LeapRate Exclusive… Yoav Dror is the CEO of PumaPay, one of the biggest ICOs in 2018, raising over $117m. With an MBA and over 20 years of experience in heading online high-transaction companies, Yoav is now leading the team developing PumaPay’s blockchain-based PullPayment protocol, enabling businesses to easily accept cryptocurrency payments.
Yoav joins Leaprate today to talk about PumaPay’s token listing on the OKEx exchange.
LR: Hi, Yoav, happy to have you at Leaprate. As a start, could you please introduce PumaPay? What does the company do?
Yoav: At PumaPay, we aim to disrupt the whole payments landscape and we have made accepting cryptopayments easy! We have developed a suite of products including our own cryptocurrency, mobile wallet app, a payment gateway for merchants and a marketing hub for merchants and consumers. We revolutionize payments by providing a faster, more efficient and inexpensive alternative to credit cards. Our comprehensive payment solution supports the most common transactions in the online and offline spheres, such as recurring payments, top-up, pay-per-use, and pay-per-time; providing a blockchain-based solution for everyday payments.
After a year and a half of development, our solution is ready, and we are moving on to the adoption phase. To support this new phase in the company, we have just returned from our first ever Pan-Asian Tour where our team attended a series of events in 4 countries over the course of 9 days. We launched with a closed VIP dinner in Singapore, followed by stops in Hanoi Vietnam, Seoul Korea & Tokyo Japan.
LR: Please describe the PullPayment Protocol – does it have any competition and if yes, what is the competitive advantage of the Puma’s product?
Yoav: PumaPay is a streamlined cryptocurrency payment system. Our key innovation is that we combine the flexibility and ease of use of credit cards with the advantages of blockchain technology. Of course, we have competition, as does every business.
Our PullPayment Protocol is unique, and it inverses the mechanics of the transaction and allows merchants to “pull” funds from customers wallets, based on pre-approved terms. This has enabled the creation of billing mechanisms that are very common in our daily lives but were not possible on the blockchain before, such as recurring payments, top-up, direct debit and many more. In fact, we were the first company to introduce fully decentralized subscription payments on the blockchain back in October 2018.
To date, we have developed five different Advanced Billing Model and we are working on more. Our PullPayment Protocol is very flexible and will allow any business to define their billing models. It will adapt to the Business’s business-logic, and not the other way around.
LR: What are some of the potential threats that PumaPay should consider in its business model, considering the amount of new blockchain-based payment systems that emerge lately?
Yoav: Yes, there are many new blockchain-based payment systems, and this supports our efforts. We understand that in order for cryptocurrencies to become mainstream, several things are required to happen. First and foremost, there needs to be tools available that are intuitive, easy to use, that comply with financial standards and, wherever possible foresee future regulations. We have created a comprehensive payment solution with a complete set of tools for businesses and consumers.
We also mitigated the risks associated with cryptocurrencies with the Fiat Settlement Layer that limits the volatility risk associated with cryptocurrencies and guarantees liquidity, by locking the rate of the PMA token at the moment of transaction. Using this layer, businesses will receive their proceeds as fiat directly to their bank account without the hassles associated with liquidation on crypto exchanges.
LR: What is the idea behind the PumaPay token – what do you expect the demand for it to be and how specifically will the token help the company?
Yoav: By adopting blockchain technology and creating a token economy based on the PumaPay (PMA) token, we are driving innovation at the token level. Most importantly, the token is the facilitator of the PullPayment Protocol and the sole means of value transfer over the protocol. We have developed a range of products for both end users and businesses, our robust cryptocurrency payment system is built around the idea of utility, so that cryptocurrencies can be used in everyday scenarios.
LR: How does PumaPay see its partnership with OKEX in the long run?
Yoav: It is a great achievement that OKEx chose and wants to work with us. OKEx is currently one of the leading cryptocurrency exchanges and one of the top leading exchanges by volume. They are as excited to partner with us as we are with them, we look forward to working with them and offering mutual support for our efforts in supporting cryptocurrency adoption across Asia.
LR: Any other observations about the development of the blockchain-based payment industry? Upcoming trends in the space, latest developments and major opportunities for the PumaPay?
Yoav: Blockchain technology has the potential to transform business performance offering faster transaction times, huge costs savings and immutability. We are of the opinion that such a change will be largely driven by blockchain-based crypto payment systems such as PumaPay.
While there are a variety of crypto payment solutions out there, PumaPay immediately sets itself apart because its protocol allows users to process transactions using familiar billing methodologies by combining the flexibility of credit cards with the added benefits of the blockchain. It is well known that current payment solutions such as credit cards, come with multiple limitations and fees that usually burden the business.
We are putting the merchant front and center, incentivizing businesses to integrate with our system and encouraging their customers to use the PMA Token as a means of payment for everyday use. We aim to interrupt the payment space offering a real alternative to credit cards and eliminating the middleman. We have two important strategic alliances to support our efforts. We are a proud member of Enterprise Ethereum Alliance (EEA) and part of the Financial Services Special Interest Group (SIG) playing an important role in developing billing and payment taxonomy. We are also a Founding Member of the University of Nicosia’s Institute for the Future (IFF). The IFF aims to expand the understanding of blockchain and AI, and support effective application of blockchain technology in industry, government, education and society in general.
We aim to create a better payment solution, pushing for cryptocurrency adoption and cutting costs for businesses and customers alike. We strive to become and set the standard for the future of payments!
More news from PumaPay can be seen below: