Category: Sector

How to Choose a Mobile Payment Provider

Post author By Espeo Crew
Post date 23/08/2018
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In today’s world, most people carry their cell phone wherever they go. No longer just a phone, mobiles are also multi-functional tools. Mobile devices are increasingly replacing the computer for internet browsing and game playing. It’s also trying to replace our photo camera because there is no need to carry one when we always have our cell phones within reach. The cell phone is also trying to replace people’s wallets.

More and more users expect that apps will enable the possibility to pay for the goods and services directly with a cell phone. It’s in users nature to seek the easiest way to buy something — one click to make a purchase in an app is enough. Statistics confirm that the less a user has to enter while purchasing, the higher the conversion rate. So, if users demand an easy way of payment, then you should make it possible. In this article, I will focus on the topic of mobile payment providers.

What is Mobile Payment?

So, let’s discuss what a mobile payment is and how to do it. A mobile payment is any payment with a mobile phone. Ok, so that sounds simple enough, but how we acheive this? There are several ways to make a mobile payment:

NFC (Near-field Communication) — It’s a connectionless method. Every shop needs a special device to make it possible.

Mobile wallet — where the phone stores credit card information, replacing your credit card and making your payments much easier.

Carrier billing (Premium SMS messaging/ OTP) — operator centric model. The operator bills you for the services.

Direct communication between a mobile phone operator and a bank payee.

Credit card — this is common but means we have to carry our card with us at all times.

What is a mobile Payment Provider?

A mobile payment provider simply provides payment services using a phone mobile under financial regulations. They secure the payment process and try to make it as easy as possible to use. Big IT companies such as Google and Apple provide such solutions but also financial companies and mobile phone operators try to suggest their own models. Although at the first glance it all may seem that big competitors usually focus on different market sectors enabling integration only when it may be beneficial from the user viewpoint.

Ready to develop your app with us? Let us know.

No more gateway processors?

So, you may think “right, so if my mobile payment provider handles all this stuff, then maybe it’s all I need.” But that’s not quite so. The Payment provider (with some help from other networks) handles the card tokenization. It basically generates a unique ID number which represents your card data without displaying it. The device stores your information so you can process payments without giving card data. However, the payment provider does nothing to authorize and process your transaction.

This is where payment processors come in and acts as a payment gateway. Based on the received information the payment processors can carry out the transaction. Transaction processing is secure so you don’t have to worry about any PCI Compliance which will be provided by you gateway processor. Remember to choose a payment processor available in your country. While many Mobile payment providers charge no fee, payment processors will have their own fees for processing transactions – so just be aware of that.

Let’s take a look at what kind of mobile payment providers exist on the market:

GPay – This Google product acts as a mobile wallet and simply stores your card information. You can also upload different kinds of loyalty card information. Later on, users can use it in applications by pressing the “Buy with GPay button.” Also, you can use it in shops which support GPay through NFC. As a user, you can also exchange money between two mobile phones. Goggle’s service is free of charge for transactions made with GPay. Users have to unlock their phones to pay. GPay supports the following gateway processors: ACI, Adyen, Braintree, Checkout.com, Cybersource, CloudPayments, Datatrans, EBANX, First Data, Global Payments, IMSolutions, Paysafe, Payture, Przelewy24, RBK.money, Sberbank, Stripe, Vantiv, Worldpay, Yandex.Checkout.

Apple Pay – Apple’s version acts as a mobile wallet storing your card information to use on any Apple device. Each transaction made with Apple Pay must be authorized with face ID, touch ID or a passcode. You can use it in stores that have the right equipment that supports it. You can also send or receive money just like in GPay.

Samsung Pay – Not to be outdone, Samsung’s mobile payment app works similarly, but is more limited than GPay or Apple Pay. It’s compatible with all Samsung devices. Samsung provides its own reward program for purchases. The service is free and uses something called Magnetic Secure Transmission (MST), which emulates the swipe of a traditional magnetic strip. It allows users to make payments with most typical payment terminals, not just the new ones that include NFC.

