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Monday, April 2, 2018

IEG Holdings Corp. (IEGH) Delivering Loan Assistance to Underbanked Market

More than a quarter of U.S. households are unbanked or underbanked, according to FDIC analysis
IEG Holdings serves the underbanked household market with transparent loan structure in line with credit card repayment rates
Company shareholders offered opportunity at entire share capital of as-yet unlisted cryptocurrency

Amid the world of quick personal lending, IEG Holdings Corp. (OTCQB: IEGH) is making a name for itself as a company that offers loans to the underbanked household market while working to keep its own risk at a low level. IEG Holdings is a fintech online lender that offers $5,000 and $10,000 unsecured loans on an installment basis.

In recent months, IEG Holdings has been actively pursuing ways to advance its business model through partnerships, cryptocurrency initiatives and investment strategies. After exploring the creation of its own fintech coin, the company announced in March (http://nnw.fm/0gGlb) that it was abandoning — at least, for the present — a possible offering or related strategy “after considering the potential risks and benefits” but would continue exploring ways to adopt blockchain technology in its core model.

In the meantime, company CEO Paul Mathieson announced (http://nnw.fm/8AYi1) that all shareholders listed with IEG Holdings by April 30 will have the opportunity to purchase an equal number and percentage (on a fully diluted basis) in the entire share capital of as-yet unlisted Investment Evolution Coin Ltd. (“IEC Ltd.”), a company that Mathieson manages as majority shareholder, thereby reducing the risk to IEG Holdings.

IEC Ltd. is exploring the launch of a new cryptocurrency called Investment Evolution Coin. The cryptocurrency is expected to simplify financial transfers to the Philippines from expatriate nationals. IEC has entered a partnership with HashCash Consultants, a cryptocurrency consultancy in Silicon Valley, as it moves toward the launch of the new coin.

Outside of the cryptocurrency space, IEG Holdings has continued to expand its reach in the consumer lending market. The company issues its loans on a state-by-state basis, with licensing approved in 20 states from California to Maryland. The most recent addition to the list, announced in January, is Virginia. The company continues working with other states to expand consumer access to its loans through its Mr. Amazing Loans portal, which offers fees that are in line with credit card rates and provided under transparent contracts (http://nnw.fm/1UuWq). IEG Holdings has established a goal of securing 25 state licenses, which would expand its coverage to 240 million people — about 75 percent of the U.S. population.

In 2013, the FDIC, in conjunction with the U.S. Census Bureau, estimated that roughly 9.6 million households — about 7.7 percent nationwide — were unbanked and an additional 20 percent were underbanked (http://nnw.fm/wqR5p). By 2015, the most recent survey reported (http://nnw.fm/IB1t6), seven percent were reportedly unbanked and an additional 19.9 percent of households were underbanked, indicating a persistence of the potential market for IEG Holdings’ product. Between 2009 and 2013, the amount of unbanked households varied between 7.6 and 8.2 percent. The Center for Financial Services (CFS) estimated that IEGH’s product category – short-term credit – grew 37 percent from 2012 to 2014, while single-payment credit, the main competing product category, grew by just 0.1 percent (http://nnw.fm/8kZJE).

Analysts with ACF Equity Research forecast in January that IEG Holdings’ revenues will quadruple during the next few years (http://nnw.fm/i9LkJ), growing from about $2 million to $5.33 million by 2019 and $8.23 million by 2020. The company is currently debt-free.

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.InvestmentEvolution.com

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Net Element, Inc. (NASDAQ: NETE) Aims to Transform the Online and Mobile Payments Experience

Point-of-sale terminals market expected to reach $116 billion by 2025 with a CAGR of 9.9 percent
Appointment of seasoned fintech specialists to board of directors brings valuable domestic, international finance expertise to company
Mobile commerce projected to account for 70 percent of ecommerce sales in China and India, while at least one-third of retail sales in the U.K., Germany and the U.S. will stem from ecommerce

Global technology and value-added solutions company Net Element, Inc. (NASDAQ: NETE) has thrived on developing innovative ideas into marketable solutions that engage users in various segments of the highly competitive global ecommerce marketplace (http://nnw.fm/3eKay). Value-added transactional innovations such as Aptito, an all-in-one iOS cloud-based restaurant management and payment acceptance solution, along with ecommerce and retail payment transaction and processing brands such as PayOnline and Unified Payments, add convenience and alternatives to cash payments for retail transactions.

A surge in demand for wireless technologies and the rise of ecommerce is expected to drive the overall global point-of-sale terminals market to a whopping $116 billion by 2025, according to Grand View Research (http://nnw.fm/immR6). An article in Entrepreneur notes that there are numerous advantages underpinning the transition from a society that favors plastic bankcards to a marketplace that allows consumers to pay through their mobile devices (http://nnw.fm/E3Quf). Chief among these are ease of transactions, greater security and heightened convenience. In addition, mobile payments can be a real timesaver, which makes them seriously attractive for millennials (http://nnw.fm/0lF0c).

In a news release, Jonathan Fichman, the newest member of Net Element’s board of directors (http://nnw.fm/zXzm9), said, “The company’s recently announced plans to create a blockchain payments platform and its recently released next generation cloud-based point of sale payments system will both be impactful innovations for the industry.”

Fichman, whose 20-plus years of strategic domestic and international finance expertise within Fortune 100 companies includes extensive experience in fintech, payments, blockchain, wealth management and banking, joins Jon ‘Dr. J’ Najarian, who was also recently appointed to the board. Najarian, a professional investor, money manager and media analyst, is also a CNBC personality (regularly appearing on the ‘Halftime Report’ and ‘Fast Money’ programs) (http://nnw.fm/yKW6i) and a former linebacker for the Chicago Bears.

The global ecommerce market reached $2.3 trillion in 2017, and it’s expected to soar to a ‘mind-boggling’ $4.5 trillion by 2021, according to a Statista report (http://nnw.fm/lg9tK). Another industry perspective notes that mobile commerce will account for more than 70 percent of ecommerce sales in both China and India in 2017, with mobile commerce accounting for a full third of total retail ecommerce sales in the U.K., Germany, and the U.S (http://nnw.fm/8IdUS).

Net Element’s suite of application performing interfaces (APIs) and connectors power commerce for businesses of all sizes, applying multi-channel platforms, all-in-one digital solutions and end-to-end encryption of cardholder data that utilizes tamper-resistant hardware to ensure integrity and simplify security. Net Element was ranked number 418 on Deloitte’s 2017 Technology Fast 500™ list of North America’s 500 fastest-growing technology, media, telecommunications, life sciences and energy tech companies.

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.NetElement.com

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Epazz, Inc. (EPAZ) Customizing Dispute Resolution Solutions with Blockchain-Driven Smart Legal Contracts

Global cost of resolving commercial disputes through litigation estimated at $870 billion
Blockchain-based smart contracts can streamline business, increasing efficiency and reducing costs
Increasing admissibility of blockchain records for legal purposes creates opportunity for smart contracts

Epazz, Inc. (OTC: EPAZ), a leading provider of blockchain cryptocurrency mobile apps and cloud-based business software solutions, is poised to generate new sources of revenue with its patent-pending Cordtell blockchain-driven ‘Smart Contract’ technology, company spokesman Matt Chipman said during a recent interview on MoneyTV with Donald Baillargeon.

“Blockchain legal contracts are believed to be the way business is done in the future,” Chipman said in describing the patent-pending technology behind Cordtell and the company’s expectation that it will generate new sources of revenue. “Epazz is going to offer dispute resolution, customization, and integration (with Cordtell).”

