Irish Tech Startup Introduces Wearable Dash Payment Wristband
Bitcart, an Ireland-based discount gift card platform, has launched a QR code and NFC integrated wristband to allow festival and bar goers to pay for food and drinks using Dash. Users of the platform, called Festy, do not need a wallet, cell phone or credit card to pay with Dash.
Festy links directly to the user’s Dash account, meaning funds are not stored on the Festy platform. Transactions occur within seconds, while the merchants can cash out their Dash for the equivalent fiat currency. Dash, the sixth highest valued cryptocurrency with more than $1.3 billion in market capitalization, claims to be the leading digital currency for payments.
Dash’s Advantages
Dash’s InstantSend technology allows users to make instant payments. In the next update, Dash will be able to process 500,000 transactions with fees of about 10 cents per transaction.
With no private keys or card numbers displayed while making purchases, Festy ensures privacy, allows users to top-up their wristbands at branded ATMs, and make simple transfers online.
Festy’s multi-functional wristband is compatible with every point-of-sale system where Visa contactless is accepted, as well as any mobile phone or computer with NFC tags and offline payments using QR codes.
Also read: BitCart ditches bitcoin over transaction times, accepts Dash
Lower Cost Transactions
“Our partnership with Dash makes the perfect payment solution for everyday transactions,” said Dash CEO Graham de Barra. “Unlike existing traditional bank payments that take a 2% to 5% fee, there is no cost on receiving Dash for merchants. Merchants accepting payments will never have a chargeback, and there are potentially enormous savings to be made compared to the crippling fees from existing payment solutions. We believe this is the payment processor of the future.”
Festivals currently face an extensive cash flow issue. Standard ATMs usually charge $3 to $5 per withdrawal at festivals, as middlemen supplying the machine require compensation. In addition, users can wait in line for up to two hours to withdraw money at large festivals.
Festy ensures that a user’s money stays secure and helps create steady cash flows between the merchant and the consumer.
“This is a product my friends and I would use, because who wants to take their personal belongings to a bar or festival when you don’t have to?” said Daniel Diaz, Dash’s vice president of business development. “Merchants are going to love it too. Incredibly low fees, lower than a debit and credit cards, and by the time they scan the wearable chip, the money transfer has been executed and settled, with no risk of a double charge or fraud.”
The prototype will be ready for a full public rollout at the end of the third quarter.
Featured image from Shutterstock.
