Bitspiration 2015- The Skype of Payments (Andrzej Horoszczak, Maciej Łuczak)

### Overview At Bitspiration 2015, the presenters introduced Billon, describing it as a peer-to-peer digital mobile cash platform and 'PayPal without the bank account.' Designed to operate across PCs, servers, tablets, smartphones, and POS devices, the system enables users to transact electronically without needing a traditional bank account or upfront contract. Billon works with financial institutions such as Plus Bank, eCard, and Citibank—having won the Citibank Mobile Challenge—by drastically cutting operational overhead and facilitating instant digital cash transfers directly between users.

### Key Topics - **Unbanked and Underbanked Populations:** The speaker noted that approximately 2.5 billion people globally and nearly one-third of the population in Poland lack bank accounts, largely due to high bank maintenance costs (30–50 euros per dormant account annually) where 70% of accounts do not generate profit. - **Direct Peer-to-Peer Settlement:** Rather than relying on traditional multi-party clearing networks and bank transfer rails, Billon executes direct peer-to-peer transfers of digital fiat currency without external intermediaries. - **Regulatory Compliance:** Operates legally within European financial frameworks under the E-Money Directive, utilizing deferred KYC (Know Your Customer) and AML (Anti-Money Laundering) procedures for lower-tier activity. - **Real-World Deployments:** Demonstrated case studies including market research agency IQS replacing cash and bank payouts for 100,000 questionnaire rewards per year, and live stream testing with Polish content creator 'Izak,' who collected over 2,500 PLN across 11,000 transactions within 12 hours from followers aged 13 to 34.

### Technical Details - **Data and Content Encryption:** Traditional security models often encrypt only data access via passwords. Billon employs an advanced cryptosystem that directly encrypts the content of the data itself. Through this method, real money is represented and stored as secure electronic files across host devices. - **Direct Device-to-Device Movement:** Transactions transfer the encrypted electronic cash files directly between user hardware (demonstrated over Wi-Fi between laptops) rather than executing ledger updates across intermediate banking databases. - **Merchant Integration & Micro-transactions:** Features an open API supporting micropayments. Demonstrated use cases include paywall micro-charges (e.g., paying 20 cents for an article), embedding buy/pay links inside marketing emails or social media posts, and automatic data delivery alongside payment approvals. - **Cash Mechanics & Irreversibility:** Because the system functions as digital cash, transactions settle instantly. Misdirected transfers cannot be arbitrarily reversed by an intermediary; users must request returns from recipients, though the user interface incorporates multi-step confirmation prompts to verify receiver login names.

### Takeaways Billon provides banks and merchants with a low-cost, digital alternative to physical cash and cumbersome bank account infrastructures, reportedly reducing bank operating costs by up to 90%. By enabling software-based electronic money files that transfer instantly peer-to-peer without requiring bank accounts, it broadens participation in the digital economy and makes frictionless online micropayments viable.