1.0 Abstract (A Chatty Prologue)

Ok, before anything else, let me let you in on an awkward secret: I am very broke. And by 'broke', I mean I am very much out of cash, money or fiat, whatever jargon you prefer. This has made me grumpy in a sort of way because I can't make a trip to the grocery store without cutting my lips after staring too much at the many other things I need but cannot have. Really, this wouldn't have been an issue if I was able to exchange the several cryptocurrencies I have garnered over time (both bitcoin and alt coins) for goods and services that are, at this point, valuable to me than life itself. But no, these several coins are barely sitting dock in several wallets waiting to accumulate value like dust inevitably gathered after a long period of not being utilized. My situation is only one of the many case scenarios (others might include the inability to operate a truly payless system or keep private things private) which have rendered many irreverent of the deliberately orchestrated penetration of several cryptocurrency systems into the global economic system.

So, in this article, essay or eye opening piece (I have never been really particular about the serious art of naming), I am going to be introducing you to a game changer: GRAFT. I will be giving you useful highlights into what GRAFT is, how GRAFT will change the payment processing industry, the former and present difficulties that come with accepting cryptocurrency for traditional purchase use and the likes. Also, we will delve into slightly technical details about the GRAFT's RTA system in its present and future modes, how it allows merchants to operate their business normally without springing up new technical surprises, and just what the benefits of having a software that can integrate on top of existing merchant devices are. Lastly, we will be examining the impact of being able to utilize cryptos to pay for any goods or services with regards to both merchants and customers, and how GRAFT integration will help many interact with cryptocurrency differently. All in all, we are just going to go on a wild tour into all things GRAFT . So why not sit tight and enjoy this roller-coaster tour (especially those who are interested in earning more crypto as well as putting the already available ones into good use).

1.1 Introduction

Digital currency is good, relevant even, but it is in no way ready for a splashing big time in the world.

This line of thought has been one prevalent song on the lips of one of my naughty friends and without doubt, on the lips of several crypto unbelievers like Howard Marks, Jamie Dimon, Ray Dalio and the Central Bank's heads who, apart from the other technological issues like high transaction fees and slow confirmation time that need redressing, can't get past the fact that these coins, either the major bitcoin or several other alt coins have 'no intrinsic value' and derive their essence from merely being 'highly speculative assets.' source But then, no past or present currency ever utilized has this purported intrinsic value;not gold or stones or cowries (something earlier used in Africa), not even a one dollar bill (I took a liking to this catch phrase after reading this).

These physical currencies only became valuable because the world systems chose to make them valuable. So rather than tag virtual currencies as not having "value", what should rather be said is that the world has not found enough value, enough use for these coins apart from storing them up in heaps and hoping like the king in the Rumpelstiltskin's tale that every straw is spun into pure gold. The fact that cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin have not accrued such world wide value is mainly due to the intended purpose of these coins to steer clear of world's regulatory bodies and attain such importance that enables it to become an instrument for successful micro-payments all on its own.

This purpose is good, great even but for cryptocurrencies (even bitcoin) to be taken more seriously than just a speculative asset that pose "little or no challenge to the existing order of fiat currencies and central banks because they are too volatile, too risky, too energy intensive, and the underlying technologies are not yet scalable" (source), these digital currencies have to find real, urgent, immediate value that does not involve waiting for the long or short haul, conversion to FIAT or getting stacked in private digital wallets that never go past being private. For cryptocurrency to expand its network of loyal believers, it has to become the currency it was purported to be. Plain and simple. I like the way Christine Lagarde, IMF's director puts this point across:

Consider the growing demand for new payment services in countries... payments can be made with credit cards and other forms of e-money. But the charges are relatively high for small-value transactions, especially across borders. Instead, citizens may one day prefer virtual currencies, since they potentially offer the same cost and convenience as cash—no settlement risks, no clearing delays, no central registration, no intermediary to check accounts and identities. source

Now, let's kick the may out of the way and put in the modal auxiliary will, because GRAFT is totally out to pave the way for cryptocurrency to become a veritable, affordable, acceptable preferred means of payment by merchants and buyers alike.

