AUSTRALIAN emerging financial technology firm Geniusto International Ltd. is set to launch its “social-emotional” banking service called ePERA (electronic money) to the Philippines to bring a unique and successful banking experience.
Geniusto International founder, CEO and mManaging Director Shane Hermans said that “the social banking platform ePera will leverage blockchain for KYC/AML [Know Your Customer/Anti-Money Laundering policy, thereby] de-risking new customers for banks.”
Hermans said he also intends to see the platform embrace cryptocurrency as part of their loyalty program enhancing the peer-to-peer social banking experience while providing social banking to the community and family-oriented groups.
“The logic of payment is the same in all banking system,” Hermans said. “But what makes ePera unique is it allows users to transfer and send money and at the same time set up group payments. This means, a group of individuals can pool in their money to buy goods or services using their online accounts.”
“The other parts of the platform is importing new contacts or credit cards like Visa or Mastercard and even to leverage the market for special deals and get rewards,” Hermans added.
In addition, when enrolled in ePera, payment of overdue bills is made easy because the system will send a customer an alert whenever a payment is due, including electricity, water, cable service and others. The way ePera is interfaced also sets it apart from traditional banking system, according to Hermans.
“Social banking is designed to manage community, family and friends’ finances more effectively,” he said, adding this includes household budgeting that are “so crucial for young couples in the wealth-accumulation phase of their working lives and raising a family.”
The move by Geniusto supports the Philippine commercial banking industry’s initiative to capitalize on blockchain technology to promote financial inclusion and improve the domestic money-transfer services. The firm said the support of the banking sector augurs well for the application possibilities of blockchain for distributed ledger technology for wire transfers and other traditional banking services.
According to Hermans, the new social banking platform ePERA will give first-mover advantage to selected banking partners who wish to leverage on social buying trends as part of their digital banking ecosystem. The social banking platform is designed for digital traditional and nontraditional banks, and brings a wide range of features and opportunities for banking clients and business partners.
Social banking service enables banks to bring their users online, encouraging and incentivizing them to interact with financial institution’s products and services. This will be mutually beneficial for both the business and the consumer in helping grow the social banking ecosystems.