Microsoft Wallet – This is a wallet for Microsoft devices and for Visa. ‘Tap to pay’ is currently available only in the US. You can store your loyalty cards by scanning their QR code.

Visa Checkout – If you register your card through your account on Visa’s Web site, then you can pay via your web browser simply by providing a user name and a password. It works on any device with internet access . Visa Checkout accounts can be connected to other web wallets such as GPay or Samsung Pay

PayPal – The electronic payment giant is also present on mobile phones and mobile devices, we can choose PayPal in GPay to pay for the services. PayPal also provides mobile integration through SDK. The mobile service for PayPal is called Braintree. But you should remember that PayPal is also a payment processor.

How to choose the right mobile Payment Provider for in-app purchases?

So, you may ask what payment provider you should choose while developing a mobile app. This is quite a simple question. While developing apps for iOS you should use Apple Pay and while focusing on Android you should go for GPay. Samsung Pay can also be an option for Samsung devices but its support is limited to Samsung devices so you should be careful.

Please, take your time to browse the SDKs of your payment processor or integration guides (Stripe, Braintree). Some of them have ready-made solutions (tips, recommendations) which you can integrate over Mobile Payment Providers solution as a payment method and also support your regular credit card payments. Bypassing mobile payment provider is used for increasing conversion rate. Naturally, some users may not wish to pay with GPay. You should always monitor users’ behaviour on the payment screen before conducting a transaction because if the payment method chosen by the clients is unsupported then the client will not buy your products.

The Future Begins Now!

Remember that payments are not an easy topic. Information about payment transactions are sensitive data. Users want to make a purchase with a single button but they don’t want to give up on security. That’s why mobile services will only gain popularity in time. The payment integration is something where we can help. If you are planning to develop a new mobile or web application or add payments to an already existing one, don’t hesitate and contact us at Espeo.

Minimum Viable Product: From MVP to MMP

Post author By Magdalena Brych
Post date 20/08/2018
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Minimum Viable Product: What should be the next step after creating MVP?

Minimum Viable Product, abbreviated as MVP, is commonly used in the start-up terminology, unfortunately, not always wisely. When we want to create a new successful service (whether technological or not), we want and need to be innovative! Indeed, to innovate is to imagine and to create something brand new. So, you embark on a risky adventure, with very little information regarding the actual demand for your product or service.

What about MVP?

Innovation is often very expensive. What is more, most of the time, it is impossible to predict any possible return on the investment due to the lack of information which makes any investment somewhat irrational. MVP answers the question: “How can I gather the most information about market expectations in reference to what I want to propose? How can I reduce the initial investment costs as much as possible and lower the risk as much as possible?” In the past, the old way was to release first version of the product several months after the investment and to offer an almost finished and final product. This can be avoided by applying and following the concept of Minimum Viable Product so that a product that answers customer’s main problem of accessory functions can be proposed. MVP is a method that helps to create a final product with a biggest number of functions expected by a target audience and also to offer the fastest product to the market. We described the MVP development idea in details in this article.

We already have MVP – what’s next?

Now that the meaning of MVP has been explained, you will understand why companies work on MMP. MMP stands from Minimum Marketable Product and it is the minimum number of products that can be produced and delivered so that they can be presentable and usable. So, once we have our Minimum Viable Product, we could take the next step and try to introduce our product to the market. But to do that we need to know something about MMP.

MMP – what is it?

Minimum Marketable Product is a term which refers to a product that has the lowest number of relevant features but is already suitable for sale and marketing. Such an approach allows for a faster implementation of products into the production environment which also means profits are generated quicker and earlier. MMP allows you to focus on a limited number of functions instead of creating a hidden product for a longer period of time. In addition not only do we minimise the risk but also gain on time and costs. Building the perfect application that we are simply going to release into the world is never the best solution!

Going from MPV to MMP – when and why should you shift from MPV to MMP?

One of the best and well-known examples of MMP is the launch of the original iPhone in 2007. On the one hand, Apple’s teams put a lot of effort and work to build a hand, the phone lacked a significant number of basic functions, e.g. copy and paste or sending messages to multiple users at the same time! After the initial success, Apple began to work on expanding and improving the system.

