Thanks NEM community for supporting the first NEM based project in New Zealand!
Paying with Choice utilises NEM blockchain to eliminate the use of credit card transactions, reduce fees and redistribute a small percentage to charities for social impact.
A Choice to pay is now a choice to make a difference
BENEFITS
NEM
1. Regulatory access in New Zealand
2. North Star project for social impact on blockchain, using NEM
3. A global payments protocol will be developed on NEM
4. Increased transaction of XEMs
5. Create NEM partnerships at high levels in blockchain, commercial, and government in New Zealand
6. Support other organisations to develop on the NEM blockchain
7. Creation of NEM developer ecosystem and capability in New Zealand
Consumers
- Reduced Transaction Fees
- Small % of fee given to charity
- Innovative QR code payment
- Makes a measurable difference to charities every time they pay
Merchants
- Reduced transaction fees
- Transparent and measurable charitable impact
- By-pass hardware payment systems
- Innovative QR code payment
Charities
- Robin hood model of credit card transaction fees
- Trackable, transparent donations
- Accountable charitable giving
Join the discussion on our Choice Telegram Channel
Choice is a NEM-powered payment protocol platform aiming to replace existing payment gateways with direct transactions, change consumer and retailer behaviour, and create tangible social impact at a protocol level using the NEM blockchain. We have the support of Kiwibank’s innovation vehicle the Kiwibank Fintech Accelerator 2.0 (Kiwibank is a registered bank ultimately owned by the government) and are aiming to be the first Kiwibank-backed NEM project
Choice is brought to you by the NEM Auckland, New Zealand team.
This proposal has been approved for use on the NEM blockchain by NEM Foundation members.
Please help to support the development of Choice. We look forward to using New Zealand as our incubator for creating real global impact and positive adoption of blockchain technology using NEM.
Now, we are applying for the funding support from the NEM Community Fund programme.
Please join us in discussion on our Choice Telegram Channel
Please note this proposal is requesting funding for an early-stage organisation, not just an idea.
The Choice team has already invested into solution design, web, creative, and strategic development, proofs of concept, and have leveraged their existing connections, time and experience to forge partnerships and gain advisory from some of the best blockchain development studios in the world and New Zealand’s only state-owned bank, Kiwibank.
SUMMARY
A choice to pay is now a choice to make a difference. Introducing Choice. The NEM blockchain will enable a new; liberated value transfer protocol and sales infrastructure that will facilitate direct transactions from consumers to merchants, greatly reducing the 2-6% transaction fees that credit card companies such as Visa and Mastercard pass on to businesses and consumers.
We will give consumers the power to allocate the much smaller Choice transaction fee to charities, social enterprises and causes all over the world. We are challenging consumers to make a choice. We are enabling consumers to use their payments to have a purposeful, impactful and measurable difference. The most exciting part is that this will lead to widespread adoption of NEM blockchain technology without the consumer having to know they are interacting on the blockchain.
The Choice team has successfully been accepted to accelerate Choice in New Zealand’s leading FinTech accelerator; Kiwibank FinTech Accelerator 2.0. This commences February 12th 2018.
NEM will be at the forefront of creating tangible impact, changing the average consumer’s behaviour without asking them to change any of their habits. We have chosen NEM because of our interactions with NEM Foundation and community, who have been supportive from our first meetings.
Building on our current momentum, we will utilise this opportunity to use New Zealand as our global incubator for payments with tangible, measurable impact. Our recommendation is that our proposal is supported by the NEM community to deliver a tangible, scalable blockchain application showcasing the power and utility of NEM. We want to create mass market adoption of NEM blockchain technology world-wide. The beauty is that this technology does not alter a user’s habits, it simply enhances their experience and impact.
Choice is set to be the first Kiwibank-backed NEM project.
Choice has successfully been accepted to the Kiwibank Fintech Accelerator who fully support and endorse our vision.
Choice + Kiwibank Fintech Accelerator Benefits
- $20,000NZD equity to accelerate adoption
- Provides Choice and NEM access to discussion with New Zealand’s; Financial Markets Authority (FMA), the Reserve Bank (RBNZ), and Government (Kiwibank is ultimately 100% owned by the New Zealand Government).
