BABB raises £1.4 million to support license application for biometric banking platform
Blockchain banking startup BABB has raised £1.4 million (US$1.78 million) in equity crowdfunded through the Crowdcube platform to support license applications for its biometric banking services in the UK and Lithuania.
BABB seeks to address the massive global market of unbanked people, providing account opening, fast and inexpensive money transfers, currency exchange, and fundraising services through the user’s smartphone, according to the announcement. The company plans to launch its app to beta testers in autumn of this year, after having acquired a banking license, with account opening and domestic and international transaction capabilities. More advanced functionality is planned for 2019.
Materials on the company website indicate that onboarding and authentication are performed with selfie facial biometrics and a spoken pass-phrase.
CEO Rushd Averroes hailed the funding as a milestone in the company’s progress towards creating opportunities for individuals and businesses around the world.
“Millions are excluded from, or dissatisfied with, existing banking institutions,” says Averroes. “We’re determined to change the industry, to make banking fair, inclusive and globally connected. We plan to do this by ripping up the rulebook on how to build a bank, whilst remaining fully compliant with all regulation. By combining blockchain technology, biometrics and artificial intelligence, we are creating the future of banking, radically different from what the world has seen before.”
BABB raised $20 million in a sold-out ICO for its BAX utility token earlier this year.
Comments