Paying for subscription services using cryptocurrencies
The use of cryptocurrencies, or digital assets used as a medium of exchange, is on the rise. According to one industry source, over EUR 5 billion in transactions are done in Bitcoin every day. While Bitcoin may be one of the most popular forms of cryptocurrencies, with a market cap of EUR 123.5 billion, it is just one of over 2 000 crypto coins available on the market. Part of the reason cryptocurrencies are so popular is that they are easy to use for making one-time payments. Unfortunately, due to security concerns, they are not well-suited to subscription payments. With many online services now being subscription based (for example, streaming services like Netflix and Spotify), a new solution is needed. The EU-funded AMBRPAY project believes they have the answer. “AMBRPAY is a software solution that lets businesses accept cryptocurrency on a recurring basis,” says Evrim Kayaci, AMBRPAY co-founder and project coordinator. “This enables subscription-based services to begin accepting payment with cryptocurrency.”
Smart contracts on the blockchain
To facilitate these recurring transactions, the AMBRPAY solution uses smart contracts on a blockchain. According to Kayaci, these smart contracts act like bank accounts. “Customers deposit their funds into the smart contract and set rules on how much is to be withdrawn, how often, and by whom,” he explains. “The authorised business then withdraws the necessary amount of crypto funds from this contract on a scheduled basis.” AMBRPAY also provides businesses with coding to create an intuitive web interface for managing both their customers and payments. “Ultimately, our solution makes transactions cheaper, faster, simpler, and more convenient for everyone involved,” adds Kayaci.
Code approved and customers secured
With the support of EU funding, the AMBRPAY smart contracts solution passed its security audit and successfully recorded its first subscription payment. “We are very proud that our code was approved by the security audit,” remarks Kayaci. The company also secured its first customer, MyEtherWallet. “Being a team of coders, we knew going out and doing sales was going to be a challenge for us,” notes Kayaci. “Luckily, we managed to win the CV VC Competition, which helped us gain traction with potential customers – otherwise we really would have struggled.” The team is now working to adapt its solution to better meet customer needs. This includes focusing on the use of stable crypto coins, which will give users more security in making long-term subscription payments via what are often volatile cryptocurrencies. To help, the team joined the F10 FinTech Acceleration incubator, a programme dedicated to supporting banking and insurance technology start-ups. “Hopefully, we will soon be the go-to solution for facilitating subscription payments with cryptocurrencies and a globally recognised name in the decentralised finance industry,” concludes Kayaci.
Keywords
AMBRPAY, cryptocurrencies, cryptocurrency, subscription-based services, Bitcoin, crypto coins, online services, blockchain