2.0 All Things GRAFT

Global Real-time Authorizations and Funds Transfers (GRAFT) is all about enabling the adoption of cryptocurrency payments and bringing it right up to the doorsteps of merchants, small and large businesses. In this regard, GRAFT stands out as an open source, open payment platform built on the blockchain and acting as a retail-oriented decentralized alternative payment processing network that brings cryptocurrency payments to the point of sale and beyond. What this means in plain terms is that GRAFT as an ecosystem is free for use in retail shops, over the counters and by anybody, both buyers and merchants so long as they are interested in vying for making or receiving payments of goods or services in cryptocurrency.

Now, GRAFT particularly holds up as a distinct payment processing method because of its affordable, easy and seamless payment protocols. Receiving or making payments in bitcoin or any other coin for that matter has always been an Herculean task as it meant one must go through a third party (which defeats crypto's purpose of privacy), and even worse, without having an ample knowledge of how the blockchain worked or the right networks to pass through, one might as well get lost or scammed in the mere process of exchanging digital currencies. This is inevitably one of the reasons buyers and merchants find it hard to adopt cryptocurrency alongside their other payment platforms. I mean, you can't simply walk into a grocery store, pick up a box of chocolate worth 20 bucks and say, "Heyo, botched up. Just remembered I forgot my credit card at home. So, I am going to go ahead and pay in Bitcoin!"

It was in response to this benumbing challenge that the whole concept of GRAFT was initiated and developed as a community project. Hence, GRAFT hasn't just emerged as a solution to an unfounded problem. In fact, a thorough research was conducted to determine "whether merchants are ready and interested in accepting cryptocurrency and what's stopping cryptocurrency from becoming a readily-accepted form of payment." And duly, three simple truths were discovered: merchants basically want what their customers want; if the customers are not driven through strategic marketing into wanting to pay with cryptos, then the merchants don't want it too. And then, getting both the customers and merchants to make sense of cryptocurrency payments would mean sorting out the intense issues with confirmation delays, high transaction fees, integration technicalities, third parties. Lastly and somewhat more importantly, merchants and customers alike would really want payment protocols to be neatly integrated with the other systems they already know so that they can off take transactions easily without having to be some millennial nerd.

GRAFT, in highlighting these problems, addressed them quite tactfully and simply via these platforms or products:

2.1 The Graft Mobile Wallet App

The mobile wallet serves a medium to store GRAFT tokens and other major cryptocurrencies as well as make payments or fund transfers. This efficient “Lite" desktop, mobile,and browser extension apps which are successfully supported by GRAFT's Decentralised stateless API (DAPI) also accepts several cryptographic tokens and credit cards and debit cards. So, that's like having a bunch of options to make or receive payments all locked up in one cool digital wallet. Download the Multi currency Mobile Wallet for IOS and Android.

2.2 The Graft Crypto find App

It only gets better with GRAFT's Cryptofind app which makes it easier to find retail shops, convenience stores and just about anywhere that accepts cryptocurrencies as payments for goods and services. The dynamic open source ecosystem of the app makes it possible for merchants to update their positions with regard to the acceptance of any or all virtual currencies. Customers and buyers can also contribute in turn. Not only can they request that a merchant make updates to their status based on their first hand experiences, they can also list new merchants that have only recently adopted cryptocurrency payments. The good thing is they get to make a passive income by earning GRFT tokens with every and each of their contributions. This is especially when the newly listed merchants are products of their intensive networking. This makes too much sense to be true, right? Well, it is true. Download the Cryptofind IOS and Android apps here, and check out this video for more details:

2.3 The Graft Point of Sale App

Since the ability to easily accept crypto payments is the thrust of GRAFT, a POS app has been created to make this possible. With the GRAFT POS app on an IOS or Android device, it becomes possible for merchants to "to accept payments in GRAFT tokens, Bitcoin's, altcoins, or credit/debit cards; issuing and redeeming gift certificates, loyalty reward points,and store credits." (GRAFT Whitepaper). The made payments/payouts can then be configured in GRAFT tokens,Bitcoins, altcoins, or local fiat currencies. By all indication, using the GRAFT POS app is easy and very accessible.

