A North East tech firm claims that its new Bottlepay app will crack the “greatest unsolved problem in finance” – micropayments to retailers and consumers.
“Micro payments, particularly across borders, are the biggest challenge fintechs have yet to overcome. It’s the last thing that needs sorting – and we’ve done it,” said founder Pete Cheyne.
“Existing payment rails (payment systems) make micro payments or small credit card transactions uneconomic because of high merchant charges. Our new payment rail sorts this simply and instantly. It’s built on Bitcoin protocols, but works with pounds, euros, dollars, and eventually any currency.
“It gives content creators and businesses a totally new way to monetise their products, and gives them access to a new global customer base. But it also gives those customers a new, simple way of paying for goods too, so it works for both sides of a transaction.”
This is a new start for the project, as an earlier version had to be closed down in advance of new EU legislation which was introduced in January.
“Our original offering was a proof of concept experiment –what we’ve done since is go right back to basics, recruited a new, very experienced Chief Executive, Mark Webster and also a new Head of Compliance and Financial Crime, Lianne Dodds,” he added.
“They’ve completely reshaped and refocused the company and given us solid foundations from a compliance first approach. We’re now ahead of the curve and will remain so – we don’t want to be involved in any retrospective remediation in the area of compliance and I’m sure we won’t need to be.
“We’ve discussed our plans and services with the Financial Conduct Authority and they’re satisfied that we’re fully compliant with all regulations.”
Half of Bottlepay’s 14 staff will be based in Newcastle’s Hoults Yard, with the remainder spread around the world.
“We’re a global team and have developed a product with global potential. What Bottlepay does is unlock access to the financial infrastructure of the future. It has huge potential – really huge. We have more than 2,000 people signed up to download the app on release with hundreds more on a waiting list. The sky’s the limit for the business, we’ve developed a solution for the greatest unsolved problem in finance,” he explained.
The app is expected to go live on the App store by the end of the month.
