• H2020
• Excellent Science
• Future & Emerging Technologies

Polish blockchain start-up Billon has received a €2m grant under the Horizon 2020 programme to exploit the alternative payment market.

The company said that it was awarded the grant on the basis that its distributed ledger technology (DLT) could exploit the alternative payment market.

Robert Kaluza, co-founder of Billon, said: “Billon’s blockchain technology is the first cloud and mobile peer-to-peer solution for everyday currencies using DLT, where we provide PLN and GBP solutions in partnership with banks. Billon now moves beyond solutions to digitally pay people, to now enable participants to spend their funds online.”

The granted funding will be used to expand the start-up’s blockchain technology beyond instant corporate payments, support the launch of e-commerce and content monetisation solutions, and provide additional investment in sales, marketing, compliance and operation.

Tadeusz Kuropatwinski, managing director of digital payments at Billon, added: “We believe content monetisation and e-commerce payments will be one of the main drivers behind the global demand for micropayments, especially in emerging markets.

“Today’s payment solutions include clumsy pre-paid vouchers and premium SMS, and Billon can transform this into a digital payment experience on a mobile phone, and with a full audit trail.”

Based on the company’s successful trials, Kuropatwinski said he expects to launch merchant services for e-commerce and content monetisation this autumn in Poland, and in 2018 in the UK. The company will then start looking for possible entries into emerging markets.