We are convinced that Choice has a significant value proposition that will bring even more value to the NEM ecosystem. Development of not just the application of the technology but the NEM developer ecosystem within New Zealand will create a lasting ROI for the NEM Community. Thus, our work contributes to the value for every NEM investor (XEM token holders) because the XEM token value is related to the value of the NEM blockchain technology projects, the usefulness to the world, and its visibility in the media.
Active Members: are Alex McCall (@alexmccall), Ossie Amir (@am_os), Fraser McConnell (@FraserMcConnell) who are the current NEM Auckland Meetup organisers and team. We are actively involved in building and advocating NEM related projects & initiatives across New Zealand. Feel free to get in touch via Telegram at any time.
THE CHOICE PROBLEM
The three key problems that Choice is addressing are;
- Transaction fees are a broken relic of the past - payments providers are profiting to the tune of billions of dollars every year with this being sent offshore.
- Millennials and tech savvy consumers want to make positive change in the world more than ever, having started more charitable and social enterprises than all other previous age groups combined. Yet they still feel disenfranchised and mistrusting of current systems.
- Donating to charity and social enterprise is seen as an increasingly intangible, non-transparent, and immeasurable way to make a difference.
Choice is creating a trust based, transparent value exchange protocol, that will shift this transfer of value to the people in a measurable and impactful way.
- Status-quo Convenient Payment Protocol Problems
E.g. Visa Paywave, Mastercard Paypass - Small transactions unnecessarily using credit card network
- Unnecessary transaction fees of 3-6%
- Small business struggles to absorb costs
- Consumer often unaware of such fees and impact
- Fees redistributed offshore
- 97% of New Zealand businesses are SMEs
“Between May 2016 and April 2017 approximately NZD80.6 billion of electronic transactions were processed by New Zealand financial institutions, which corresponds to about NZD221 million per day in roughly 4.4 million transactions.” This volume and transactional amount of digital payment does not reflect the revenues and tax paid by these large multinational corporations." - RBNZ
Source (1),(2),(3)
Millennials and Generation Z
- Concerned with changing our world for the better
- Disengaged with current social norms
- Barrier and lack of transparency to contribute to purposeful causes
- Started more charitable and social enterprises than all other previous age groups combined
Charities
- Struggling to communicate impact in an attention economy
- Young consumers view as inauthentic and untrustworthy
CHOICE SOLUTION
- Integration with Kiwibank’s infrastructure
- Back-end accounts and compliance support
- Value transfer protocol using NEM Apostille, Mosaic and Namespaces
- Creation of crypto-fiat on/off ramps
- User focused adoption with seamless blockchain integration
- NEM blockchain at the heart of transparency and trust
- Measurable and tangible IMPACT - P2P, B2B, Nation 2 Nation
- Create Namespace with each bank in New Zealand that are OCR compliant in conjunction with FMA and RBNZ
- Every bank in New Zealand can provide Choice services to their customers; merchants, consumers and charities
Phase 1
- Brand design
- Web development
- Solution architecture
- Proof of Concept
Relationship building and partnership establishment;
- Blockchainlabs.nz technical advice
- Centrality.ai exploration of partnership to rapidly accelerate launch of protocol
- Duncan Cotterill navigation of NZ’s blockchain legal framework
- Grant Thornton accounting support
- Kiwibank has accepted Choice into their FinTech Accelerator for 2018
Completed Dec. 2017
Phase 2
Accelerated development
- Development of protocol utilising NEM blockchain
- Development of transaction platform
- Beta testing
Phase 3
Roll-out to New Zealand and guide the protocol toward mass adoption.
The Choice team has had globally-recognised success in the past with bringing innovative technology to market across the spectrum, from social enterprise to enterprise organisations.
We understand our market better than any other, being millennials ourselves, and have close connections in our networks to almost every top New Zealand retailer who are already expressing interest in adopting and marketing Choice for us. For them, it equals a significant percentage of gross profit back in their profits. For us, it will lead to mass adoption very quickly.
Phase 4
Worldwide product deployment and retailer integration.
Create online integrations for quick and easy payment with Choice, and build compliant APIs and technical infrastructure that will make it easy for more banks in the Southern hemisphere, and then the rest of the world, to adopt.
Choice will not only become the payment method of preference for consumers and retailers around the world but it will create an impactful, measurable difference globally. Utilising NEM blockchain technology this will provide scalability and impact worldwide. With Choice’s vision to enable every payment to make a difference, we can change the wealth distribution in the world, and create the next generation of accountable charities and social enterprises that are funded by the people.
