PeerPay

Inspiration

According to the World Bank, 1.5-1.7 billion people are without access to the financial system, so they have to find less formal ways to be able to send/receive remittances or accept payments in their businesses. And globally, US$10 to US$15 trillion in sales in the informal economy because people cannot use formal and validated platforms, also US$120 billion in transaction costs is spent each year to facilitate international transactions (it is an average of 6.3% of the amount sent).

In other words, we need to build tools to focus on a historically forgotten segment, but with tremendous potential and opportunities for development, that's where PeerPay comes in.

What it does

PeerPay is a payment system that allows anyone to transact money, send and receive different assets, see the transfers, and manage a recipient's address book. All this through the following functions:

Wallet: In this module, you can create new accounts or add existing ones, through XRP Ledger, Interledger Protocol, and PeerPay CBDC (Ripple Private Ledger), adding information such as aliases (to share with users without the need to share the real address), a name to identify internally and see the balances. Also, each account created has a Payment Pointer associated with it (https://paymentpointers.org/)
Transfers: In this module, you can make transfers between your own accounts (to move your money to another own account), send them to other people, review the transfers sent and received, and create payment links to share with people to simplify receiving money. Everything is non-custodial, that is, money is always owned by people. Also, you can send money (deferred money) with a payment date using XRPL checks functionality.
Address Book: In this section, you can add recipients (XRPL or Interledger compatible accounts) to simplify sending through the transfer module.
Reports: Under construction, to see important information about your account.
API: If you want to integrate PeerPay into your application to accept payments or view your account details, you can use our API to do so with a developer account that you can create directly in your web profile.

With PeerPay, we want to be the "Paypal of the Web 3.0"

How we built it

PeerPay is built on:

.NET Framework: For the Web platform and the API that allows interaction with the system.
Javascript: For client-side interactions, including the use of the XRPL library to interact with the network (in test and production).
Azure: As hosting for the web and API, including the database through SQL Database.
SendGrid: For sending emails (validation of users, confirmation, and receipt of payments, among others).

We have been working on the platform for months, and we will continue to work on the basis of bringing a real product from the end of this year and during 2023.

Challenges we ran into

The main challenge when working at PeerPay is to make the platform easy to use, because it has a focus on vulnerable people, without financial or technical knowledge, and for this, we achieve it in the following way:

Localization: PeerPay is currently available in English, Spanish, and Portuguese, so we can reach as many people as possible in their own language.
Intersection of Web2 and Web3: We take the best of Web 2.0, such as the simplicity of registering through email without having to install a browser extension as in Web 3.0, but with the advantages that it brings, such as integration with protocols Blockchain and the non-custody of the user's assets so that he can transact freely.
Financial education: As we are focused on a segment without financial knowledge, the platform allows you to simply select whether to work with purses and test money or real money, so that they can familiarize themselves with the platform in a practical way and not through videos. or having to read the documentation.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

Our achievement is day by day since we are making a 100% inclusive and easy-to-use product, but integrating XRPL has given us a new perspective, where we now see that the system should not only be for moving money, but can have a focus greater, with the integration of CDBC (since governments are a fundamental actor in financial inclusion), and we are in constant communication with people, entrepreneurs, and social organizations that see PeerPay as an opportunity for development and access to the financial system.

Additionally, we obtained a grant from the Grant for the Web program to build PeerPay and move forward: https://www.grantfortheweb.org/blog/announcing-our-newest-cohort-of-awardees

What we learned

With PeerPay, we have learned a lot from the technical side, such as the details of Interledger to integrate different protocols in the exchange of assets with XRP, while with XRPL we are learning more to integrate every detail of its technology in our platform. Additionally, every day we learn more about the problems of the unbanked population so that PeerPay really meets their needs. Finally, we are learning a lot about the remittance market, among other statistics and problems, thanks to the publications that Ripple makes through its blog and social networks.

What's next for PeerPay

With PeerPay, we want to be the "Paypal of the Web 3.0".

On a commercial level, we are already in contact with social organizations and migrant groups in Chile who need to access a platform that allows them to send money, formally accept online payment for their products, and participate in the digital economy. We already have 300 people using it with test money.

On a technical level, we are advanced in implementing Interledger nodes for the exchange of assets to and from XRP. While with XRPL and CBDC Private Ledger, we will advance in the implementation of cross-currency payments, to give people a 100% chance of being active in the digital economy.

And finally, on a strategic level, we have a strong link with the Interledger Foundation and we would like to have it with the XRPL Foundation as well, as we want to implement CBDC in PeerPay and collaborate with each other to impact the world.

We are also in the process of raising funds to scale.