Crowdfunding campaign Launched Easbit at Indiegogo

[Dyionisus]

Crowdfunding campaign Launched Easbit at Indiegogo

For the majority of the world’s population who do not have access to a bank account, let alone a credit card, financial transactions that do not involve physically handing over cash to the seller is not possible.

This is one of the Reasons why Junanto Van Der Veen and Patrick Van Ek decided to create a crowdfunding campaign to fully develop their App, EasBit. The business behind the app is to provide users with a secured granny proof wallet for Android smartphones that works with Bitcoin.
The Easbit team has two co-founders whose backgrounds lay in the IT and marketing sector as well as banking. These professional backgrounds put them in the know with regard to how the traditional banking systems work as well as the potential that Bitcoin has.

Long transfer delays, charge backs, cancelled transactions; blocked or suspended accounts and a myriad of other challenges face e-businesses.  Many experience continual service gaps that are directly or indirectly related to their ability to move funds and more and more of them are searching for different options that will allow them to meet their needs while at the same time securing their hard earned money.

Easbit is not just for making purchases online. A number of immigrants all over the world rely on money transfer services (MTS) to send funds back home to their families. While these services have been expedited and usually take no more than a few hours, the fees can be as high as 10% meaning a lot of money is lost to the MTS. Easbit will be a valuable tool for these people too.

Using Easbit, people can transact unlimited amounts of money at the click of a button, which can then be sent worldwide with a maximum time delay of 10 minutes.
 
Patrick also sees an increasing number of companies emerging to address the needs of the cryptocurrency. “There are many businesses that will use the Easbit example to build their foundations and following. This will not be a challenge, as Bitcoin is still in its infancy and there are vast opportunities for all and sundry. The opportunities are endless”

Easbit is seeking to raise $25,000 through the crowdfunding campaign, scheduled to launch on Monday, November 24, 2014. The campaign will run for 30 days.

The money raised will be used for app development, testing and site promotion as well as advertising.

There will be promotional and advertising campaigns on several social media sites such as LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube and other networking business sites.

Currently, Patrick and Junanto have already created a buzz around Easbit with a functioning website and a number of Bitcoin enthusiasts waiting for the Easbit app to launch.

We thank you tremendously in advance for supporting us!

Please see below for further details.

Contact:

Easbit: Makes Bitcoin easy for everybody
Email: info@easbit.com
Indiegogo Crowdfunding page: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/easbit-com/x/6507337
Website: www.easbit.com
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=isj2hZ4IOFI
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Easbit
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/easbitapp

[countryfree]

I fail to understand how Easbit is any better than having an e-wallet at blockchain.info.

[cyberpinoy]

I fail to understand how Easbit is any better than having an e-wallet at blockchain.info.

I agree what is the difference from this campaign and the existing opportunities available to users already?

[Dyionisus]

Hi Cyberpinoy and Countryfree,

First of all thank you for your reply!

Allow me to explain how we differ from the competition. We are developing a mobile application for Android smartphones. The application is a Bitcoin Wallet. It allows users to send and receive transactions in a highly secured environment.

Here comes the difference. We are convinced that we have developed an UNIQUE interface which is meant for total newbies to Bitcoin.  In other words we have led ourselves during development based on three pillars. These pillars are:

1.   Granny proof
2.   Security
3.   Privacy

We will start off with the basics which are primarily sending, receiving and cold storage in a user friendly way. Taking it step by step will eventually produce a better product in general rather than starting off with a lot of half-finished features. Bitcoin still too hard to use for most people. What people frightens the most is the complex wallet ( read Bitcoin address). We have significantly simplified this issue. This is where we differ from the other wallets.

The reason for a mobile app is simply because people will move more and more to mobile devices.

I hope I have answered you question so far.

In case of any questions and/or remarks please feel free to get in touch with us.

Cheers!

[countryfree]

All right, so it has an unique interface, but nobody cares about that. What we'd like to know is how it's any safer and more private than existing solutions like the e-wallet from blockchain.info.

[Dyionisus]

Hi Countryfree,

Thank you for your question.

I wouldn't say, from our point of view, that a UI doesn't matter. I don’t try to be rude, but so to say for the non-techies Bitcoin can be very frightening for people who are not into IT.

For example take mom. She has literally no idea when she sees for e.g. a Multibit wallet. It is already a complete mission to explain in GENERAL what Bitcoin is and its purposes.

So by keeping this in mind and the goal of getting Bitcoin mainstream a granny proof UI can be the key to reach our shared goal as a Bitcoin community. Plus a wallet is an essential part of the whole eco-system. Without a wallet basically nothing happens.

Here at this forum you will find people who can be seen as believers, IT-people, liberals and so on.
 