The funding from this community proposal will make this a reality.
Revenue Model
We are building the next generation value transfer protocol, that’s owned and controlled by Kiwi consumers and businesses alike. New Zealand will act as a global incubator to scale the use of NEM blockchain globally for the benefit of everyone. Choice will facilitate;
Pay merchants directly
Scan a QR code at the counter or generate one on existing payment machines.
Receive a % back in tokens
Tokens are equal or lesser than the fees merchants normally would pay.
Allocate real funds to social causes
Use your Choice app to direct tokens to charities all over New Zealand
Trackable, traceable and impactful
Measurable impact for consumers and merchants
Merchants save on crippling transaction fees, consumers can pay conveniently, while also donating to a cause.
BUSINESS MODEL
Choice has 3 models to generate revenue as well as to increase the use of XEMs.
1. Business to Consumer
- Web based platform accessible on any internet enabled device with a camera
- Seamless account creation utilising NEM Namespaces and trackability of transactions and impact utilising NEM Apostille
- Contribution based on 1:1 social enterprise model. 50% of transaction fees go to your choice of purposeful cause and 50% towards maintaining the technology and growing the impact for consumers worldwide. For example 1% contribution = 0.5% Choice growth and scalability worldwide -> 0.5% goes to your choice of charitable cause.
- Milestone 4 will complete the Choice Mobile Apps (Android and iOS)
2. Business to Business
- Relationships with major New Zealand banks will enable crypto-fiat on/off ramps
- Seamless transactions between fiat, bank to bank and the crypto world
- Enable banks and business to interact and utilise NEM blockchain technology without knowing they are utilising blockchain technology
- Seamless API integration for e-commerce platforms to integrate payment with Choice, utilising the NEM blockchain
- Targeted Australasian banks:
3. Business to Government
- Kiwibank Fintech Accelerator will provide access to regulatory bodies in Wellington beginning February 2018
- Working from the outside in, we can define the terms and assist shaping cryptocurrency adoption in New Zealand
- Targeted regulators:
Team
Ossie Amir
Ossie spent years as a creative technologist and then venture capitalist during which he helped create the largest artificial intelligence joint venture in Australasia. He is now a serial founder of organisations which span across conversational artificial intelligence, sustainable carbon nanotechnology, third-world labour equality, and machine learning for wellness. Ossie was recently selected to pitch an idea for Visa’s Everyone, Everywhere Initiative, aimed at making payments easier for disabled communities. The idea utilised computer vision, e-Braille technology and temporary IoT devices and won top prize in its category for reducing friction and access to payments solutions.
Fraser McConnell
Fraser is the Cofounder and Team Lead of the social enterprise Squawk Squad that provides everyone the opportunity to save New Zealand’s native birds.
He led Squawk Squad’s Kickstarter campaign in May 2017, setting out to raise $20,000 and instead raising over $70,000. Squawk Squad recently engaged 40,000 children in a digital education pack for NZ’s Conservation Week and were awarded a global WWF Conservation Innovation Award for their impact in the education space. Squawk Squad was also awarded as a highly commended finalist in the NZ Innovation Awards 2017.
Alex McCall
Working in 5 countries across 4 continents for global mining companies such as Rio Tinto, Alex has a diverse background and now applies his skills with impactful purpose.
In his recent involvement with a leading New Zealand social enterprise Squawk Squad - saving New Zealand’s native birds through IoT sensor-connected traps, he has helped gamify conservation in real time. He led the team creating a digital education package for New Zealand Conservation Week 2017. The uptake nationally by the teachers of New Zealand was phenomenal, distributed to 40,000 children from over 1,100 schools. Alex has a penchant for guerrilla marketing and growth hacking.
Choice MILESTONES
Due to the fluctuation of the market we respect the NEM Community Fund. We would like to include a cap of our ask to enable more proposals to be funded in the future based on a recommendation from the NEM Foundation.
We are asking for 2.5 Million XEMs or $750K USD - The disbursed amount at each milestone is the LOWER of the two.
For example, if the dollar price of XEM averages $1.00 during our milestone development, Choice will be disbursed 750K XEMs in total.
We are seeking 2.5Million XEMs (or $750K USD) to accelerate the project and operate a standalone self-funded social enterprise by the start of 2019. Our credentials and history as award-winning social and technological entrepreneurs, founders of numerous startups, local and global connectors, creative marketers, strategists, blockchain early adopters and advocates should give comfort to the community that we have the experience to deliver on this project.
