Halvings Capital is proud to be one of the partners of Retreeb, a new payment network that is cheaper than the traditional one and with a portion of the profits destined for charitable projects.
At first glance, Retreeb is a refreshing venture when it comes to decentralized ways to pay. Primarily based out of Switzerland, Retreeb wants to make purchasing goods from retailers or conducting transactions with acquaintances more efficient, but especially more conscious.
What separates Retreeb from other distributed payment solutions is that 33% of network and transaction fees is put towards the funding of humanitarian projects that tackle the greatest social, ecological, and economic challenges of our times. These projects are democratically decided upon by the users themselves. Very ambitious about its CSR (corporate social responsibilities), Retreeb is all about ethically aligned technological solutions.
Designated associations which play an important societal role (culturally, environmentally) are exempt from fees on transactions, meaning what cut Retreeb would have taken from a transaction will instead go entirely to the organization receiving payment from a user. In their own words, the Retreeb protocol is a “win/win accounting and financial innovation ambition in a win/lose dominated ecosystem.” Attempting to be as profitable as it is sustainable, Retreeb wants to prove that financial institutions can prioritize social responsibility.
As a payment ecosystem, it is powered by a two-asset system. The two tokens in question are known as Stable Treeb, or (S)TREEB, and Utility Treeb, or (U)TREEB. The Consumer Wallet mobile application allows for the purchase of these tokens with the user’s local FIAT.
(S)TREEB is a multi-local stable asset that’s value follows the € (Euro) for users in European Union countries or the CHF (Swiss Franc) for users in Switzerland. Similarly, to other QR code payment applications, goods and services can be purchased from participating retailers with just your mobile phone and a Retreeb wallet containing (S)TREEB. Their CELL hub platform schedules nodes that automate the creation and destruction of (S)TREEB as they are withdrawn and deposited, as well as ensuring that fund transfers operate smoothly.
(S)TREEB cannot be sent to other users or exchanges, it is strictly compatible with the Retreeb retail wallet. These tokens are completely backed by the user’s FIAT currency, The balance between the tokens in circulation and the FIAT’s liquid assets is always kept. (U)TREEB, on the other hand, is a governance asset entirely for use in the Retreeb community. As a fixed supply utility (one billion tokens in total supply to be exact) its value can fluctuate, just like the many other cryptocurrencies we know of.
Here’s where Retreeb’s dedication to decentralized decision-making comes to shine. By stacking their (U)TREEB tokens in a dedicated smart contract, users can express their vote to decide which CSR projects are most essential and can submit them to the entire user community, ready to be funded. The more tokens you lock-in, the more your vote counts. Projects that comply with the eligibility charter can be proposed by users and then voted on by validators who are selected via Proof of Stake.
Besides its use as a governing asset, holding a relatively significant amount of (U)TREEB will mark a user with a premium status that brings its own benefits. One such benefit, for example, is receiving a free biometric payment card which acts as a TREEB debit card but with the added efficiency of carrying the user’s fingerprint to validate purchases at retailers. No longer would a user need to take out his or her mobile phone to pay with (S)TREEB. Retreeb offers two distinguished wallets, one assigned to consumers and the other to retailers.
The Retreeb Retail Wallet is a mobile application made for merchants and retailers to accept payments in the form of (S)TREEB stable coins as well as refund them when needed. It cannot be used to pay, but it keeps a transactions log and allows for the held balance to be withdrawn to the user’s bank account as FIAT money at any time. The application is designed to ensure that it should only take roughly 2 minutes from the time a retailer downloads it until the time they can receive payment.
This, along with a commission-based referral program, is prepared to make retail’s mass adoption of Retreeb a reality. The Consumer Wallet mobile application is, you guessed it, for the customers. It is the unique way to purchase (S)TREEB and (U)TREEB either with a credit card or a bank transfer. Purchases can be made with ease at participating retailers.
The amount you need to pay, the invoice, will be typed in by the merchant on their device. Following that, a QR code will appear on their screen awaiting scanning by your mobile device’s camera. There also exists a referral program for consumers, allowing users to invite others to create a wallet of their own. The reward for these referrals is additional funding towards CSR projects chosen by the user.
Certainly, the most unique feature of the Consumer Wallet is the CSR Launchpad. Here users can propose CSR projects which are to be decided upon by validators. Validators stack their (U)TREEB to empower their vote on which projects are the most urgent and deserve submitting to the entire userbase. With their network fees being between 0.9% — 1.5% of each transaction, Retreeb takes two-thirds of this fee as revenue.
The other third is designated by the user toward whichever of the previously voted upon CSR projects they wish to send them. Retreeb’s Consumer Wallet also does contain non-intrusive advertisements that are deliberated by their own internal advertising department. The product’s users are shown will remain in line with Retreeb’s ethical vision. The wallet does contain an Adblock feature that can be activated to completely remove all advertisements, but this will cost a “small consideration in (S)TREEB to compensate for the lack of earnings for Retreeb.” 50% of this Adblock fee will be paid to the CSR project of the user’s choice.
While they are optimistic that they will eventually attract tens or even hundreds of millions of euros toward the funding of CSR projects, Retreeb further looks to revolutionize the payment industry and our current understanding of it. By putting ethics, transparency, and solidarity at the center of the transactional process, they believe that it is possible for a more redistributive way of doing business. Decentralized decision-making and technology are at the heart of their solution.
2021 Roadmap
In Q1, the team completed their White paper 2.0, launched a user wallet prototype, and sketched out the economic and governance scheme that is focal of Retreeb’s mission. By summer 2021, they plan to institute Prestaking, reach 50% of TREEB in supply circulating, and launch the prototype POS wallet. Finally, they plan to end the year with further development on the CSR project launchpad and Testnet CELL live (Alpha version).
Co-Founders
Jeremi Lepetit- CEO, IT software & Blockchain
Sayah El-Yatim- CTO, Cryptography
Stéphanie Flacher- CMO, Bank & Blockchain
Quentin Lepetit- CDO, Product design & Marketing
Project links
Website: https://retreeb.io/
Telegram: https://t.me/retreeb_official
Twitter: https://twitter.com/retreeb_io
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/retreeb/
Medium: https://retreeb.medium.com/
Pitchdeck: https://retreeb.io/assets/retreeb-pitchdeck.pdf
Whitepaper: https://retreeb.io/assets/retreeb-white-paper.pdf
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