So, we could ask – how can we build MMP? First, limit the product to a specific market segment (do not try to please everyone at the same time!). Next, select only those functionalities that are necessary and essential for a given target group (it is necessary to identify those features that will lead to success in the market.). Remember, use MVP to determine the right functionalities of your product.

How to bridge the gap between MVP and MMP?

Every decision you make depends on result MVP validation. If it goes well, you could start thinking about MMP and launching the product to the market. If not, you may have a problem, because you will not know what and where it went wrong – was it the product or the idea itself. Theoretically, losing is easier, because of the certainty that your idea and/or the product (or at least something) is not good and does not work well. If the validation of MVP is successful, you win, but it doesn’t mean that you will profit again. So, in order to have greater range of possibilities, you could validate (or invalidate) your MVP in one way – by shifting to an MMP. This method will also reveal to you all the features your product must have. If you want to win, you will find the MVP market helpful in defining your target audience. First, you must collect constructive feedback, so try to find someone who will benefit most from your idea. Second, the greatest problem of start-up owners is their inactivity. Once they confirm their idea as useful and beneficial, they give it up. You have to start looking for more data and for more feedback. The next step after MVP and role of MMP in this process depends on the experience of the customer with your product. It could show you what to do next.

Can you skip MVP?

To put it simply, we can conclude that one MMP is made up of one MVP. So, normally, you couldn’t skip the MVP. The difference is that we treat MVP in terms of experiments. We collect user feedback and improve the products based on it. Sometimes your MVP is made up of a simple prototype, thanks to which you can test the reasonableness of the idea. This approach increases the success of the final application or system. Remember to always have a clear vision of the product you manufacture. When thinking about MVP, keep in mind also MMP, otherwise, it may turn out that your product contains several dozen functions that are valuable separately, but put together do not make much sense.

Launching MMP

If you are sure that your MVP is valid, you could begin working on the full and final product. So, if MMP is just a set of features based on which the decision of the product launch will be made, you have to question yourself constantly about them, their functionality and necessity. If you collect all the feedback about MVP, you can start. Firstly, you must prioritize your backlogs. Try to obtain the true data and facts about your product and consider why it could either work well or fail. When creating MMP you have to follow the customers’ advice and do what they want. Your backlog, which you must create, should enlist all the features which are important to launch your product on market. The clients’ responses could help you to improve your product and find all the features necessary to launch MMP. If you do it well, you will win and achieve success. While launching MMP, the feedback and the analysis of MVP proved to be very important.

If you want to win and launch your product to the market, like Dropbox or any other start-up, you must create the best Minimum Viable Product and analyse all the feedback to constantly improve your product. It is important to bridge the gap and to observe the market. If you can predict the expectations, you can react and introduce changes to give the people what they want. In the end, this is your goal.

Blockchain Finance Financial Services

Token economics explained: tokenomics examples & tips

Post author By Francois Devillez
Post date 20/08/2018
No Comments on Token economics explained: tokenomics examples & tips

Nowadays, a lot of projects are popping up within the blockchain industry, claiming to be the next big innovation that will change the world. In reality, only a minority is really disruptive. Because of the innovative character of this blockchain technology, the number of types of tokens and used cases is unlimited: tracking ownership, provenance of documents, supply chain management, insurance and so on.

In this article, I’ll introduce this high-profile concept in crypto space – tokenomics, or token economics. This new paradigm is shaking the traditional economy, but it includes many challenges. I’ll underline its key-concepts, and its main pain points to keep in mind during the creation of a new token ecosystem.

Tokens and token economics

Notion

Token economics (or tokenomics) is the study of a new type of economy that can be defined as the design of a particular ecosystem in a blockchain environment. There are as many ecosystems as startups and projects in the blockchain industry, where tokenization is a popular process. Some of these ecosystems and types of tokens are ingenious and disruptive, others are pretty dangerous and unstable.