Milestone 1 “Roadmap” - Architecture, Protocol Documentation, Partnerships
Milestone 2 “Dev Phase 1”- POS Integration with NEM blockchain Proof of Concept
Milestone 3 “Dev Phase 2” - App dev. (iOS + Android)
Milestone 4 “Launch” - User onboarding
Milestone 5 “Adoption”- Nationwide roll-out
Milestone 6 “Expansion” - Global awareness and integration
Milestone 1 - Roadmap
13.6% 340K XEMs ($100K USD) to be disbursed upon completion of the following:
- Complete Protocol documentation
- Map crypto-fiat on/off ramp integration with New Zealand banking system
- Complete full Architecture of network
- Press release “Choice powered by NEM Foundation”
- Progress Blog posts updates to NEM Community x2
- Recruitment of NEM blockchain development capability
Milestone 2 - Development Phase 1
26.4% 660K XEMs ($200K USD) to be disbursed upon completion of the following:
- Digital Choice asset created on NEM blockchain
- Establish Simplified Payment Verification “SPV” architecture
- Complete Choice proof of concept alpha testing phase 1
*Travel to Consensus 2018 CoinDesk to showcase NEM blockchain use case - Video blog with update to NEM community x2
- Onboarding 1x UX/UI Dev, 1x App developer, 1x NEM Blockchain Developer
Milestone 3 - Development Phase 2
20% 500K XEMs ($150K USD) to be disbursed upon completion of the following:
- POS integration architecture with NEM blockchain
- Successfully complete first crypto-fiat on/off transaction via token using NEM wallet back-end with NZD
*Onboarding 1x Designer, 1x App Developer, 1x Growth Marketer - Start development of Choice Mobile App iOS
- Customer onboarding
- Complete Choice Mobile App alpha testing
- Complete tutorial video on how to use Choice
Milestone 4 - Launch
20% 500K XEMs ($150K USD) to be disbursed upon completion of the following:
- Complete mobile iOS App
- Release of application to Apple app-store
- First real customer use case
- Development of Choice mobile app - Android
- Onboard Salesforce team
- Launch Marketing campaign across New Zealand (digital, retail, social, radio)
- Integration with at least 10x retailers across NZ utilising Choice payment protocol powered by NEM
Milestone 5 - Adoption
13.6% 340K XEMs ($100K USD) to be disbursed upon completion of the following:
- Integration and adoption from at least 2x major retail chains across New Zealand
- Development of Choice API for integration with digital POS
- NEM x Choice awareness events at 3x major New Zealand Universities
- Awareness at Social Enterprise World Forum 2018 (Scotland) - Communicating the vision of NEM powered blockchain technology for social impact
Milestone 6 - Expansion
6.4% 160K XEMs ($50K USD) to be disbursed upon completion of the following:
- Choice expands to another country (likely Australia) and launches with a major retailer
- Choice provides full documentation of how their API will work to integrate internationally and online with retailers
- Choice provides plans for team expansion as a fully fledged independent and global social enterprise
HOW WE BENEFIT NEM, NEM’S COMMUNITY, AND BEYOND
1. Regulatory access - Access to the RBNZ, FMA, NZ GOVT and Kiwibank during the tenure of the Kiwibank Fintech Accelerator 2.0 will enable choice to be at the forefront of shaping the blockchain/cryptocurrency regulatory environment in New Zealand. This will act as a global example.
2. North Star for social impact on blockchain, using NEM - Our purpose is front and centre. We believe that all business of the future will have consumer demanded social responsibility. With NEM blockchain technology we can set the global standard.
3. A global payments protocol will be developed on NEM - Using New Zealand as a global incubator for crypto-fiat on/off ramps this will enable our learnings to be scaled globally on the NEM blockchain.
4. Increased transaction of XEMs - The choice platform will utilise the NEM Wallet to transfer value between crypto and fiat currency. On the backend, every transaction will utilize XEMs. Therefore, not only will this platform contribute to increased demand for XEMs, it will also increase transactions on the NEM blockchain, thereby contributing value back to the NEM community.
5. Create NEM partnerships at high levels in blockchain, commercial, and government - Disrupting from the outside in, Choice will showcase the power of NEM blockchain as the forerunner to changing the way governments, consumers and businesses see blockchain technology to be utilised in everyday applications. The success of this project will contribute to the return of investment of every NEM supporter through increased visibility as a business-focused smart asset blockchain as well as growth in XEM value.
