Minima and Minipay pilot blockchain-based retail payment system
Minima, the first collaborative, ultra-thin blockchain network that enables anyone to run a complete node on a mobile or IoT device, today announced that it has completed a pilot with Minipay, one of the winners from the first Minima Innovation Challenge for to bring to market a contactless payment app that connects to Minima wallets and uses NFC and QR codes for everyday purchases.
Led by Michal Borowiecki, Minipay’s payment app uses Near Field Communication (NFC) to make payment experiences more seamless and easy for people who are used to paying for retail by tapping their phone. Until now, cryptocurrencies have been better at storing value than trading in a traditional way, such as retail payments; by using Minima’s protocol, Minipay will put the customer experience at the forefront of payments.
Michal Borowiecki said: “It is a huge privilege to be a winner of the Minima Innovation Challenge. This success will enable me to spend more time developing on Minima and bring not just one but several early minidapp ideas to reality and increase my contribution to the Minima community. What really excites and interests me about Minima is its focus on decentralization, which is what matters most for blockchain technology, along with the small footprint and scalability it provides.”
Michal continued; “In principle, Minipay can be implemented over any blockchain that supports L2 payment channels. Minima, which has L2 and p2p communication (Maxima) built in from the start and is light enough to run entirely on the mobile phone, makes it much easier to develop and deliver an overall seamless solution.”
The Minipay app will make the payment experience as simple and familiar as possible. This will be done by offering standard transactions in the chain of requested payments, by presenting a QR code that the payer can scan or by sending the request (address, amount, tokenid) over NFC technology for the payer to scan contactlessly – create and transactions over and settle payment channels outside the chain. Once a payment channel is established, payments can be made immediately and transactions can be made contactless even in the temporary absence of an internet connection.
Cryptocurrencies are currently used mainly as stores of value and methods of market speculation, but their use as a daily payment mechanism has so far been limited. If a cryptocurrency, such as the Minima token, becomes a daily medium of exchange, this will increase security and price stability and enable more adoption among people and businesses who favor decentralization.
Minima’s Head of Partnerships, Adam Feiler, said: “Working with Minipay has proven the versatility of the Minima protocol and how it can have a huge impact in the financial sector. Using our decentralized blockchain, Minipay will disrupt the payments industry and be a strong innovator in bringing about greater global financial inclusion.”