2.4 GRAFT Terminal Integration

Remember how I talked about the identified need for merchants to be able to fit in cryptocurrency payments with the other existing payment platforms? Well, GRAFT found a way around this by integrating cryptocurrency payments into the payment terminals that are widely used by stores and shops to accept credit or debit card payments in an easy and free. By liaising with and integrating GRAFT into the Ingenico and Verifone payment terminals, merchants can now download the GRAFT app on these terminals and use them to easily accept payments in cryptocurrency. Without doubt, the ability to easily make transactions in cryptocurrency has been brought one step closer to every household with GRAFT.

It is very clear that GRAFT is out to revolutionize the payment processing industry in full measures because not only does it become possible to do with erstwhile inconvenient means of making payment, it also provides a veritable avenue for accumulated cryptocurrencies to be spent without qualms or the need to revert to the same principles crypto believers are trying to bury. With GRAFT in tow, the mass adoption and scalability of cryptocurrency is imminent and that intrinsic value the global markets have always sought for these digital currencies will come to bear in more ways than can be imagined.

3.0 Cryptographic Payment System versus Traditional Payment Systems

The timeliness and wide privileges incorporated by GRAFT cannot be profoundly felt without an understanding of the chasm that exists between the existing cryptographic payment system and the present traditional means of payment which has made it difficult to accept cryptocurrency for traditional purchase use:

Cryptographic payment systems	Traditional methods
With cryptographic payment system, certain transactions types cannot be performed.	With credit cards, Visa cards or available online payments routes, essential transaction types can be performed.
Payment flow is unsuitable and difficult	Not likely to be so difficult
Confirmation times are usually long.	Near instant confirmation time.
Lack of customer support.	Available customer support.
Transactions cannot be performed offline.	Transactions can be made offline.
Scalability is low.	Scalability is high.
Inability to process micropayments.	Micropayments can be processed.
Fluctuating and volatile prices and movements.	Quite stable.

Although it might appear that the cryptographic payment system is worse off, you will also fund certain irregularities shared by both the traditional forms and the cryptographic payment systems:

Crypto payments	Traditional payments
Cryptographic payments attract high and unpredictable transaction fees	Credit cards and other traditional payment services also attract high transaction fees which are usually spilled over to customers.
The privacy of these payments are usually compromised as they can be traced	The same goes for the traditional systems. Even more, credit cards or cash can be misplaced.

GRAFT, in providing a solution, collapses all these loopholes and provides bricks that will stitch them in place. For one, GRAFT's transaction fee is below average compared to the ones charged by credit cards, as it only takes up 0.5% of the purchased goods, rather than the staggering 2.5% - 3% charged by others. With this rather inconsequential fee, no extra charges need to be imposed on customers.

It should be noted that GRAFT does not position itself as an exclusive payment platform but rather, as the long needed extension of the rather stringent means of payment. Hence, it is part of a triangular pattern that whirls seamlessly into one another. It's like eating from a plate of coleslaw. You don't pick on whatever vegetables that went into the plate, you just eat and enjoy the entire combination (except of course you are allergic to anyone of the vegetables).

4.0 GRAFT's Real Time Authorisation

RTA is an essential component of whatever makes GRAFT GRAFT. The fact customers have to wait long periods of time to confirm their cryptographic transactions is one of the major reasons cryptocurrency payments is on a low ebb. GRAFT recognizes that to truly cement the wide acceptance of cryptocurrencies as means of payment, the confirmation time has to shift from several hours or minutes to seconds. While other platforms have chosen to solve this problem by introducing "special add-on systems or transaction types (Graft Whitepaper),GRAFT intends to process all transactions in real time, within the space of 3 seconds, and that too, without charging the customer a dime.

This is made possible through what is called supernodes The GRAFT Whitepaper explains this supernodes or authorization sample (I hardly can wrap my head around it):

"This is achieved by using a consensus of always-on trusted supernodes ("authorization sample") with the ability to perform a distributed instant authorization lock on a buyer's account and communicate a response back to the client, typically within milliseconds. The supernodes also maintain the GRAFT blockchain so no transactions can be authorized “offchain.”

