Future of Payments: Blockchain Technology, Cashless Societies - iOWN Token

Future of Payments: Blockchain Technology, Cashless Societies

Modern technology has changed the way we live our lives and is making things faster, easier, economical, safer, including the way we pay for things. Many countries are shifting to a cashless society and adapting to a more convenient method to carry transactions in the digital era.

According to a report published by Stats. Bis, only 1.3% of people in Sweden paid in cash, and this number is estimated to drop further to 0.5% by the end of 2020. The prominent age group transacting with cards and digital payments are between 18 and 38. Therefore, we are progressing to the future of cryptocurrency payments powered by blockchain technology.

Impact of Cryptocurrencies on Developing Economies

Developing countries and emerging economies are currently leading in mobile and digital payments with massive adoption of blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum for payment. While a majority of the population remains unbanked, cryptocurrencies have been embraced to store value and tackle hyperinflation.

But how can Blockchain technology assume a seamless transition to a cashless society? First, a blockchain is a public ledger of transaction receipts and records collected through a network that sits on the internet. It is how this information is recorded that gave blockchain its ground-breaking acceptance to solve the cash circulation and banking issues, with a cryptographically-secure database structure. This structure allows network participants to establish a trusted and immutable record of transactional data without the need for intermediaries or middlemen such as banks.

Digital Adoption and Cryptocurrencies

Blockchain has proved to be a superior solution for securely coordinating payments, but they are capable of much more, including the establishment of smart contracts, tokenization, loaning, and crowd-investing tampering and attack resistance.

Furthermore, due to Covid-19, and for safety concerns, residents are adopting more contactless payments. 64% of people in the UAE, expect the country to become fully cashless by 2030, a poll by Standard Chartered found. “The UAE is on a fast track in adopting digital banking and cashless payments and the pandemic has accelerated the digital drive,” said Sonny Zulu, head of retail banking at Standard Chartered UAE. Covid-19 has indeed brought big changes in many countries and forecasted trends have been accelerated.

While implementing new technology and avoiding exclusion in financial services is by no means an easy task, opening up discussion and acknowledging the need for solutions to these problems is vital if we are to ensure a better financial experience for all and build a more inclusive financial services sector. From the supermarkets in the US and Japan to the small towns in Africa, a growing number of businesses and individuals worldwide have stopped using banknotes and coins in fear that physical currency, handled by tens of thousands of people over their useful life, could be a vector for the spread of Coronavirus.

The Greener Way

Paying via blockchain has demonstrated to be safer in terms of health and security in payments during times of a pandemic and financial turmoil. In addition to the safety factor, the plastic money manufacturing and printing of banknotes in some countries have not been the friendliest to our environment with the average lifespan of paper notes lasting 16 months and plastic a few more months. Reprinting of notes has been heavy on our environment due to the release of tons of carbon and chemicals back to the air. Coins, on the other hand, require metal mining, smelting, and milling which demands intensive energy. While many would say card, payment is a greener option to carry transactions, they are not wrong but not all plastics are recyclable or biodegradable and they also require energy to produce the cards resulting in carbon emissions. For a greener future, going crypto as a method of payment seems to be the only logical approach.

Benefits of a Cashless Society

There are some costs associated with digital money as well, especially the provision of proper security, which must be weighed against the printing, minting, transportation, and storage costs of cash. But a cashless society has its merits like:

– It eliminates the middleman
– Increased transaction speed
– Helps in reducing corruption

As we go cashless and utilize the blockchain to facilitate this approach, people can easily fund business from anywhere with a few taps on the phone. There are several crowd-investing platforms in existence, and they all work the same in one way or the other. iOWNX has taken the concept a step further. The platform is based on blockchain technology, making it the first of its kind. The equity-based platform is truly ‘The investment platform of the future’, by ensuring security to the investors and businesses seeking funds and enabling swift cashless transactions. The platform provides the ability to pledge both iOWN Tokens and fiat and is probably the most complete package people have been waiting for in terms of crowd-investment solutions.

As we move from a time of uncertainty and fear around crypto and have seen mass adoption, utilization, and investment in blockchain-based projects, we are surely moving into paying with crypto whether they are centralized or decentralized. It is restructuring the financial perspective of how we used to do things. At a time when everyday people, businesses, and financial institutions are more aware of how blockchain technology can make transactions, safer, faster, secure, and available, the elimination of cash will be a reality and for some countries, this will be the case sooner than others as cryptocurrencies can no longer be disregarded.

In developed countries, a cashless society will deliver transactions that are seamless, frictionless, and low-cost. And in developing nations, it could deliver life-changing socio-economic benefits. This easily accessible exchange of value will allow for borderless transactions to take place around the world opening the door to a wealth of opportunities

Final Word

We are moving to a fully cashless society, sooner than we think, especially with companies adopting blockchain technology and nations legalizing the use of cryptocurrencies. With the introduction of cutting-edge technology and constant improvement of existing technologies, we will definitely see a faster, more transparent and secure cashless society.

Read more about iOWNX Platform to learn how it is changing the way investments and crowdfunding happen without the use of any cash transaction/payment.