The company is going to conduct an initial coin offering (ICO) on 16 September to fund the creation of this first decentralized bank. They are piloting with the use of digital identification through the e-Residency programme by the Government of Estonia.
"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." — Kaspar Korjus
"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," says Kristjan Kangro, CEO of Change. The company focuses on nailing one specific service, be it transfers (Transferwise), payments (Stripe), investing (Smartly) or insurance (Oscar).
Powered by blockchain technology and crypto currencies, Change's marketplace will allow a user to select between various specialized Fintech service-providers, all within the same app. To ensure a seamless experience and operational efficiency, all service-providers are connected via an open API. By using crypto currencies, Change can surpass drawbacks of existing financial infrastructure.
In order for the marketplace to be regulatorily compliant, Change is building a multi-tiered standardized KYC (Know-Your-Customer) utility. Users won't need to present extensive information to simply sign up for the app and get a crypto payment card. However, "to use regulated Fintech services, you'll need to verify your identity" says Kangro. Estonia's e-Residency conducts a thorough background check, while also having a very strong potential customer-base to offer services to.
In the recent months, several new developments have occurred for e-residents, including the possibility to have an access to borderless business banking, thanks to 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.
Change's initial coin offering is taking place on 16 September and will be open for 30 days or until the target of 200,000Ether is reached.
