Populous just issued an announcement via their Medium blog giving a “Populous Update”. The announcement was jammed packed with juicy updates and the minds boggles with the thought of what is next to come!
The Populous Update references the latest version of the website. The website is the first point of contact which new and prospective customers and first impressions will make or break a deal. If you attend a job interview all disorgainsed, what impression would you broadcast about yourself to your prospective employer. I would say nothing good.
The New Face of Invoice Financing!
What can I say!
The website is dynamic and the graphics yummy. The website exudes confidence and is refreshing compared to the many “formal” websites you find out there. The website uses a colour scheme that is welcoming and tells me that my money is safe when buying invoices on the platform.
The website is informative and explains invoice financing the “Populous Way” in an easy to understand format. It draws you in, especially those new to the invoice financing market and those new to the crypto-space. There is even an element of fun that gives the website a little human touch.
What more can you ask for in the way the website is put together?
The Homepage
When you click the Populous link you will be greeted with the Populous homepage. This is the start of your journey to invoice financing the Populous Way.
Invoice finance is a way of funding businesses that need liquidity. Businesses can sell invoices to allow early access to funds which would otherwise be tied up for a significant period of time. The deferred payment period can be anywhere between 30 days and even as long as 90 days or more.
For example, if an invoice has a value of $10,000 with a payment period of 60 days, the business will not likely be paid by its customer until the 60 day period is up. In the meanwhile, the business un-expectedly encounters liquidity issues and they approach Populous for immediate short term finance. Populous can provide funds which the business can use very quickly without waiting for his customers to settle.
The invoice seller sells his invoice for (say) $9,000 on the Populous invoice marketplace for instant liquidity. On invoice due date he will paid back into the platform the full face value of $10,000 in which $1,000 is the interest paid to the invoice buyers of which a small percentage will be deducted to cover Populous' fee.
The Populous Way brings sellers and buyers together from all over the world to solve a very simple problem very quickly, fairly and honestly. All parties are happy: the invoice seller has met his immediate liquidity needs, the invoice buyers have profited from buying the invoice and Populous as the facilitator has made profit from transactions fees.
For invoice sellers
Many Small and Medium Size Enterprises (SME) very often find themselves with liquidity issues. In many cases the SMEs needing to access liquidity quickly will be taken advantage of by the available lending institutions by charging exorbitant fees.
Populous is built around a marketplace that brings together invoice sellers and invoice buyers. As a marketplace it gives the invoice sellers more competitive rates as oppose to existing banks and other lending institutions.
This is where blockchain technology gives Populous the advantage because of lower cost, speed of transaction and protection against fraud.
The invoice seller simply puts up the invoice he wants to sell, wait for the bidding process to close and receive the required funds. Since invoice buyers are looking for yield they will place competitive bids to win invoices.
This is good for the invoice sellers because they will get a better price than from the traditional invoice finance providers.
For invoice buyers
Where there are invoice sellers there must also be a group of invoice buyers. All buyers are only interested in one thing and one thing only – the pursuit of yield. Buyers have funds sitting idle and want to put this capital to work. There is no place better than Populous.
Buyers can buy invoices on Populous and “Get Fantastic Returns With Minimal Risk” – too good to be true? As with all investments, they can moon or go to zero, so only put in the amount which you can afford to lose (Not Financial Advice!).
However, when buying invoices on Populous there will be trade insurance, director’s guarantees, and liens in place to miminise risks. These requirement on invoice sellers gives added protection to invoice buyers and especially Populous.
What does this mean?
Trade Insurances - When a sellers puts up invoices for sale on Populous he is required to buy trade insurance with Populous as the beneficiary. This allows Populous to follow up in cases of late payment and defaults.
Director’s Guarantees – Do not belittle this undertaking. This is a very serious stuff, when giving a “Director’s Guarantee”, it means that the director who has given the undertaking is no longer protected by the company he works and is personally liable for the loan. This is quite an incentive to make sure that the loan is repaid.
Liens - A lien is a form of security made against the loan. Usually liens are taken out on properties to secure against the loan. If the invoice seller defaults there is an option to go after things that are tangible.
Populous also allows pooling of funds between invoice buyers when buying invoices especially invoices with large face value. If you do not have sufficient funds to buy a particular invoice you can join with other buyers to bid for an invoice.
Pooling also allows you to lower your risks in cases of defaults and rather than going all-in on a particular invoice, spread your funds amongst the many invoices to reduce exposure to possibility of defaults.