Putting it in simple terms every ecosystem is composed of several elements, and the crypto token functions as the central element of this new type of economy. As you might know, a token is a digital asset that can belong to different categories: utility/security and fungible/non-fungible and have a limited supply or lack a maximum supply. Let’s explain what those are, as these are important terms in tokenomics.

Utility or security?

A utility token is a digital asset used to offer the access to products and/or services on a platform. And the other is a ‘security token’ – that derives its value from an external and tangible asset and offers to the token holders a wide range of rights (entitlement to a share of profits, ownership or equity in a legal entity, and so on).

The line between these two categories of tokens is thin, so it can be problematic in tokenomics, given the different regulatory frameworks applicable to these two categories The actual regulatory framework isn’t totally transparent about the criteria for qualifying a token as a security or a utility token. However, there’s still a set of guidelines that allows the blockchain entrepreneurs to create a token that aligns with their expectations as closely as possible, legally and technically. The criteria include (but are not limited to):

the possibility of varying returns between the token holders based on their participation or use of the network
the manual action that is required outside the network in order for the holder to get the benefit of the token
the timing of the token sale.

Fungible or non-fungible?

Depending on the business scope of the project, a token might be fungible or non-fungible. The difference is quite easy to figure out. Fungible tokens are interchangeable and can be divided into smaller token units (example: Binance Coin). Non-fungible tokens are non-interchangeable and can’t (actually) be divided (for example, CryptoKitties. Each token represents a unique cat).

In a tokenomics analysis, the choice between a fungible or non-fungible token will entirely depend on the used case-study. Let’s take an example of a Cyber Security platform where a Cyber Analyst is rewarded for providing insights on cyber security. It wouldn’t make sense for them to receive a non-fungible token. The reward is like a paper bill. Imagine that the token is worth 10 dollars, and the reward is worth 5 dollars. The Cyber analyst won’t care about a 0.5 token, because the value is the same for him or her. Now, let’s imagine a diamond supply chain platform. Each non-fungible token is linked to one diamond. It makes sense for the buyer of a diamond to receive THE token that has his diamond as asset-back, and not a random non-fungible token.

The Ecosystem

Token-flow

Designing an ecosystem requires a careful analysis of the token-flow. When doing your tokenomics analysis, ask yourself these questions:

What are the values that the ecosystem is trying to promote and how is the incentivization organised to adopt a determined behaviour?
What are the sources of input (injection) and output (rewards) of tokens?
How can we build a sustainable and stable ecosystem in the long-term?

Building your ecosystem is thinking about the future and drivers that lead the user to come, stay and interact with the platform. That’s the core of token economics! Plenty of projects have badly designed ecosystems. The system is based on a disproportionate allocation of tokens. Combined with a hard cap of tokens emitted, this can lead to the collapse of the ecosystem because there won’t be enough available tokens.

Architecture: dual or simple structure

In order to choose between a simple and a dual token architecture, you should take several criteria into account. The alignment of the interest between the users of the platform developed and the investors, cost of development (e.g. listing of tokens on the exchanges) but before all: a real raison d’etre. Tokenomics make sense only if you know what the goal of the project and the purpose of the token is. So you must design the ecosystem of the project to be suitable for a given structure. In some cases, a simple token structure will fit better with the goal pursued by the project.

Steemit is the best example of a dual-token Ecosystem. The raison d’etre of the Steem Dual Token structure is to incentivize the commitment of the community in the long-term. So, it affords a long-term growth of crypto assets rather than a short-term one.

Stabilization mechanism

It’s important to manage the threats linked to a crowdsale bonus that can have a negative impact on the token economics. Indeed, some blockchain startups are proposing high bonuses (up-to 80% bonus) to early bird investors. This can lead to various dangerous situations where a single investor can have a critical influence on the coin price stability.

Monetary policy

Token economics and crypto coins are closely linked to a predetermined monetary policy.

A monetary policy consists of measures an institution can take in order to create stability for a certain currency. For example, the central bank has three important instruments to achieve this stability:

changing the credit policy towards other banks,
buying or selling government bonds and foreign currencies in order to change the money supply
and lastly changing the reserve ratio for banks.

