Market 3-C Problems
The current international money transfer and exchange industry typically depends on banking systems and MTOs.
However, these outdated-model businesses encounter many problems themselves, making them insufficient, sluggish, and costly.
Cost
International banks and global MTOs bear many kinds of cost due to their bulky, outdated, brick-and-mortar structures. For example, according to a recent research at Citi, the costs for maintaining legacy information systems, investing in new ones and paying IT staff, all adds up to account for 25% of a typical bank’s annual budget. Banks spend around $200 billion every year on IT, 80 percent of which — Citi estimates — is spent on maintenance and small evolution of legacy system. These costs translate into their excessive service fees.
The very way these institutions approach remittance service adds to the final costs, since they only deal with the most common currencies, ignoring vast swaths of those in need. Customers transferring to or from less common currencies can face double costs. Taking a specific example when a customer transfer money from the U.K. to China via Western Union (WU) system:
WU takes GBP in the U.K. and transfer to China in USD => Customer bears GBP/USD spread from WU.
WU’s partner in China has to use unofficial rate to convert the USD into CNY to pay out in CNY. Customer bears local USD/CNY spread.
Consequently, transferring money from the U.K. to China via WU systems, a customer bears two conversion rates with spreads (double expenses), in addition to high commission fees for the transaction.
Coverage
Many banks with large network coverage are not involved in non-commercial transfers. However, although many banks and MTOs have developed strong networks, the money transfer industry in general falls well short of the entire market’s need, especially in remote areas where communities are small, and commercial activities are low.
Compliance
Since the industry is heavily regulated by governments around the world, any banks involved in remittance transactions and all MTOs have to invest heavily to assure legal compliance, which in turn adds to the cost of their services. National banks in many countries are no longer licensing smaller MTOs, mostly due to problems concerning legal compliance, especially in the United States and the United Kingdom, where Anti Money Laundering (AML) law is strictly enforced. Legal costs are forcing more and more players out of this market space, leaving customers with less and less options.
How ZeroBank System works?
The money transfer and exchange industry is not immune to the global movement towards decentralization and peer-to-peer sharing economies. In fact, these areas are poised to be some on the leading edge of those that thrive in this new paradigm. With the help of blockchain and smart contract technologies, along with the sharing economy model, ZeroBank will disrupt the outdated transfer and exchange models centralized around “too-big-to-fail” banking and MTO systems by bringing out a “money barter” model fit right in the current position of world money market.
Roadmap
Q3, Q4 2017
Idea & Technical Feasibility Study
Founder Discussion and Brainstorming
White Paper structure developed and implemented
Proposed advisors list completed
Q1 2018
Proposed angel investors
Proposed partners and prepare MOU
Sales and Marketing team finalized
One Pager and WP released
ZeroBank technical Architecture development began
Q2 2018
Angel Investors finalized
Partners list completed and finalized
Sales and Marketing Implementation (Road Show, Media Seeding, Public awareness)
Infrastructure setup, Local Blockchain miner setup, MVP backend development starts
MVP GUI on iOS development starts
Security implementation starts
Q3, Q4 2018
ICO started and completed (Angel investors, Ambassadors, Whitelist, pre ICO, and ICO)
Listing Token on several trading platforms (will be confirmed soonest)
Training and Development for Partners
Agent channel development implementation (Hanoi, Tokyo, Seoul, Bangkok, Warsaw, London, Paris & New York)
First iOS Version released, Feedback on test net. Community testers will be selected
MVP GUI on Android development starts
Compliance implementation starts
Security enforcement starts: penetration test by independent specialists
Q1, Q2 2019
Start Public Support — Call center
Compliance final validation for first-targeted market: Hanoi, London & Paris
Final test and Go live with Agents in Hanoi, London & Paris markets
Feedback and Finanlizing functionalities
Q3, Q4 2019
Continue Sales and Marketing
Full sharing economy starts: Every one can join as Agents
Compliance implementation starts for other markets: Tokyo, Seoul, Hong Kong, & New York
Testing product and services at other markets.
From Q1 2020
Evolutive maintenance
Production and Support: Business as Usual
Go live in other markets: Tokyo, Seoul, Hong Kong, & New York
Studying & Implementing new features
From Q1 2021
Extension of ZeroBank functionalities: eco-system
Exchanging ZeroBank tokens for new services
Global expansion continues