Some of these topics were explored in my posts:
Populous – What to Expect When Investing on Populous
Populous – What Are My Risks If I Was to Invest on Populous?
The Navigation Menu
Under the menu tab you will find useful information about Populous. You will be able to find more information about the platform and the company.
For those who don’t know, the menu tab look something like this and can be found on the top right-hand corner of your screen.
What About PPT Holders?
The site does not focus much on the use of the PPT token to buy invoices. The platform is for SMEs and connects businesses with buyers who can provide liquidity. Introducing customers to the PPT token and hence the larger cryptocurrency market in general will only confuse and scare sellers away.
There is no discrimination on the platform between PPT holders and buyers using fiat. Both PPT holders and buyers using fiat have access to the same invoices, receive the same interest and pay the same fees. However there maybe an alert system in place that alerts PPT holders when a new invoice is uploaded to the platform giving "priority" to PPT holders.
Apart from the alert system, why would Populous marginalise a large segment of the market, it would not make sense.
The crypto community is still relatively small and what you don’t know or understand is a warning sign flashing “danger”. The Mt. Gox debacle is probably still fresh in many minds and the mention of crypto will probably scare away many customers and is obviously not what Populous want.
However as PPT holders and to those in this crypto-space, we all know the benefits that PPT holders gain from using the PPTs on the platform. As long as you are aware of this, PPT will retain its value.
If you have been following my posts you will know the many benefits that a PPT holder are afforded compared to buyers using fiat. These are explored in my following listed post:
Populous – A Plate of PPT with Plenty of Secret Sauce
Populous – Using Someone Else’s Money to Make Money!
Populous – Clash of the Titans!
Populous – Swimming In Dough!
In Conclusion
We must not forget that Populous is foremost an invoice financing platform built for the new world but with the old world still in mind. Populous will gradually introduce the old to a new ways of doing things, the Populous Way. Populous will be an innovator in this field.
There is little mention of PPT but it does not negate the importance of PPT on the platform. It just shows Populous’ ability to introduce crypto to the business world in a way without overwhelming them with this new technology.
Yes, there re are thing that need to be done, some dead links here and there, some spelling mistakes to tidy up, grammar to right but these are just superficial compared to the big picture. No matter how much work goes into perfecting the website, there will always be hang-overs.
The release of the website is a sign of things to come. There is a good "vib" in the air and I can feel it in my bones, so get ready for the beta launch.
PS Just One last Thing
Without tooting my own horn, I do notice that two of my Steemit post have appeared on the Populous Blog page. How long will they be there, it doesn’t matter a bit, I’m just savoring the moment that I have at least found a little fame!
If the two posts are good enough for the Populous Blog page then they are a truly must read.
PPS I Almost Forgot
Now that you have read this far, let your journey into Populous World begin. Start with the latest Populous update from Shadi Paterson by following this link
– Populous Update — Brace yourselves, the Beta is coming.
Other Populous Posts
My other posts can be read by clicking the links below.
Populous – It’s War!
https://steemit.com/populous/@marcusxman/populous-it-s-war
Populous – Swimming in Dough!
https://steemit.com/populous/@marcusxman/populous-swimming-in-dough
Populous – Clash of the Titans!
https://steemit.com/populous/@marcusxman/populous-clash-of-the-titans
Populous – Counting Beans!
https://steemit.com/populous/@marcusxman/populous-counting-beans
Populous – Size Does Matters!
https://steemit.com/populous/@marcusxman/populous-size-does-matters
All the Populous post I mentioned above can be found here.
Should you have any questions concerning Populous you can ask Populous through Slack, Bitcointalk forum or Twitter Account for answers and clarifications.
However, do bear in mind that Populous are not financial advisers and cannot respond to questions that are of a financial nature. The onus is on you to make that determination and what it means for you as a PPT holder.
This is NOT Financial Advice
In my humble opinion, the risks to the downside are small compared to the potential upside rewards. This should not be construed as financial advice but an opinion only. As usual do not invest more than you can afford to lose as these investments can go to zero and always do your own due diligence. If you need financial advice then speak to a licensed financial advisor.
Feel free to comment as you see fit below.
I’m just letting off Steem, if you found this post informative then UPVOTE (with FULL POWER), COMMENT, FOLLOW and especially RESTEEM.
Live Long and Prosper
I wrote this article myself and it expresses my own opinions. Computer literacy is crucial in this day and age. Just because someone tells you it is good does not mean that it is good for you.