We have recently announced a new partnership with the project Weld. As you may remember, the project is going to unite the crypto world with the fiat reality we currently have. But how are these guys going to do it? Do they have a plan? Is it possible at all? We know that you are interested in getting answers to these questions. So, welcome the recap of the recent AMA with our CEO Dyma Budorin and the executives of Weld.
Dyma:
Could you tell us a bit about your business and current project?
Alexey:
We are operating in 3 countries serving around 300,000 clients, and, I think that we have an $11 mln portfolio. And a year ago we started the Weld project, the main goal of which is to connect the crypto and fiat worlds, so we are going to create a virtual assets payment system for the post-fiat era. So we are creating a product when any particular customer, doesn’t matter where he/she is from, he/she has a card, mobile application, and ability to connect any digital assets, for example, cryptocurrency in centralised exchange or in Metamask, or with an influencer, or with Twitch balance, or Steam balance if he/she is gamer and just seamlessly pay using phone because our cards are integrated with Apple pay and Google pay, so you just connect your wallet via a mobile application, add our card to Apple pay or Google pay, and go to the coffee shop.
Iryna:
This is the first version of our product and as the next step we are going to add other digital assets, so it will be more than only a blockchain/crypto solution. In future, it will be possible to use your Steam account or your Twitch account, or even your TikTok account, you will be able to connect all the accounts where you have some digital assets on a balance to our Weld card and use it for paying.
Dyma:
Iryna, you didn’t tell us anything about yourself. What’s your background and how have you ended up in crypto?
Iryna:
I’ve been in crypto for like six years and now I’m CBDO in the crypto hedge fund based in London and also I am a co-founder of Weld.money as you know. I had deep experience in trading (6 years). And I feel pretty confident in the unstable crypto world.
Dyma:
I think now we understand that we have successful crypto people here. Alright, let’s move on. I know from my experience that many people have already used Cypto.com and Binance cards for quite a while. Could you tell us what’s the difference between these cards and yours?
Alexey:
So, first of all, the main difference is that we don’t require to buy the card. For example, when speaking about Crypto.com, you must have 5,000 Singapore dollars in CRO tokens on your account and then you’ll be able to order a card. And the second difference is that we are operating in the CIS region, it’s Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Russia, and so on, because we have strong experience and strong connections with business development there. We have a payment system license, an international bank of two Korean. We have 8 partners, bank partners, and 2 more in integration right now. That is our strong side: we know how to work with regulators and how to properly perform the KYC procedures for the clients.
Dyma:
I would like to know a little bit about the tech. Do I correctly understand that once you install the app, you connect your app to your exchange account?
Alexey:
As a user, you install the app, pass small and simple KYC procedure, and obtain a card. It’s a virtual card, so the time you have to spend for all the process is less than 10 minutes. And you connect your wallet on a particular exchange using your API key. You add our corporate wallet to the white list to secure your money and it’s all. When you are in a coffee shop or in a restaurant, you tap your phone on a POS terminal, we receive a request that a transfer of $50 has been initiated. Meanwhile, we connect to your wallet, transfer these $50 from your wallet to our wallet, and then allow our bank to process the transaction like an overdraft. And later the informational flow is closed. Then we transfer real funds from our crypto wallet to fiat and then to your bank account to close the overdraft. So that’s how it works.
Dyma:
Sounds a little bit too complex. From the user side, it’s important that the transaction is as quick as possible and that there are no commissions, I guess. And of course, the UI and UX should be native and a person would not like to have a brain ache, what to do to pay with the token.
Alexey:
We are fully focused on UI and UX experience. So we have several fields to pass the KYC procedure and just to connect your API key from a particular exchange and that’s all. Everything else is internal magic. You just tap your phone and everything else is done automatically. So all transfers between wallets, transfers between accounts and so on are done in a transparent way inside our system.
Dyma:
Okay. So it takes less than a second to make a payment, right?
Alexey:
Yeah, sure. So when you’re in a coffee shop you can’t wait for 1 minute, 15 minutes for blockchain operations and so on. That’s why we are creating a scheme where everything takes less than 2 or 3 seconds. I mean all the processes connected to exchange, negotiations with the processing centre of the bank, and so on. So, you just pay using a regular card with a balance like Chase Bank or monobank and so on. You just tap your phone and take your coffee. It’s a simple purchase.
