While it may seem like the blockchain tech is only reserved for pining after money, it is not all true. There is a blockchain tech platform for the unbanked and underprivileged in emerging global economies. Humaniq is a London-based fintech firm that provides next-generation financial services using a hybrid blockchain-based mobile application. It is focused on worldwide financial inclusion by providing access to global markets, greater opportunities, and novel financial solutions using re-purposed technologies for those gaining access to financial services for the first time.
The need for Humaniq
According to the World Bank around 1.5 billion people around the world don’t have a government issued ID. The lack of which makes it impossible for these individuals to meet the Know Your Customer (KYC) guidelines and open a traditional bank account. Humaniq aims to solve this problem by using bio-identification in order to create personal identities on a blockchain.
A recent World Bank study reveals that more than 50% of adults hailing from the poorest nations are in fact, unbanked. The severe lack of financial inclusion is one of the major obstacles in the global poverty reduction. It is a relatively untapped market that banks have been trying to enter, but the lack of consistent, reliable identification has been a barrier to offering services.
Interestingly enough the ‘unbanked section’ of the population does use mobile phones and that is exactly where the business potential lies. Humaniq wants to capitalize on this widespread access to mobile phones and merge it with a blockchain concept to present its financial services.
According to its whitepaper,
Humaniq is not welfare or charity, we are more about empowering people to change their lives and pull themselves out of economic disparity by participating in a new digital economy that they can help build.
The basics of Humaniq
Humaniq was founded in 2016 by Alex Fork and globally marketed in 2017. The design of the application is based on the idea of poverty eradication and the emergence of a global economy.
It is a banking application based on blockchain technology, available for both Android and iOS users. Its blockchain and biometric recognition-based mobile application is aimed at opening the banking world to a whole new generation of the unbanked population.
Functioning on the Ethereum blockchain, it offers core-banking operations along with third party service availability. These services are offered in the form of peer to peer lending, data security, loans, and more.
The benefits of Humaniq
- Humaniq utilizes the fourth generation Ethereum blockchainto be able to function as a mobile bank. It is partially modeled around PayPal’s growth concept.
- It pays the users for signing in, completing tasks and utilizing the tokens to undertake complex trading activities and financial services like peer-to-peer trading, insurance purchase, lending, etc.
- The hybrid blockchain technology provides a financial infrastructure to the unbanked and underprivileged masses.
- Furthermore, the idea behind the application remains a provision of zero fees for money transfer. It aims at utilizing the application for providing work opportunity to individuals in developing countries.
- The idea has gained UN’s support towards charity without corruption, availability of funds for lending and entrepreneurial development.
Features of Humaniq
Biometric identification
The three-step procedure of face, voice and device recognition fully protects the users and makes it more secure against hackers.
HMQ token as currency
HMQ helps individuals who have no capital to earn tokens for activity undertaken as part of the application. These activities might be as simple as answering questions or watching a video. The tokens earned from those activities can, in turn, be used to purchase and trade in Ether or Bitcoin and also avail services offered by the HQM
HMQ mobile wallet
It allows users to access their account balance, transfer funds and conduct transactions through its mobile wallet.
Recent events
Earlier this year in July, Humaniq participated in an All-Party Parliamentary Group of Blockchain (APPG Blockchain) at the U.K Parliament. The mission of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Blockchain is to ensure that industry and society benefits from the full potential of Blockchain and other distributed ledger technologies
Humaniq was announced as one of the world’s leading use cases of blockchain for social good for delivering financial services in 16 African countries.
Africa is the fastest growing region in the world, in terms of both population and economy. In this article, Humaniq CEO @Alex_Fork explains in detail what opportunities await those who decide to invest in the continent.#HMQmediahttps://t.co/GHstzjU5Nf
— Humaniq (@Humaniq) September 19, 2018
The Humaniq team is extremely excited to have been part of the spectacular reception at the UK Parliament, coordinated by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Blockchain, and we feel honoured to be recognised as a leading use case for delivering social good using innovative technologies. We won’t stop here, as we will soon expand to provide our services in even more countries
Said Anton Mozgovoy, VP Technology who attended the Event.
