Forus Global Digital Exchange, a public utility blockchain solution, launched today in Johannesburg.
Headed by Sonny Fisher, who also founded the Mahala trading platform in 2011, Forus is touted as 'a public utility blockchain and ecosystem solution' that will provide a single user-authentication platform for both mobile- and web-based transactions, for the banked and the unbanked.
"Despite the launch of dozens of mobile payment platforms and e-wallets technology platforms, the realisation of true financial inclusion for the poorest and most neglected communities in South Africa and beyond remains unachieved," the company says in its launch statement.
Forus (an acronym for Free, Open, Real-Time, Ubiquitous, Secure) already has offices in the Caribbean, Mauritius, and the US cities of Atlanta and Los Angeles, and says its solution "will enable access to a host of financial services for millions previously excluded from the formal economy".
The payment functionality will be made available to all banks, financial institutions, merchants, application developers and corporate enterprises, and will allow anyone to use this free payment gateway, which has a built-in advertising platform, the company says.
The solution includes free e-wallet functionality, e-commerce functionality for small businesses, hawkers and informal shops, and enables anyone to pay or receive funds anywhere, anytime for free.
Forus has bold ambitions, promising "shares in an internationally listed company for the first 200 000 000 Forus Foundation Members", as well as access to low-interest loans, funding and financing for capital and business expenditure.
With key partnerships established and the backend blockchain technology already in place, Forus says it is "positioned to sign up over 100-million members in quick succession" through a range of partners in the cooperative banking space as well as a host of other large member organisations.
Some of these partners include NACSA, the National Apex Co-operative of South Africa, and NACFISA, the National Association of Co-operative Financial Institutions of South Africa.
The Forus business model uses the distributed ledger technology of the Forus Core platform, coupled with revenue generated through advertising, loyalty, and group buying discounts, to develop a revenue stream for the entire ecosystem. A percentage of revenue is thus returned, in real time, to the community.
The Forus Core platform will generate revenue via permissioned advertising through Fisher's Mahala Digital Media, and Mahala TV.
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