware base is proposed. Smartphones with a fingerprint scanner and a camera provide both Internet access for carrying out transactions of various types and possibility for user’s biometric identification. In fact, this paradigm shift addresses the problem of user access to traditional banking services not by building new offices in inaccessible/sparsely-populated areas but by bringing banking services to the user’s mobile phones.
Challenge 3
The McKinsey report further points out that users have to choose a solution that exists in the market but would be more expensive and will not be cross-border. To respond to these challenges, users need to be provided with:
1. Lower money remittance fees than what compatible services oer.
2. As low volatility as possible of the means of payment.
3. Simplicity of conversion into other means of payment and B2C interaction, which implies:
- Wide network of existing agents capable of cashing out a payment tool or, conversely, accepting cash in exchange for electronic money (more convenient to handle and/or to transport) Bank4YOU Group plans to develop the business in the countries with already formed market of mobile money, hence the expenses connected with creation of dealer and agency networks won’t incur.
- Possibility of automatically converting one payment tool into another means of payment – mobile money and fiat electronic money.
- Possibility of buying/selling goods and services using a means of payment
- Micro-crediting system
Since that problem is the most complicated and comprehensive of all mentioned, the following section is devoted to its solution mechanisms, which also describes the design of the proposed system.