When it comes to your question about privacy and security we do NOT store any of the keys or any other critical data on our server. So it's all stored at the user’s smartphone/side. So even If we wanted to we cannot touch a single Satoshi/key. We use the latest standards for security. We also coding according CMMI level 5.
We believe that being honest and transparent are the magic words here when it comes to attracting users. Incidents like Mt Gox may never happen again. It damages the image of Bitcoin in general.

Therefore eventually, but this will take place somewhere next year, we would like to have ourselves checked by an official independent audit organization. Checked from A to Z and from the bottom to the top.

By saying this look for e.g. at Internet banking. Nobody, well almost nobody, asks a bank can I take a look at your server facility? This will be pretty much the same with Bitcoin. You need to gain thrust as a wallet provider. And thrust is highly depending on transparency.

The success factor of internet banking lays in the area of a granny proof UI as well as security and privacy. Assuming that security and privacy is properly done remaining is than the UI. UI needs to guide the user through every process. Otherwise it won’t be an advantage and customers returning back to the good old branches. 

I hope I have answered your questions so far.

If you have any other questions and/or remarks just let us know! We’ll be happy to answer any question.

Cheers!

[Dyionisus]

To everybody, please feel free to ask any question and/or remark. We'll be happy to answer them! 

[countryfree]

I don’t try to be rude, but so to say for the non-techies Bitcoin can be very frightening for people who are not into IT.

Well, I hope you're not going to be rude because it's going to get worse. I'm laughing when you say your app is "granny proof".

Looking around me, grand mothers do not have smartphones. They don't like touchscreens. They prefer a conventional keypad. Same thing for the millions of people who don't have a bank account in the third world, but for another reason: smartphones are just too expensive for them. It's no accident that Mpesa in Kenya works with text messages. The people there do not have the fancy phones which are so popular among the young in rich countries.

So I wonder who will be interested in your app.

[Dyionisus]

 Hi Counrtyfree,

Thanks for your question again. Much appreciated.

First of all I won't be rude. I'm always in for a good debate .

I think you might underestimate the power of user-friendliness, granny proof, convenience or whatever you would like to call it. Different names for the same. I don't know how literally you take granny in granny proof? But we are convinced if we manage to get grandma/kids/average people spending Bitcoins everybody can do it. That is our philosophy. 

Let me first show you this. Accenture did a nice survey about mobile payments: http://www.accenture.com/SiteCollectionDocuments/PDF/FinancialServices/Accenture-Consumer-Mobile-Payments-Survey.pdf.

The survey shows on page 4 that security, privacy and convenience are the key concerns when it comes to mobile payments.

Considering that people will and are going to use more smartphones. This is confirmed by this article: http://www.emarketer.com/Article/Smartphone-Users-Worldwide-Will-Total-175-Billion-2014/1010536.

Especially in areas like North America, Asia and Australia you will find the largest groups of smartphone users. And it is expected to grow more and more. Smartphones will also be cheaper since it is becoming a mass product.

Let me put is this way. I've been travelling a lot in Asia. Pretty much everybody has some kind of smartphone. People are using their smartphone as a Western would use his notebook. And I'm talking about 2nd and 3d world countries. By just walking on the street you'll see everybody with a smartphone.

You right about mentioning Mpesa. But I think Africa is a different region. Large parts are political unstable. A number of areas are facing (civil)war. These circumstances sets countries back in time and is preventing them benefiting from technology. This because large (foreign) investors don't like to invest in unstable environments. So I think, but that's my opinion, Africa is not comparable to other continents.

So coming to you questions who will be interested in our app.

I think a lot. Here's why. We will start of with the basic features such as: sending, receiving, cold storage etc. Our philosophy is that taking it step by step is a significant better way than developing tons of half finished features. Basically what we launch has to be perfect.

Combining the earlier mentioned aspects privacy, security and granny proof in the correct way we think we can contribute to the Bitcoin mainstream process.

Well I hope I have convinced you a little more about our idea. And if not? Just drop me a line!

Cheers!

[countryfree]

I like it better, as you don't talk anymore about the poor and the people without a bank account.

Smartphones are great for rich folks who have a regular subscription, paid by direct debit, but the poor who don't have a bank account have a "pay as you go" line, which is much more expensive to use, and the phones are much less fancier. I can't say how good your software is, but I doubt the poor will be interested, nor will be they able to use it.

[Dyionisus]

Ok, sounds fair enough . For this post I will leave the 2nd and 3rd world for what it is.

But let's see where the discussion is taking us. Maybe we first have to take a step backwards.

Basically what we're discussing now is: what's the profile of an average smartphone user and where on the planet is he/she located?

