The World Bank estimates 1.7 billion adults globally are unbanked, meaning those individuals do not have an account with a financial institution. However, two-thirds, 1.14 billion, own a mobile phone which gives them the potential to access financial service (More than half of the global population do not own a smartphone). Blockchain company Apollo Fintech is announcing the completion of its National Payment Platform (NPP), an innovative cashless system that enables a central bank to issue a sovereign, digital currency (stablecoin) for national adoption.
Through NPP, Apollo Cash, Apollo Bank Network and other cashless innovations, Apollo Fintech has created one of the first comprehensive, blockchain backed, frictionless transaction systems that can collaborate with a central bank and regulated financial industry.
Apollo Fintech is a leading blockchain company that develops world-shaping fintech solutions for a global economy. Apollo has offices in Africa and North America with plans to expand in Asia, Europe and Latin America. Apollo Fintech is becoming a global leader in government blockchain solutions, as well as pioneer of international mass adoption.
After central bank issuance, the NPP system enables a government agency and/or central bank to add commercial banks and agents. The entire platform has the capability to power an economy, from merchants to peer to peer transactions using its app, SMS, QR codes, cards, offline codes, and more.
Authorised banks can onboard citizens and merchants for mainstream transactions including currency deposits and withdrawals, currency exchange, money transfers and payments for goods and services.
National Payment Platform
According to the CEO of Apollo Fintech, Stephen McCullan, “The National Payment Platform is the only blockchain-powered system that enables users to make digital payments through a sovereign currency. The NPP enables regulated banks and commercial entities to harness the power of blockchain and facilitate frictionless transactions. This allows economic participants to save large amounts of time and resources and enables an economy to gain massive efficiencies at scale.”
Features include:
- Online sign-up by merchants and citizens to facilitate easy accessibility and onboarding
- Merchants can publish a product catalog to sell goods (and collect payments) directly on the platform
- Merchants can use the point of sale system to sell goods and services locally
- Deposit and withdrawal of funds via online wallet, as well as money transfers/remittances between wallets and abroad
- Add bank cards to top-up funds or withdraw money
- Generate efficiencies from frictionless transactions across an economy
- The future benefit of quantum-resistant encryption of data on an immutable distributed ledger
- Zero downtime of the database
- Physically accessible throughout the country by government-approved agents/banks
- The ability to make payments and check account data using only SMS
Mobile Money: Overcoming Challenges of Banking Access and Usability
The National Payment Platform is compatible with Apollo Cash, a cashless innovation that allows a traditional economy to transition to frictionless digital payments. The NPP removes the barriers of accessibility and usability by allowing physical access from any agent locally and by utilising top up cards that could be sold in all major retailers. Unprecedented usability is offered by allowing digital currency transactions via mobile SMS and text messages, so anyone can use the system and benefit from blockchain.
McCullan adds, “By solving accessibility and usability challenges, NPP in conjunction with Apollo Fintech’s other financial innovations can lead to accelerated mass adoption of digital payments and cashless transactions. When utilised, a government and central bank can leverage the security and transparency of blockchain on a national scale. This empowers a government to accelerate the transformation of a national economy and gain unprecedented efficiency, stability and economic control.”
Furthermore, McCullan states, “We’re thrilled to have developed the first solution that enables a central bank to issue a blockchain-powered digital currency which can be sent and received through mobile texts,” says Stephen McCullah. “This capability can bring enormous economic benefits to developing countries and to millions of banked and unbanked consumers. Furthermore, by removing the two major barriers to blockchain, accessibility and usability, it can accomplish two historical milestones, true mass adoption of blockchain and banking the unbanked.”