Blockchain technology is generating buzz in every market sector as industry leaders begin customizing the technology to fit specific uses, an article published by Deloitte states (http://nnw.fm/3GvcT). Blockchain-based smart contracts, described as self-executing code on a blockchain that automatically implements the terms of an agreement between parties, could streamline processes that are typically spread across multiple systems and databases.

Epazz has developed Cordtell as a cost-effective way for businesses to resolve disputes in a conflict-free way. Cordtell will be offered on a subscription fee starting at $299 per month, with additional services available to assist in dispute resolution, customization and integration.

“By integrating Cordtell into their business, companies are able to upload data and timestamp it,” Chipman said, adding that the timestamp provides irrefutable evidence that can be used if a legal challenge is raised. “There will be less problems associated with contracts if both sides have to abide by the smart legal contract.”

Blockchain is extremely useful for business-to-business transactions, with merchants and vendors able to keep verifiable and tamperproof records on the chain, an article published by Forbes states (http://nnw.fm/0NShM). Companies are finding that blockchain-driven technologies and smart contracts can help reduce costs, automate order fulfillment and secure supply chains. The financial impact of commercial disputes resolved through litigation is estimated at an eye-popping $870 billion, according to an international comparison from a U.S. Chamber of Commerce study (http://nnw.fm/R6f2W). The indirect, hidden costs of contract disputes, such as missed deadlines, cost overruns, quality issues, and workplace stress, raise the financial impact even higher.

Cordtell’s proprietary technology could play a role in reducing fraud in business transactional contracts by tracking, tracing and verifying that terms within the contract are fulfilled. Cordtell, which Epazz is planning to introduce in the third quarter of 2018, will automatically verify signatures, distribute contracts to the blockchain, record transactions and verify that the contract terms are being followed (http://nnw.fm/vj7QU). The technology also sends reminders and tracks payments and delivery of items.

“We believe that blockchain will fundamentally change the way companies will do business,” Epazz CEO Shaun Passley, PhD, said in a news release (http://nnw.fm/5PrRa). “We are excited to view Cordtell as a solution, not just a blockchain software, but a tool to maximum resources and provide a quick return on investment.”

Cordtell is expected to work with Microsoft Word and Google Docs to provide real-time contract edits and updates via version control. Epazz will primarily market the technology to law firms, health care providers, businesses and governments.

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.Epazz.com

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Thursday, March 29, 2018

WaltonChain ($WTC): Connecting the Virtual to the Practical

Every revolution shakes up a society. The old way of doing things shifts and changes, leaving people wondering what the new rules are and how things relate to each other. The digital revolution is no exception to that rule. As the digital world expands, more and more social features are being absorbed by this new virtual world. Online shopping is a huge industry, social interaction has moved to the internet in a big way, and video gaming allows everyone to be the hero of their own digital reality. Now with the advent of cryptocurrency, everyone can be their own online banker. Because so many things are quickly and more efficiently done in the virtual world of digital reality, we are often left wondering how we should bridge the conventional physical world with the new digital one.

Humans: Are we masters of technology or slaves to machines?

One thing we need to keep in mind, as we ask this question, is that this virtual vs. real dilemma has happened before. Before the age of machines, most work was performed by muscle power. With the advent of the industrial revolution, virtual workers began to pop up in every field of industry and agriculture. As these mechanized “virtual” workers began to replace human muscle power, some social observers saw humans taking a subservient role to these clanking and smoking beasts. Human laborers toiled long hours to feed these new creations with raw materials. While it is true that without the humans the machines would sit there lifeless, without the machines the human tenders would have to do the work themselves. In an odd trade-off. Human workers became a step removed from their work, but wound up more productive as a result.

Suffering as the weak link, or benefiting from growth

The digital machines of today are built from ethereal computer code instead of cold steel, but many of the human dilemmas are the same. As the digital machines provide more unique advantages, people spend more time feeding them. These virtual machines are fantastic at processing data, and we are finding more and more ways to represent the physical world by this data. The weak link in the system is becoming the human tenders. It is like having a machine that could wash and dry clothes the instant it was filled. Either we leave it idle for a time, or we work ourselves to death trying to keep it busy. In order for us to truly benefit from the phenomenal innovations of the digital revolution, we need a mechanized way to feed this beast.