Obviously smartphone users are belonging to our target group. But a sub question can be here: is their a correlation between smartphone users and Bitcoin usage? I don't think their is any scientific proof of this at the moment, but if you take the numbers and charts of my previous posts it could be at least a possibility. This because global penetration of the smartphone itself. Secondly the profile of a smartphone user acknowledges it. The profile can be found here: http://think.withgoogle.com/mobileplanet/en/downloads/.

And we have identified this group as the group to be the most likely to use our app. This is independently of location, wealth and so on. 

Just allow yourself to take a look at some charts. You will find out that smartphone users live all around the globe already. Yes their concentrated in certain areas. But it is really an assumption that smartphones are for rich folks having a subscription.

Here is another list: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_smartphone_penetration.

Looking forward to hear what you're think about this! 

[nahtnam]

If im not wrong, this is an android/iphone app?

If so, there is a flaw with this system. Most smartphone users have bank accounts. Also there are plenty of bitcoin apps that are much more credible.

[Dyionisus]

Hi Nahtnam,

Thank you for your question. You are correct it is an Android application. But we don't have a IOS version yet.

Could be more specific about defining the flaw? If I know what you mean by this. I will try to explain it to you further more in depth.

Thanks!

Cheers!

[nahtnam]

Hi Nahtnam,

Thank you for your question. You are correct it is an Android application. But we don't have a IOS version yet.

Could be more specific about defining the flaw? If I know what you mean by this. I will try to explain it to you further more in depth.

Thanks!

Cheers!

People can just use another app. If you search Bitcoin in the play store, the first thing you will see is this: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=de.schildbach.wallet&hl=en which has 4 stars and almost 1 million downloads. What reason would people use Easbit for?

[Dyionisus]

Hi Nahtnam,

Thank you for your question. It’s a good question though.

You are right about that there are already some apps out there.

We have several reasons why we think we can be an added value for Bitcoin users.

In general diversity in apps is required for a healthy Bitcoin eco-system. People need something to choose from. The crowd will eventually decide which one is the “killer-one”.
Before we started developing we did first a decent market research to find out what people really want when:

1.   people do mobile payments;
2.   and what Bitcoin users expect from a wallet-app.

So our philosophy and the actual design didn’t just fall out of the sky. It’s backed by research. Everything can be improved and nothing is perfect in general. But you just have to start somewhere. This is also a relatively new industry. A lot of services still have to be invented while the industry is growing. And the industry itself still has a lot of levels of development in front of her.

What I’m saying here is that wallet-apps in general it’s just a start. These wallets can be considered as the first generation of wallets. They will evaluate over time in final products.

Once people really start using Bitcoin in daily life for buying tangible products the wallet-apps will be more and more important. And for this situation and purpose we have developed our wallet app for. Using Bitcoins in daily life and with the ease of using cash.

In my previous post I have already explained the aspects of our security and privacy. But we are really convinced that our granny-proof methodology will do the job. Our app is designed to use Bitcoin as you would use cash backed by a highly reliable system.

Yes we are a newcomer here. But the crowd will confirm next year whether our philosophy is correct or not.

I hope I have answered your question so far. If not please let me know!

[nahtnam]

Hi Nahtnam,

Thank you for your question. It’s a good question though.

You are right about that there are already some apps out there.

We have several reasons why we think we can be an added value for Bitcoin users.

In general diversity in apps is required for a healthy Bitcoin eco-system. People need something to choose from. The crowd will eventually decide which one is the “killer-one”.
Before we started developing we did first a decent market research to find out what people really want when:

1.   people do mobile payments;
2.   and what Bitcoin users expect from a wallet-app.

So our philosophy and the actual design didn’t just fall out of the sky. It’s backed by research. Everything can be improved and nothing is perfect in general. But you just have to start somewhere. This is also a relatively new industry. A lot of services still have to be invented while the industry is growing. And the industry itself still has a lot of levels of development in front of her.

What I’m saying here is that wallet-apps in general it’s just a start. These wallets can be considered as the first generation of wallets. They will evaluate over time in final products.

Once people really start using Bitcoin in daily life for buying tangible products the wallet-apps will be more and more important. And for this situation and purpose we have developed our wallet app for. Using Bitcoins in daily life and with the ease of using cash.

In my previous post I have already explained the aspects of our security and privacy. But we are really convinced that our granny-proof methodology will do the job. Our app is designed to use Bitcoin as you would use cash backed by a highly reliable system.

Yes we are a newcomer here. But the crowd will confirm next year whether our philosophy is correct or not.

I hope I have answered your question so far. If not please let me know!

Ok, im not sure how far this app will take you, but good luck.

[Dyionisus]

Neither do I. But putting it down on best effort is everything we can do so far. Thanks for wishing us luck!

Cheers!

[Dyionisus]

Just wanted to share this with you guys:

http://bitcoinist.net/easbit-launches-crowdfunding-campaign-to-create-granny-proof-bitcoin-wallet/