Humaniq: banking services for the undocumented and unbanked
According to the information provided by the World Bank there are 1.5 billion people estimated in the world who are unable to prove their identity. The majority live in Africa and Asia, and a third are children.
These individuals have no access to a traditional bank account as well as they are exluded from Know Your Customer (KYC) procedure. Most of the unbanked people in the world are concentrated in poorest countries composing more than 50% of adults. It is a main obstacle to fight global poverty. Despite that some banks have tried to enter the market and provide basic banking services in poor countries but reliable identification has been a barrier to offering services.
What is the Humaniq Project?
The Humaniq project aims to connect two billion unbanked people across the world. The main feature of the project is a mobile wallet for transacting and storing Humaniq Coins (HMQ). The app will be designed with the cheapest Android smartphones in mind, making it affordable to the users who need it most.
The Humaniq app will use bio-identification technology enabling face and voice recognition to verify user accounts in lieu of government issued ID. Bio-identification method requires a smartphone with a front facing camera and a microphone. It was calculated that android phone, corresponding to these specifications, costs about $20. All the users will be rewarded with free coins for verifying their account with bio-identification technology.
Using Bio-identification technology it is not necessary to have passwords and cryptographic keys. The app will serve as a form of identification and as a method of accessing user wallets. But the whole process of bio-identification on a blockchain is challenging because person’s voice and facial features may change over time. Digital library of 2 billion people would require a significant amount of storage space and computing power to manage. It seems also that decentralized network of low-end smart phones would probably not be able to provide the resources needed. Currently it is not clear how Humaniq Project aims to overcome these technical challenges. However it is clear that partnership with bio-ID technology service provider will be established.
Humaniq token ( HMQ )
The Humaniq token is intended to be used as a store of value and a means of payment. It is not divisible to simplify all the transactions. An emission schedule is desgned as follows: the number of coins that a user can earn through minting is limited. Early users earn the largest rewards, starting at 860 coins. The rewards are decreasing over time for the 2 billionth person to sign up it drops to 140 coins. Tokens are rewarded to the users depending on their activity on the network.
The emission rate will respond to the market price of the Humaniq token - decreasing when the price is falling, and resuming when the price rises. It is considered that the price falls when the current price is less than the average price for the previous week.
Humaniq plans on releasing a mobile app prototype in May 2017 with a full product launch scheduled in July 2017.
Sale terms of Humaniq tokens
In December 2016, Humaniq raised 133 Bitcoin in their presale, worth $126,000 at the sale’s close.
Since that time significant updates were made of the website and conception of the project following the advice from experts.
The Humaniq ICO runs from February 28th, 2017 to April 8th, 2017. The sale will accept Bitcoin and Ethereum. 1 ETH will buy 1000 HMQ. ICO participants can earn bonuses by contributing early on in the sale.
- First 24 hours–50%
- First week–33%
- Second week–20%
- Third week–14%
- Fourth week–7%
- 0% bonus for remainder of sale
Because HMQ are non-divisible, bonuses will be rounded down to the nearest whole number.
The whitepaper states that 20% of the total supply of Humaniq tokens will be distributed in the pre-sale and the ICO. The total supply of tokens will be five times greater than the amount sold. However, the whitepaper does not specify what will happen to 80% of the supply not sold off in the crowdsale. It seems that rest of unsold tokens will be distributed to users through the emission mechanism.
Escrow
Escrow services are provided by three top members of the Humaniq team and two third parties.
Official Resources:
Information is good, but I cannot put my trust in ANYTHING that collects biometric data.
I agree with you. This project is designed not for most of us because we have access to the traditional banking system. But it is important for about 2 billion undocumented and unbanked people in poor countries. They have no access to KYC and banking services. This project aims to help them. We can only support the idea.
No, @arvydas, I have to disagree. You can help the people who do not have access to the traditional banking system WITHOUT taking their biometric data. You can do it with bitcoin, litecoin, dash, startcoin, and all other blockchain based cryptocurrencies that do not collect and control information on people.
They will control their own information - on the Blockchain and decide who gets to see that information, not any central authority.
But you said they are illiterate. How are they gonna control their own biometric data (which are open on the Internet with every login) if they are illiterate? Would you use biometric data as litterate?
And if they live on less than $2.5, then they really just need hardware to game their crypto of choice through faucets. Also, if the are illiterate, they are not stupid. And even as illiterate, they can choose symbols from the keyboard and write them to paper, where they will not be available to everyone like biometric data.
At the end, I have to thank you. Your “arguments” have made me sure that Humaniq is human only by name.
How they can afford themselves to acquire very expansive Bitcoins? They cannot earn more BTC just using Bitcoin network but with Humaniq they can. It is kind of cheap mining and incentivize to use Humaniq network. Nothing similar with your mentioned cryptocurrencies. Do not forget that the goal of project is to identify undocumented and unbanked people but not to exclude them. Bitcoin, DASH, XMR, Litecoin etc. is suitable for westerners but not not for poor African people. They have only very cheap smart phones running only very simple apps. Bitcoin is for richers and not for poor. How can they buy Bitcoins if they have no access to the markets?
@arvydas, you are seriously missing my point. Even if you think that Humaniq is the only coin possible for use in poverty stricken countries (which is not true), it is still NOT NECESSARY to take their biometric data. Do you understand what I'm talking about?
I am not sure you understand what you are talking about. Have you ever been to Africa? Asia? South America? Or any place where some of the 2 billion people live on less than $2.50 cents a day and scrape to live in the depths of poverty and struggle? Or been somewhere where some of the 2 billion people without bank accounts can't participate in the economy?
Or met any of the 1 billion people who are illiterate and would not have a clue how to interpret text on a paper never mind on a phone?
Your concern about biometrics is what I call a 'White Man' problem that is born from a life of privilege in the West. I suspect you are cryptoanarchist or a hard core Libertarian and that's fine. Or maybe even a Bitcoin Maximalist.... But honestly, your concerns are far different than the people who Humaniq is aiming to lift out of poverty and improve their lives.
In fact it IS NECESSARY to take their biometric data. Because that allows them, even when they are illiterate - to protect and safeguard their data on their phone. It gives them an identity which they can use to access more than just banking services, much like a profile on Facebook but is rock solid and gauranteed to be theirs. One that can't be hijacked or stolen, or ripped from a database. It's them and it's theirs. Protected and safeguarded in a Blockchain.
Do YOU understand what I am talking about?
It's not about the coin. That's what you can't see. It's more about the hardware than the software. Humaniq will be putting smart enough phones into the market at the lowest possible costs or even zero cost as investment with the app and some currency to use. Bitcoin is great if you have a phone and you understand how to use it well enough to figure out how to buy and sell Bitcoin (good luck buying bitcoin with a Fiat currency out of Africa or a small Asian country). People in the West can hardly figure out how to participate in the cryptocurrency revolution without some coaching. Never mind someone who can't read, lives on less than $2.50 cents a day and has never had a bank account.