Digitally creating reality

In the world of manufacturing, quality control and supply chain logistics are essential to our highly specialized and productive manufacturing operations. Stringent quality control requires that each step of a manufacturing process be traced from the raw material to the completed product. Unique digital identifiers are assigned to each part as it goes through the process and each final product can be audited using that digital system. If a piece loses its identifying tag, it goes from being a valuable step in the process to a piece of trash. Regardless of its physical properties, if it cannot be tracked and verified in the virtual world, it becomes useless in the physical. This seems odd from a human perspective, but the essential concept is identification. Without the identifying tag, the virtual machine that tracks and manages the dizzying amount of information necessary for the end result cannot relate to that piece. It is this system connecting digitally verifiable tags to practical chunks of stuff that feeds the beast that we call our manufacturing industry and results in our high standard of living.

Centrally limited

These connection systems that feed our manufacturing processes have been primarily restricted to centralized and proprietary installations. Only the largest firms have the resources to build these types of tracking systems. Because these very expensive systems result in such extreme levels of productivity, there are usually a few firms that dominate these industries. Aside from price, these centralized overseeing digital brains have another shortcoming. Each physical piece still has no intrinsic identity. Their identities are assigned and managed by the center. This means that without access to the central authority, no other business can interact with that physical piece. This effectively restricts the efficiencies of virtual management to the parent organization.

Decentralizing digital control

This trend of centralized control is meeting with some challenges from some of the newest innovation in the virtual world. Blockchain technology, the new kid on the digital block, has brought in a unique solution to the challenge of digital oversight. This invention which has spawned a number of projects, primarily cryptocurrencies, is changing the way we think about virtual management. Blockchains utilized a distributed ledger and protocol to achieve universal consensus among peers. There is no enforcement required; all of the participants have to agree or nothing happens. This technology has been used primarily for currency interchanges, but there is a company with its eye on manufacturing.

WaltonChain: Decentralizing the virtual to physical interface

WaltonChain (Crypto: WTC) was named after Charlie Walton. Although his name is not a household word, his invention certainly is. Charlie Walton created the RFID tag. WaltonChain aims to be the one-stop-shop for integrating RFID tracking systems into the open source and decentralized world of blockchain technology. The development team behind the WaltonChain project has extensive backgrounds in the textile industry and most of their illustrations for use cases come from that field. The goal of the WaltonChain project is to incorporate RFID identification directly into blockchain universal consensus technology.

Giving the practical a virtual identity

A WaltonChain RFID tag will be able to create a public/private key combination. This will give it a totally unique, globally verifiable identity. As opposed to an identity that was assigned to it by a particular business, this blockchain identity is intrinsic to this physical piece and can be interacted with and verified in a decentralized and global way. Any individual or business could download the open source software and create their own digital management system to interact with this product. The WaltonChain protocol will also allow for creation of child chains to perform more narrow and specialized functions within smaller businesses. For example, if an item of clothing is identified on the main chain, as it entered a retail store, the store could log it into its own child chain that would track it through the store and log details such as how many times it was tried on. Because of the universal nature of blockchain technology, there would not have to be any contractual connection between the manufacturer and the retailer for this increase in efficiency and ease of management to be utilized.

Decentralizing wealth and efficiency

As a result of blockchain technology merged with RFID technology, many improvements will become available. Not only will conventional practices become less expensive, new opportunities are developing that would not have been possible previously. With their extensive knowledge of manufacturing and computer science, the WaltonChain team is bringing fascinating innovation to the interface between the practically physical and the ever changing virtual.

To learn more about WaltonChain, visit www.waltonchain.org

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