Coral Coin

Inspiration

In 2019, The Bahamas experienced significant damage from the category 5 Hurricane named Dorian which hovered over Abaco island for approximately 48 hours. Consequently, this island suffered catastrophic damage having more than 75% of its homes destroyed during the storm. As a result, many of the surviving Bahamians on this island became displaced, not having sufficient resources to sustain themselves. Further, many banking institutions were rendered nonfunctional which made it even more difficult for survivors to obtain funds to support their families or receive money from family members on other family islands. Due to this, it was necessary for a digital money transfer service app to be developed to assist locals in sending funds to support the island being rebuilt and the persons living on it. Hence came Coral Coin which is developed as an extension to the Bahamian Sand Dollar app which makes it easier for Bahamians to transfer funds locally. However, Coral Coin’s intent is to make that process even easier for individuals to do not only locally, but on a global scale to allow for local and international digital money transfer services while also incorporating a donate feature for persons to easily donate to Causes worldwide under the theme "Uniting the World, One Transaction at a Time".

What it does

Coral Coin is a revolutionary digital money transfer service that allows clients to easily transfer and receive funds to and from others. Further, it allows tourists to securely pay for products and services when traveling to The Bahamas and has included a donate feature that allows individuals to donate seamlessly to anyone anywhere in the world.

How we built it

Coral Coin was built using Wix’s development platform and is a web app that combines Fintech, Web3/blockchain technology, and artificial intelligence to some extent. This platform was chosen to enhance access and usability as many traditional apps must be approved via Google Play or the App Store for Apple devices before it can be available to end users. Therefore, creating a web application makes it easier for people with different types of devices to utilize Coral Coin’s service by simply clicking the link to get started.

To explain in-depth, Coral Coin is a financial technology application that aims to improve digital money transfer services by making it easier for persons to transfer funds to each other. However, this web app also utilizes web3/blockchain technology as it uses Stripe as the digital payment gateway which has partnered with Blockchain and allows clients to send funds securely and directly without the need for an intermediary. In explanation, once customers click the ‘donate’ button while using the web app, funds can be sent directly via peer-to-peer transactions. Additionally, when end-users create ‘causes’, they can have their banking information attached to their wallet so that donors can send funds directly to them. This method of transacting was utilized to fulfill this app’s end goal of functioning on a global scale. As a result, using blockchain technology makes this effective as it allows persons to make cross-border payments. Furthermore, another reason this technology was utilized was because blockchain payment systems eliminate excessive fees since there are no intermediaries.

Due to privacy and data concerns, Internet Computer Protocol (ICP) technology is being utilized to store client information in a separate server-less database which is being developed by deploying smart contracts on the ICP blockchain so that their personal information and coral ID can be stored and retrieved in a decentralized manner. Using this technology increases security, therefore, decreasing the risk of client information being breached. In the future, we aim to fully embrace ICP functionality to also utilize the internet identity feature to allow for secure sign-ins.

As it relates to artificial intelligence usage, Coral Coin includes a chatbot that was developed using Open AI’s ChatGPT software which assisted with implementing machine learning so that clients can have improved communication experiences while using the app. On the front end, clients input questions using the chat box and on the backend, the chatbot is programmed to respond to clients in specific ways to personalize communication. Its responses can be changed to tailor new replies to client’s questions, for questions it was asked before that it previously didn’t know the answer to. Currently, the command being used to respond to customers is “You are employed as a friendly and helpful customer support agent for the website www.coral-coin.com. You must correctly answer all questions asked based on the information provided on the website”.

Challenges we ran into

It was difficult for our team to collaborate simultaneously to develop the app because it was only possible for one person to edit at once. Consequently, we took turns incorporating our ideas into the app’s development. Further, there were additional challenges that stemmed from implementing the chatbot and setting up the donation page. However, on-site research allowed us to ensure that it was implemented correctly.

Another challenge we ran into, was how we would deploy data to the ICP canister (smart contracts), having to choose between Rust and Motoko. Eventually, we chose Motoko due to the following reasons:

1. Simplicity due to our experience with JavaScript with it being similar in syntax
2. Smart contracts required for its use are not as complex as they store small amounts of data and information
3. We had no prior experience with either Rust or Motoko to prefer one over the next (due to the personal preferences of team members)

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We are proud of being able to rectify an issue that affects many Bahamians who may not have bank accounts or even banks on their islands for that matter. We are also happy that we were able to network well in a professional and friendly manner despite the challenges we experienced. We’ve learned a lot while being at the Hackathon and we’re proud to have demoed successfully and answered questions to show that we understood our app’s complexities. Further, we were especially proud that we were able to implement a chatbot that can be improved on the backend to ensure it can answer all future client questions and can also change its tone depending on the command we issue to it.

What we learned

We learned that Stripe API can be utilized for the styles of payment that our app intends to address. Consequently, it was implemented into the web app to allow such payments to occur. As quoted from Stripe's website, "It offers a direct connection to the payment network, eliminating the need to recreate payment functionality".

What's next for Coral Coin

Coral Coin aims to support the Sand Dollar, a digital version of the Bahamian Dollar whose platform is backed by the Central Bank of The Bahamas. Additionally, having an Android and IOS app available for download is another step we aim to complete. Finally, this app’s goal is to fully develop its use of ICP technology to make sign-in more secure for users by incorporating ICP’s internet Identity canister to allow clients to sign in with a passkey, pin, or biometric ID.

Built With

• blockchain
• canva
• html
• icp
• javascript
• node.js
• web
• wixx