A Singapore and Estonia-based company, Change is building a marketplace offering access to numerous financial services within a single platform, as well as a spending card. The company is going to conduct an initial coin offering on the 16th of September to fund the creation of this first decentralized bank. The ICO will be open for 30 days or until the target of 200,000 Ether is reached. It is piloting with the use of digital identification through the e-Residency programme by the Government of Estonia.
Kaspar Korjus, e-Residency Managing Director, said: “Digital Identity is one of the keys to solving financial inclusion so we are delighted that Change is using our secure government-backed digital identities to help solve this issue and develop their business.”
Powered by blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies, Change’s marketplace will allow a user to select between various specialized Fintech service-providers, within the same app. To ensure the smoothest experience and operational efficiency, all service-providers are connected via an open API. By using cryptocurrencies, Change can surpass drawbacks of existing financial infrastructure.
CEO of Change, Kristjan Kangro stated: “We live in a time where for almost every single service a bank offers, there is a Fintech company that utilizes state-of-the-art technology and a lean & mean team to provide a better, faster and cheaper service. This isn’t a forecast, this is today,”
In order for the marketplace to be compliant with regulation, Change is building a multi-tiered standardized Know-Your-Customer utility. Users won’t need to present extensive information to sign up for the app and get a crypto payment card. However, according to Kangro, to use regulated Fintech services, a person’s identity will need to be verified. Estonia’s e-Residency conducts a thorough background check, while also having a very strong potential customer-base to offer services to.
Recently, several new developments have occurred for e-residents, including the possibility to have an access to borderless business banking through the e-Residency’s partnership with the Finnish fintech company Holvi. With Change’s marketplace for individuals, e-Residency will soon be able to offer a full suite of fintech banking services to e-residents.
E-Residency offers the possibility to open and run a global EU company fully online from anywhere in the world. Estonia is offering a borderless digital society for global citizens by providing e-Residency. Everyone can apply for the transnational government-issued digital identity and benefit from the e-Residency platform, which is based on inclusion, legitimacy and transparency.
