Billon, the technology company that has civilised blockchain, has been granted EUR 1 million funding from the National Center for Research and Development (NCBiR) as part of its Intelligent Development program.
This latest installment marks the third funding endorsement from the EU organisation. Billon will use the funding for large scale research and development projects on its permission based blockchain.
Unlike cryptocurrencies, Billon operates within the regulated banking system. Enterprises across Poland and Great Britain are already using its business ready blockchain solutions to transfer e-money, the digital equivalent of cash as qualified by EU PSD2 directives. Importantly, the flow of e-money is not dependent on bank accounts which opens opportunities for the unbanked to be included in the global financial system.
“The introduction of PSD2 directives have significant benefits for those previously excluded from financial systems. Amongst other things, it enables them to accept remuneration in digital form for temporary or irregular work, without the need for a bank account or credit card,” explains Robert Kałuża, co-founder and Chief Operating Officer of Billon. “Our solution, which has been backed by NCBiR, provides a secure, instant and user friendly method of payment for all consumers.”
Billon’s payments technology has transformed incentive systems used by large corporations such as Phillip Morris. Systems that have previously been characterized by high operating costs and long payout periods are benefiting from the low barriers of entry and quick payments enabled by Billon’s blockchain. Digital incentives distributed by Billon can be paid out immediately after completing the incentivised task, increasing motivation for employees. Philip Morris uses Billon’s technology to pay incentive rewards to its trading partners while Coca-Cola in Poland has tested the solution as part of a program that rewards direct-to-consumer distributors for high sales levels. The incentive payout opportunity extends beyond the retail sector and Billon is already exploring the opportunity to deploy the technology in the insurance industry.
This endorsement is the third piece of funding that Billon has received from NCBiR. In November, the company was awarded just over EUR 1 million, to aid the development of its blockchain technology. Prior to this, Billon was also awarded EUR 2 million from the European Commission’s Horizon 2020 program, which recognised Billon’s potential to transform direct payments. The company recently received $75,000 from the 2018 VC FinTech Accelerator program, sponsored by FIS - a world leader in payment processing, financial software and banking solutions.
“Grants and co-financing from institutions such as NCBiR are crucial in the development of innovative technology companies. It’s this funding that enables smaller players to disrupt and compete with large market players,” said Kałuża. “Blockchain is the perfect example of an innovation such as this, where the invested funds will be returned, due to its potential to become embedded into day to day activities.”
Momentum for Billon’s technology has been continuing to build in recent months. The company partnered with the Polish Credit Information Bureau on one of the largest deployments of blockchain technology in Poland, for the purpose of storing and sending sensitive customer data. The deployment has the potential to be replicated across any industry that requires document to be stored and sent on a durable medium of information. Mitsui Knowledge Industry is also exploring the use of Billon’s blockchain for storing documents and could become the primary distributor of Billon’s technology in Asian markets.