6. Support other organisations to develop on the NEM blockchain - part of the strategy is to work with governments, businesses and consumers which will provide them with exposure to the NEM blockchain. Our website will mention that we are building on the NEM blockchain and it will be noted on the relevant documentation.
Until 31 Dec 2017 the Choice founders have been offered, as part of the Kiwibank Fintech Accelerator programme, a $20,000 equity investment as a SAFE. We expect to finalise the terms of this investment in the coming days, in addition to garnering significant interest from other leading incubators and accelerators in New Zealand. We see 2018 as a rapid growth space for blockchain investment across New Zealand. With the support of the NEM Community and NEM Foundation we aim to grow the investment in blockchain technology across New Zealand.
A choice to pay is now a choice to make a difference
We would like an opportunity to bring our idea to market in New Zealand, with an eye on expanding to the rest of the world. Our team consists of proven leaders and highly successful innovators, in the technology, social enterprise, engineering, and creative fields. We aim to use the partner network we already have and the backing of the NEM Foundation as a catalyst to create the momentum that Choice needs to succeed and make a positive impact on the world.
Choice
Choice Telegram Channel
FEEDBACK FROM NEM FOUNDATION
Jason Lee (Australasia Director Partnership & Strategic Alliances)
“I am in full support of the Choice team utilising New Zealand as a ‘global incubator’ for NEM Blockchain technology for the payments industry. As the first NEM community proposal project in New Zealand we see Choice as a leading contender to showcase a real use-case of the NEM blockchain to the entire world. The Choice team is clearly purpose driven to have a real impact in society. The Choice team has a strong passion and the enthusiasm to utilise the NEM platform with their value transfer protocol which will significantly contribute to the growth and the value of NEM.”
FEEDBACK FROM DUNCAN COTTERILL
Chris Linton (Corporate Technology Partner at Duncan Cotterill, Committee Member for Blockchain Association of New Zealand)
“As a Committee member of the Blockchain Association New Zealand and my professional specialisation in corporate/commercial technology law, I am in full support of the Choice team and their proposal that will have tangible and transparent social impact in New Zealand. The team are focused on uniting cross-industry and government stakeholders to create a revolutionary new payment protocol. With a strong advisory network I believe this project will provide a great platform to grow the adoption of blockchain technology, not only in New Zealand but also as the perfect incubator to scale this application globally. “
FEEDBACK FROM COPYRIGHT BANK
David Oh (CEO & Founder)
“I was impressed when meeting the Choice team in New Zealand as their purpose focused model is a real game changer for the blockchain industry. Driven by social impact, they have a real chance to add significant value to society. The team at Choice have a user centric and impact focused direction that I believe will drive user adoption and increase the utilisation of the NEM blockchain.”
FEEDBACK FROM LUXTAG
Rene Bernard (CEO & Founder)
“I have met the team behind Choice in late 2017 and I am impressed with their vision in creating real value, trust and transparency to the payment space. Choice grasps a strong opportunity as it creates an impactful value for all parties; consumers, business and the government of New Zealand. I believe that we will see this team succeed in increasing NEM blockchain adoption with the Choice project.”
FEEDBACK FROM GRANT THORNTON
Mark Hucklesby (Partner and National Technical Director, Audit)
“We are currently working with founders of Choice as they look to build out and realise their value adding proposition for the people of New Zealand and the wider blockchain ecosystem. Our firm is committed, both here in New Zealand and globally to supporting social enterprises and their development as is evidenced through the adoption of our “Instinct for growth” strapline that is used around the world.”
FEEDBACK FROM KIWIBANK
Peter Fletcher-Dobson (Digital Innovation at Kiwibank)
“We are excited to have the Choice team join the Kiwibank Fintech Accelerator 2.0 in Wellington this February. Kiwibank is committed to work with the Choice team to realise their vision to create a tangible solution that delivers significant impact in the payment space. We are excited to use the Kiwibank Fintech Accelerator to explore the innovation of payment systems with Choice. We’re keen to contribute our resources, connections and services to help bridge the gap between blockchain technology, government, corporate, merchants and consumers.”
Please join us in discussion on our Choice Telegram Channel
From the Team at Choice
The team at Choice truly believe that with the relationships we have built to date that we have a significant value proposition.
