Blockchain startup Crypterium headed by former VISA UK CEO is making crypto that little bit easier so even your Grandma could use it.
Crypterium, a Blockchain based startup has introduced a new feature that enables anyone to send cryptocurrency using just the recipient’s phone number. The transfer happens almost instantly and the technology is able to process a million transactions per second due to its off-chain technology. This simplifies usage and opens up usability to anyone who can send a text message.
The recipient does not need a wallet in place to receive the cryptocurrency, instructions are sent via a text message on how to access and use the funds, making it extremely easy to send Bitcoin to your grandma, friend or someone you owe money to anywhere in the world.
Crypterium takes direct aim and addresses the elephant in the room when it comes to cryptocurrencies. Crypto currently sucks at being user friendly for the many non-tech savvy users. They partly aim to solve this by removing the need for complicated wallet addresses and with speeding up transaction times, which at the moment for popular cryptocurrencies could take anywhere from minutes to days if the network is congested.
Former Visa UK CEO Marc O’Brien currently sits as the CEO at Crypterium and has set a goal of bringing the crypto industry mainstream and making it more user friendly.
“We’re on our way to the 21st century’s “Netscape moment”, the day when a California startup’s eye-popping market debut illuminated the World Wide Web for millions of people, otherwise only vaguely familiar with its potential and promise,” – he explains, mentioning that his own startup, Crypterium, “makes buying, selling and spending of cryptocurrency in everyday life as easy as possible, and that’s what will bring the next billions of people to using crypto.”
“We have analyzed the most popular crypto wallets in the market, and none of them offer anything like it, though it sounds so exciting,” O’Brien says.
We spoke to Crypterium CEO, Marc O’Brien about the future in banking:
1. What benefits does handling the transactions off-chain provide? Does this defeat the purpose of the Blockchain? How does Crypterium prevent double spend issues?
We are aiming to create a universal solution for implementing cryptocurrency into the existing payment infrastructure, and it’s currently impossible to achieve our goal without running operations off-chain. You just can’t implement decentralized systems into existing protocols and payment systems. Using off-chain allows us to merge those two completely different worlds.
We don’t think it is defeating the purpose of the blockchain, but it definitely helps to make blockchain mainstream.
To prevent double spending, we are implementing a technology based on a smart contract that needs approvals both from our user and from us to run the transaction.
2. Can you explain how consumers will make the shift from lets say using there VISA card with their high street bank to paying for a pint of milk at the corner shop with Crypterium?
It’s just the matter of habit. Once people try paying with crypto and see the advantages, they wouldn’t want to go back to fiat.
As CEO of Visa UK, one of my favorite projects was to work across the industry and build contactless for Europe. The vision that we had was to actually make contactless an everyday experience for consumers to be able to buy low value items like newspapers or coffee quickly and conveniently with a contactless card. It seemed very unusual at the beginning, but today, can you imagine your life without contactless payments?
3. Traditional banks offer many security features such as fraud prevention, refunds etc. This often drives consumer trust and authority. With crypto this is a major concern, particularly because it is all still new technology and the fact that it is sometimes associated with a sketchy darknet past. How will consumers trust your cryptobank?
Our app meets all the security requirements for traditional mobile banks. We use the most advanced security features, and our app was reportedly audited in accordance with the highest banking standards.
We are Safety Leaders Award Winner 2017, we have PCI DSS compliance certificates, and we have decades of experience in payments industry to help us build a secure product.
We also offer refunds on the purchases. Right now, you can top up your phone with crypto, and if there’s any problem, we have a well-functioning refund system to
Moreover, we are looking for an insurance partner to provide something like FDIC insurance.
4. How does Crypterium work with current financial legislation? How does it operate within those frameworks? Do these frameworks stifle adoption or cause any complications?
The situation differs from country to country, and we’re working on building relation with regulators worldwide as Crypterium is a global project. We already have three licenses, and we have applied for more. We can definitely see interest in most of the countries, and a shift from attempts to ban crypto to attempts to learn and understand this new industry.
5. Many crypto firms who offered debit cards such as XAPO have slowly been cut off from the merchant networks for reasons that have never been clear. Crypterium integrates with these card terminals currently present in shops but how do you plan to secure this partnership moving forward? As with these other services could the traditional banks simply shut out Crypterium. Are you seen as competition?
I don’t want to comment on our competitors, but some of them have made some obvious mistakes violating financial regulation. Our lawyers make sure that we comply with legislation in every region we’re entering, we are 100% transparent to regulators and governments. It takes time, it takes effort, but it secures our future and allows us to build a product that will last.
I also want to indicate that we don’t integrate with card terminals. We partner with banks to issue virtual cards that our users will use to pay at any NFC terminal, or via QR codes, etc. We are also working on unique solutions for e-commerce platforms and site builders to let the merchants receive crypto payments.
Last but not least, we always have plan B, if something goes wrong with one of our partnerships. And then plan C, D and E.
Crypterium allows you to “pay with crypto anywhere in the world” and works just like a traditional bank but without a 3rd party. Assets are held securely in your cryptobank and can be used to purchase goods in real-time via the standard contactless card readers present in many shops, this is done via a virtual card attached to your Crypterium app.