These actions form the core strategy of stabilizing a currency.

You have to adopt the right monetary policy for each ecosystem. If an inflationary monetary policy will afford more stability in a non-profitable ecosystem (Steemit), a deflationary system will be more suitable for a profitable ecosystem. So it’s important to build a core strategy in order to maintain a safe value for the potential token holders.

Conclusion

Token economics isn’t easy. Designing your ecosystem has its pitfalls. It’s more than a threat for the future development of a project. A weak ecosystem based on a wrong business model could lead to legal issues and dramatic consequences for the token holders. I’ve seen some terrible ecosystems in my career and saved people from really bad ideas and failure-gonna-be crypto projects. So don’t hesitate to contact me here at Espeo (box down below). I’m confident that our team will build the most suitable ecosystem for your project that will help you save both crypto assets and your fiat currency.

Blockchain Finance Financial Services

Customer loyalty management on the blockchain

Post author By Mickael Costache
Post date 09/08/2018
No Comments on Customer loyalty management on the blockchain

A spotlight on our client, Gabro, who noticed loyalty program management wasn’t working and decided to fix that using blockchain. We’ve talked to their CEO, Andy Chen, as well as the architect of the blockchain solution, our very own Marcin Zduniak. How exactly will Gabro work, is it a blockchain loyalty program? How will Gabro innovate on customer loyalty program software? Read on.

What made you feel there were problems that needed fixing in customer loyalty management?

Let me start by telling you a little secret about loyalty programs. Most of them don’t work.
What do I mean by that? Our research shows that 78% of customers are dissatisfied with their loyalty programs because they have to carry all these plastic cards/paper coupons or remember so many accounts and passwords. There’s no good customer loyalty program software that can help the user. Not only that, but loyalty program management operators bring in additional obstacles by setting blackout periods and ridiculous expiry dates. So, it’s highly difficult for consumers to redeem their points or coupons.

It’s actually not an accident. Every expired point becomes profit for the company. So you may ask why bother having all these programs in the first place if the redemption is only 7% and all the customers walk away feeling cheated…

So that’s how Gabrotech was born? How did the team come together?

Yes, pretty much – it was born out of frustration. The loyalty programs often seemed like a waste of time and money. I remember how many points I’ve wasted.
So, the 6 of us wanted to resolve this problem: how can we make loyalty programs really work for the customer? We all went and analyzed different solutions, and we have all came to the same conclusion – we need to use blockchain to resolve this – let’s do a big blockchain loyalty program! Only after some time, we then realized that our blockchain solution could really disrupt the loyalty industry. Finally, we decided to create Gabrotech to get more like-minded people on board.

Speaking of like-minded people. How did you find Espeo, and how is our cooperation going?

Espeo has a great reputation in this industry. Like Gabrotech, they are creative in their solutions and our partnership has gone from strength to strength.
Actually, Espeo is part of what makes us different from other ICOs. We incorporated the most innovative blockchain technology with customer loyalty management, thanks to you. Our Token GBO will be a currency as well as a trading tool to use, exchange, and sell on one blockchain-based platform.
Our blockchain solution provides proof of ownership for rewards, contracts (terms) and conversion capability at low operating costs. New partners and coalition could be added to the program almost instantly, with low security risk even if a partner is unknown and not trusted yet.

So what exactly are you offering? Customer loyalty program software? Or an app?

No, it’s something completely different. It’s not the question of having another discount app. At Gabrotech, we have designed a whole new ecosystem based on decentralization. It’s also more than just a blockchain loyalty program. Customer loyalty programs can no longer set these ridiculous rules or charge you with hefty fees, making it hard for you to redeem the points you’ve earned.
Also, users can freely trade their loyalty points between different programs. When you don’t have enough hotel points, how about using your air miles to get the upgrade you want instantly?
As a part of our special customer loyalty program software, our digital wallet 2.0 will allow you to manage all your programs with only one app and one password. And if you have idle points, you can give them to your friends, swap them with something else or even sell them. Additionally, when you’re traveling abroad and don’t have the local currency, you can use your Gabro pre-paid card and spend your air miles just like cash.