(GRAFT Whitepaper)

RTA also makes it possible for customers to pay in their preferred digital currencies while the merchants also receive the payments in their own preferred currencies in record time. The importance and relevance of RTA to the general purpose of the mass adoption of cryptocurrency payments cannot be overemphasized. The ability to make crypto payments and get confirmation in instant time bolsters the adoption of cryptocurrency payments. But more than that, RTA technology poses as the future of cryptocurrency payments in the global space of payment processing. As merchants get to integrate cryptocurrency into existing payment platforms, terminals and all, and as customers initiate efficient payment in rather familiar terrains, the long term goal of offsetting a mass adoption of cryptocurrency payments will be achieved sooner than expected.

Also, for GRAFT, the RTA technology will contribute immensely to ensuring GRAFT achieves high scalability as "the scalability of a given payment network is the ability to process a large number of transactions simultaneously without degradation of performance" (GRAFT Whitepaper).

5.0 The GRFT Token

Apart from finding solutions to the problem of making and receiving cryptocurrency payments to the point of sale, GRAFT provides a viable means of rewarding both customers and merchants through several media (mostly through the Cryptofind app). The GRFT token, in this respect, is "a native cryptographic token supported by the GRAFT blockchain and used for real-time payment authorizations, transfers of funds,and settlement between buyers and merchants" (GRAFT Whitepaper). It is like a currency of its own that can work on its own or form the basis for performing transactions in other currencies.

5.1 VChains

There are quite a whole lot of good twists and turns to GRAFT; talk of the merchant token, service broker, DAPI etc. But the whole idea of VChain caught my eyes and thought. VChain basically revolves around the creation of a virtual chain of merchants or stores with multiple points of sale that all connect to the same private "virtual blockchain". VChain is actually a two-fold thing: the virtual chain and the virtual blockchain. The whole idea of a private common platform and community would surely lead to a successful evolution of cryptocurrency payments within the sphere of the payment processing industry.

6.0 Use Case

Staying awake all night was always something Cassie looked forward to. Then, she could forget all about the boredom of serving tables after tables in that Bronx restaurant she called a workplace and slip into the quiet world of games. She loved the thrills and throes of playing game after game. But most importantly, she loved that she could take up several challenges and win several cryptocurrencies upon winning. She didn't just gather coins from games, being a crypto enthusiasts, she digs her head into any such investment or place that promises her a few more coins. However, this midnight was not particularly happy one for Cassie. For one, during her duties at the restaurant, she had misplaced her wallet which contained a good $100 bill, her credit card, and the fancy ring she got from her boyfriend, Sylvester. She was apparently pained that she would sacrifice an ample time trying to block her card as well as get a new one, but what got to her more was that she had meant to use the $100 to buy flour and margarine with which to make a cute cake for Nick. It was well into his birthday and she had meant to surprise him. Staring at her computer which lay carelessly on her bed, Cassie signed deeply. How she thoroughly wished she could trade those coins sitting dock in her wallet for some dusty flour. And then, didn't she have many a loyalty token scattered around?

Imagine a world with GRAFT dotting every part of it? Cassie will worry less, and enjoy her midnight in just about how she normally does because she knows the very next morning, she can walk into a store, buy all she needs, go to the counter and pay with any of the major cryptocurrencies she has to her name through the GRAFT Mobile POS app or through any such Verifone, Ingenico (and, in time, many others) payment terminals. After the payment is confirmed within 3 seconds, she can contentedly stroll down the street to her house to make her boyfriend happy. And then, if she so happens to discover firsthand the newly opened laundry service opposite her house that accepts cryptocurrencies, she can go on to list the establishment, and earn some GRFT. Fortunately, we nearly do not need to "imagine" things any more as GRAFT, with its functioning MainNet has been in the block for a while now. This earmarks the fact that the future of cryptocurrency and its wide acceptance is not as far reaching as we are wont to believe. It is right here, on our terminals and mobile devices.