INCLUSIVE BANKING - PDF document

1 INCLUSIVE BANKING Givo, the result of
INCLUSIVE BANKING Givo, the result of the 2019 Odyssey Hackathon Challenge Niels Faber Between the 11th and 15th of April, the third episode of world’s largest Blockchain hackathon has taken place in Groningen. Over 500 enthusiasts of Blockchain and artificial intelligence, divided into 100 teams, have been working on the realization of a ‘ c ommonized ’ digital infrastructure. Each team was engaged with one of the 20 challenges of the Hackathon. One of these was ‘Inclusive Banking’: how can people engage in peer - to - peer transactions, making use of any of their assets, without the need to moneti ze. Five teams dedicated themselves to the question of how a different system of transactions can be realized, in which normal people trade with their own things and skills. After a long weekend of hard work, an App prototype is ready that realizes just th is. THE CHALLENGE The current monetary economy is based on transactions that involve money as payments. This work well for part of society. However, we still face a large group of people that are unable to engage in transactions in this system. Simply be cause they posses s no or insufficient monetary funds for participation. The notion of Inclusive Banking addresses this issue, asking the question of whether it is possible to use other things of value in transactions besides money. Think for instance of ti me, data, energy, mobility, or waste. The core of the idea is the use of the idle capacity of various resources that people do have. This should result in a situation in which surplus energy in exchange for transport from A to B, or swapping waste for an h our of piano lessons. A simple though, so it seems. For the past five years, this topic has been researched at the Radboud University Nijmegen, the Netherlands, just to get a clearer picture of the hybrid transactions such an economy is built on. Not sur prisingly, this has led to a plethora of problems. This was reflected by the variety of solutions the five teams of the challenge have brought forth. First, the problem of access to such a system comes into play. Especially, when the system goes digital. O ne team focused on the development of a digital wallet, enabling people without access to digital devices to interact with the system. In particu

2 lar, people who are physically unable t
lar, people who are physically unable to use smartphones or with limited budgets. Next, to this solution, three teams have started to construct a market place that brings together supply and demand regarding the suggested ‘carriers of value'. One team focused on the question of how these assets could be inserted into the new banking system and what technical soluti on would be most efficient. Another team focused on the issue of mutual credit, in which transactions between people , result ing in the accumulation of de bts, are discounted against each other. The underlying idea being that this results in a situation wher e all debts are settled. The third and last market place team focused on the development of an application programming interface (a programming toolkit for application development). Their platform builds on two key functions, namely facilitating transactio ns using tokens and matching supply and demand. THE WINNER As with any game, only one can win. After deliberation of a four - headed jury, one team was appointed winner for each of the challenges of the Odyssey Hackathon 2019. The SocialTec team won the Inclusive Banking challenge with their ‘GIVO' app. Crucial in the jury's decision was they this team had been able to realize a working app, including the necessary infrastructure to operate it. The suggested solution addresses two problems. First, it aims to take away entry barriers for participation in inclusive banking. Many existing platforms require users to register, prior to use. Givo allows for direct and anonymous access (including the pros and cons). Users can first browse what is in store and fla g their interests before they engage in transactions. Second, this app addresses the problem of the ‘coincidence of wants'. In other words, the chance that people with certain needs meet the persons that may fulfill these. This problem of search and find e qually applies to normal, monetary markets. Using artificial intelligence, this app is able to connect people at an early stage, based on their preferences. At the moment a person decides to effectuate a transaction, the possible match is transformed into a real transaction. If and only if each participant of that specific transaction agrees, the transaction is executed a

3 nd does the exchange of assets take pla
nd does the exchange of assets take place. At the end of the Odyssey Hackathon, this was presented in a working prototype. CHANGING THE FABRIC OF SOCIETY Despite the differences between solutions, they clearly show to be complementary as well. Participation in such challenges shows that a complex problem, such as inclusive banking, leads to a variety that cannot be estimated up front. The idea to realize a pressure cooker ecosystem for innovation using a hackathon offers a platform to turn crazy ideas into concrete results in a little longer than the blink of an eye. Yes, this is within limits. In steps following the hackathon, the results need to be developed further into concrete, implementable, and feasible solutions for a larger audience. The inclusive banking challenge continues and aims to realize a life - test of the app in three Dutch and two Belgian cities by the end of 2019. Next st age will probably be a scale up to ten European cities in 2020. The leading idea is that the development and realization of a system of Inclusive Banking will provide people that currently are excluded from the economy and society an opportunity to reengag e. This and the more efficient use of the things we have would lead to sustainable and circular benefits. If the system works, Inclusive Banking will be the gamechanger that turns our society from one driven by scarcity to one driven by abundance. The cha llenge ‘Inclusive Banking’ has been made possible by the Radboud University Nijmege n , OCF2.0 Foundation, Triodos Bank, Engie, TNO, and the Province of Gelderland. To all, we are very grateful for their support and assistance. N iels Faber is a researcher a t the Radboud Universit y Nijmegen and lecturer at the Hanze University of Applied Sciences, Groningen. His research focuses on the organizational aspects of sustainable development. This translates to three connected themes': the transition to a sustainabl e society, in particular, a circular economy, new forms of organizing for sustainability, and measuring sustainability. He has published over 50 works, including books, book chapters, journal and conference papers and is co - editor of a series of online col umns about the circular economy and the Dutch transition s relating to climate, energy, and circularity