Why did you choose blockchain for customer loyalty management? Is it truly as ‘revolutionary’ as people say?

Since we are targeting 60,000 merchant outlets and 60 million customers, blockchain is the secret sauce for our customer loyalty management ecosystem. It’s because:

The complicated terms and conditions and conversion rates could be developed using smart contracts for speed (4 weeks vs 5 mins)
Blockchain is immutable and could reduce fraud or running the risk for being redeemed twice
Adding a new merchant in blockchain is fast and could greatly reduces costs

Let’s take a closer look at the technology behind Gabro. A few words from Marcin Zduniak, Head of Blockchain at Espeo.

The initial scope of Espeo Blockchain’s involvement was to design the architecture of the complete GabroTech solution, both the centralized part of it and all of the blockchain related building blocks and internal components. All the details can be reviewed in the technical whitepaper we prepared (see it here). But let’s look at some of the more interesting technologies we’re planning on implementing.

our own Plasma Cash implementation for trustless, cheap and rapid loyalty points transfer
private permissioned Ethereum ledger (PoA) for the trustless loyalty points redemption and issuance rules
advanced cryptography and schemes (BIP-32, PBKDF2, Shamir’s Secret Sharing) for the secure wallet development
user-friendly access and authorization to the wallet (biometric factors like face recognition using 3D scanning directly from the mobile phone)
multi-currency exchange (with decentralized and also centralized processes, depending on the needs of given market — like level of trustlessness, liquidity needs, pace of the trading)
atomic swaps of the points and tokens where it is technically feasible and economically practical
integration with existing loyalty points providers and issuers and the way these legacy points could be fairly tokenized and redeemed and/or exchanged for other providers’ points
a scheme of using the blockchain technology in the off-line Point-of-Sale scenarios (similar to NFC in regular micropayment schemes)
integrated analytical tools employed with machine learning algorithms and Big Data-type of storages that could suggest the best loyalty point deals for the end-users and points-holders and also suggest ideas for new profitable promotions to the merchants

After an extensive research period, we came up with the technology stack and process flow design. Right now, we can say it’s both secure and economically viable. What’s more, it appears to be attractive to the end customers. Both loyalty points holders and merchants that are about to redeem them will likely find this an improvement on customer loyalty program software. We’re now planning on the next phases of our cooperation, namely the implementation phase and the precise release roadmap.

Why invest in GBO?

The sum of all loyalty points issued across industries globally is more than $500 billion. Most of these points are idle. So, essentially, Gabrotech is helping to monetize your idle loyalty points. This will attract millions of consumers to give up their points in return for GBO. Our merchant partners would also want to hold GBO for hedging purposes. So, when reaching our target of 6,000 merchant outlets and 10 million users, we will become a loyalty currency on our own. The merchants might even reward their customers with GBO directly rather than their own branded customer loyalty points. Just like banks buy air miles to reward the customers spending on their credit cards.
The network effect is created when we add more merchants to our ecosystem. This means they will bring more of their loyalty members into our platform. It will then attract more merchants to join us in order to increase their customer base. Gabro clearly offers more benefits than regular customer loyalty program software.
Our tokenomics model shows that 43 to 50% of our tokens would end up in the hands of consumers and our merchant partners. This creates a huge demand of GBO and boosts up the price steadily. Just like bitcoin, the more widely it is accepted and used, the more the price will go up.

Can I convert my GBOs into real money?

Yes! Our Multi-Currency Conversion Engine allows you to rapidly convert your GabroToken to fiat currency at the real time market value. In addition, Gabro may also be exchanged to points in any blockchain loyalty program.

How do you see yourself and Gabrotech in the future – say, in 5 or 10 years?

Gabrotech will revolutionize customer loyalty program software! It will be the largest loyalty exchange platform in Asia and cover all industry verticals. Closed loop loyalty platforms become obsolete. Gabro releases billions of dollars from the idle points sitting everywhere… sounds amazing, but it’s not unrealistic!