INTRODUCTION
The world is relying very heavily on the use of traditional electronic payment systems for their day to day transactions. These methods, also known as plastic, include the use of credit and debit cards in their traditional form. This Online Payment System has seen tremendous growth over the last decades due to the growing spread of internet-based banking and shopping. As the world advances more on technology development, we can see the rise of electronic payment systems and payment processing devices.
The Electronic Payment Systems have a lot of advantages compared to the traditional payment methods such as cash or check. Some of the advantages include:
. Low transaction costs
. Privacy
. Integrity
. Compatibility
. Good transaction efficiency
. Acceptability
. Convinience
. Mobility
. Low financial risk
. Anonymity
THE PROBLEM
As we have seen above, the Electronic Payment Systems can offer us a lot of benefits. But there is only ONE problem! These payment systems are NOT compatible or integrated with digital currencies or cryptocurrencies payment platforms. Cryptos processing on the other hand has become a nightmare process for both merchants and consumers alike due to the following reasons:
. Considerably long confirmation times - cryptos are too slow to process for everyday commercial use
. High transaction fees
. They are not accepted widely - cryptos are still not a widely accepted payment method worldwide
. Lack of knowledge about digital currencies - Cryptocurrency technology is complex in nature and most people still do not understand it.
Other problems facing the Cryptocurrency payment method as identified by Graft in their White Paper include:
. Lack of essential transaction types
. Unsuitable payment flows
. Unbalanced and unpredictable transaction fees
. Inability to process micro-payments and repeating charges (subscriptions)
. Lack of off-line transactions support
. Low scalability
. Volatility
. Incomplete security
. Lack of privacy due to traceability of blockchain
. Lack of trust between buyer and merchant
. Questionable utility
Poor usability of end user interfaces
Lack of customer support.
You can access the White Paper here https://www.graft.network/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Graft_White_Paper_2.01_May_2018.pdf
THE SOLUTION
Graft has come up with a "Global Decentralized Payment Processing Network" as a solution to the problems bedeviling us.
Source: https://www.graft.network
Graft "is a retail-oriented payment blockchain and a decentralized alternative payment processing network that brings cryptocurrency to the point of sale and beyond".
Read more about GRAFT at https://www.graft.network.
They aim to integrate the blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies with the traditional Online Payment Systems and terminals and create a one-stop electronic payment system which is unrivaled. This revolutionary system will usher in a new era in which all major cryptocurrencies will be available at Point Of Sale (POS). They will integrate their system with leading terminal providers that will enable the acceptance of cryptocurrencies without without the changing of the POS system.
Source: https://www.graft.network
Some of the features of the GRAFT solution are but not limited to:
Graft Multicurrency Mobile Wallet
This is a GRF wallet application designed to manage GRF holdings.
Source: https://www.graft.networkGraft Cryptofind
This is an app which discovers and lists venues which accept cryptos.
Source: https://www.graft.networkGraft Mobile Point Of Sale
It can be used by smaller merchants who don't have an existing POS/payment terminal, or who want to enhance their fiat POS with a crypto POS.
Source: https://www.graft.networkGraft Payment Network on Verifone
This is an application which enables cryptocurrency payments using Verifone's interactive series payment terminals.
Source: https://www.graft.networkGraft on Ingenico Terminal
This is an application which enables cryptocurrency payments using the Ingenico terminal.
THE BENEFITS
The new system is envisaged to address all problems which were identified and most importantly:
As the system will be running on Real Time Authorizations (RTA), it means it will have no effects on the already running merchants POS. As a result, by implementing the system, merchants have nothing to lose but everything to gain by adding another payment 'stream' to their systems.
The new payment system will integrate seamlessly into the merchants already existing devices. The merchants don't have to overhaul their systems to accommodate the new system. Therefore no extra costs are involved.
The fact that now a single POS device can transact payments in both fiat and digital currencies brings with it a lot of advantages. Trade will now be much easier to perform, not to forget the flexibility of payment methods that this will bring.
Most people have been skeptical to embrace the cryptos due to various reasons among them being the difficulty to transact with them. This new method addresses that problem as it puts the use of cryptos at our fingertips.
CONCLUSION
When used properly and fully understood, the GRAFT payment system will be the initiator of many emerging systems that will fundamentally change our global payment system. In its current form, the payment system aims to:
. Lower fees for both merchants and consumers
. Process payments as quickly as possible in real time
. Make more products and services available
. Decrease physical and electronic crime
The future appeal of GRAFT's payment system lies in allowing consumers and merchants ultimate control over their money, with fast secure global transactions and lower transaction fees when compared with other Electronic Payment Systems.
GRAFT certainly has the technology. It's now more about mass acceptance than the technology. Only time will tell when the players (consumers and merchants) will embrace it.
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