Dyma:
Alright, will it work in all countries or do you want to start in specified regions? How will the geographical expansion look like?
Alexey:
In the first phase, we are going to start in Europe (Eastern Europe). The first markets in Europe will be Poland, Estonia, Germany, etc and, of course, Ukraine as a pilot market. Of course, our cards will work in any region. So, for example, you are a Lithuanian guy, you obtain our card, fly to the USA, and pay for coffee. It will be the same card as the one you have in your pocket. In the next stage, we are going to expand to Russia, Asian, Latin American, and Middle East markets. So our goal is to cover the whole planet with our solution.
Dyma:
That’s ambitious, very ambitious. Alright, my last question. Could you please tell us about Weld token?
Iryna:
This is my part. Anything about Weld token is my responsibility. So, first of all, the main feature of our token is that you will be able to order premium, infinite cards paying with Weld tokens. Secondly, if you are a Weld holder, you can stake tokens and decrease your processing fees. The same scheme we see in Binance with BNB token. And if you own BNB tokens, then you face lower fees. Also, we have some kind of monthly limits for spending on our cards and if you want to spend more, you need to stake Weld token and increase your limits. In the future, we would like to add some other options and fintech instruments like insurance, loans, deposits, and you will need to own Weld tokens to use these features. Also, we would like to provide a referral program for all our users. So, if you invite your friends, you will be promoted with Weld tokens and you will have some kind of motivation to recommend Weld cards to your friends. Also, an important feature of the Weld token is the bridge between our real processing business and the crypto token economy. So, 10% of our monthly profit from processing fees we will spend for the buyback of Weld tokens. In this case, it is like the deflationary model similar to the model applied to BNB.
Dyma:
Okay, let’s listen to questions from our community now.
Community member:
I have a question about marketing. I think that’s an essential part of this project. How are you going to address possible marketing difficulties?
Iryna:
We have a few types of strategies. So, regarding our token economy. First of all, we have huge marketing support from the biggest players on the market. We have more than 100 KOLs who help us and give us media support. Then, regarding the issue of cards. We are in the process of negotiation with a couple of centralized exchanges and they ask us for some, let’s say, unique partnerships with them. So, in this case, they have their own commitment to issue cards for the customers in our region. So they will cover the biggest part of our users, even probably directly from the exchanges. So, when integrating with exchanges, they will make marketing across their users.
Community member:
You said something about issuing cards to skip track changes. For example, Coinbase has its own cards. How are you going to fight against that?
Iryna:
We don’t want to fight against somebody, we want to be partners. Even for Binance pay, they have their own solution. But as we mentioned in the beginning, they are not available on CIS Market. So, users in all CIS countries cannot order Crypto.com card or Wirex as well as use Binance pay, that’s not available here. So that’s the reason why we want to be partners of all the services available on the CIS Market. And also we are going to enter new markets in Europe and Asia. It’s a huge space for anybody because we are not only acting as a single exchange solution, but we will be connecting as many exchanges as possible. And, of course, our solution will be used not only for crypto payments. As I mentioned in the beginning, it will be possible to use your Steam and Twitch accounts, TikTok balances, etc. So you will be able to pay with your Weld card using all these digital assets. I mean around the world, in each shop, supermarket, as well as during online shopping.
Community member: Okay, thank you!
Dyma:
Maybe some wrap up words from your side, maybe some vision from you on crypto space in 1 to 3 years. What do you think about it? What will be Weld’s position in this future?
Alexey:
All we can say is that already this year you’ll be able to pay for your daily expenses using your crypto wallet. The future has already come.
Dyma: Alright, thank you for your time. Huge thanks to all participants!
As you can see, the guys have provided very detailed and professional information about their project. It’s the confirmation of the fact that Weld has serious ambitions and knows how to reach them. Looking forward to seeing the results of the implementation of their innovative ideas. The world needs their solution. Big changes are coming and it’s a great pleasure for Hacken to partner with the players that make users’ dreams come true!
