Blockchain startup Billion pockets EUR2 million EU grant
The EU’s biggest Research and Innovation programme, Horizon 2020, announced that it granted funding of almost EUR 2M to Billon Group, under the SME Instrument programme, to expand its innovative DLT solutions beyond instant corporate payments, into eCommerce and content monetization solutions.
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Billon was awarded the grant on the basis that its pioneering distributed ledger technology can exploit the Alternative Payments market, a market projected to reach $1.4 trillion(1), larger than global debit and credit card volumes combined (according to WorldPay’s 2016 Payment report). Billon enables micropayments that were previously unprofitable to be executed instantly, without traditional intermediaries, and with zero underlying variable cost.
Tadeusz Kuropatwinski, Managing Director, Digital Payments adds: We believe content monetization and eCommerce payments will be one of the main drivers behind the global demand for micropayments, especially in emerging markets. Today’s payment solutions include clumsy pre-paid vouchers and premium SMS, and Billon can transform this into a digital payment experience on a mobile phone, and with a full audit trail. Based on successful trials, Billon expects to launch merchant services for ecommerce and content monetization this autumn in Poland and in 2018 in the UK, and will then look to emerging markets.
Robert Kaluza, Co-Founder and COO of Billon said: Billon’s DLT/Blockchain technology is the first cloud and mobile peer-to-peer solution for everyday currencies using DLT, where we provide PLN and GBP solutions in partnership with banks. Billon now moves beyond solutions to digitally pay people, to now enable participants to spend their funds online.
Billon successfully completed proof-of-concept trials of its content monetization solution in 2016 in digitized PLN currency.
Alicja Grzegorzek founder of Zafiro Solutions said: The SME Instrument is a programme for the most innovative European companies. Billon had all the attributes needed to succeed: a disruptive project, clear strategy and a world class team. We hope the this grant supports and accelerates its growth.
(1) eWallets, Pre-paid cards, and vouchers are projected to total to $1.4 trillion in 2020 in the WorldPay report