Unlocking Trust: Digital Wallets for Identity Verification and Asset Transfer

As part of Scotland FinTech Festival, the “Crypto FinTech Seminar” will outline some key areas of knowledge and innovation related to the usage of cryptography, blockchain, zero trust and quantum computers. We took some time to chat to Professor Bill Buchanan, who will be co-presenting the seminar along with Dr Mwarwan Abubakar, about the current trends and evolution of the digital assets space.

The fact that we still use our scribbled signatures and hard-copy contracts as a core method of proving our identity within high-value and high-risk transactions still amazes Bill Buchanan, Professor of Applied Cryptography at Edinburgh Napier University. Especially as these acts are often performed through the use of mainly untrusted communication systems such as electronic mail. “We still live very much with a paper-based approach to the ownership and the transfer of assets, and often see them poorly managed,” explains Buchanan. “Digital wallets can help solve this.”

Going forward, it is likely there will be a rise in the use of digital wallets, which can be used to transfer assets and – importantly – define ownership. A private key in a digital wallet can not only prove our identities, but also link to our ownership of assets, store our important digitally signed identity documents (such as our driving licence), and provide a way for us to digitally sign things. Improved methods of providing our identity will also likely include biometrics, hard tokens or our location information. At the core of this is public key encryption, which digitally transfers assets without the need for any network connection, and is a central component to moving into a more trusted digital world.

Nonetheless, a cautious equilibrium needs to be maintained between the rights of privacy and the requirements of compliance, such as with money laundering checks and fraud detection. While there are methods used in cryptocurrency that support a full anonymisation of asset transfers, it is unlikely that these would be allowed within a regulatory framework. “There are ways, though, to strike a balance between these things and instil strong levels of trust in transactions by using trusted financial organisations,” proffered Buchanan. “It is thus likely that we will see the rise of proxy entities (agents legally authorised to act on behalf of another party), who will shield the identities of those who are transferring assets, yet the transactions can still be fully checked.”

Going forward, regulation will be fundamental for providing trust, and licences will be needed to perform fully-auditable transactions. Overall, the key aim of the infrastructure behind digital assets must be for citizens to have a stronger integration with public services to move to a properly integrated digital world. “Unfortunately, without a strong identity infrastructure, we will struggle to scale our world into a more trusted one,” concluded Buchanan. “The EU, for example, now wants to roll out an e-ID digital identity for every European citizen, which will  allow for closer economic and societal links across EU countries. This will support the freedom of movement across Europe and provide closer economic integration across borders.”

Embedded Payments: Paving the way for the future of business

Payments have always been the leading area of innovation for fintech companies in Scotland utilising open banking and embedded payments making it faster and more convenient to pay and transfer money both locally and globally. That is why Payments & Transactions was designated as one of the four key strategic priority themes of FinTech Scotland’s FinTech Research & Innovation Roadmap 2021-31.

Nick Adams, Director and Payments Experience Specialist at Modulr, spoke with us about how embedded account-to-account payments are enhancing the ability to seamlessly integrate payments into everyday experiences, enabling customers and businesses to make purchases without the need to input bank details, credit card or debit card information. Modulr is leading this category of B2B embedded payments and is registered as an Electronic Money Institution (EMI), enabling businesses to create accounts, control and access, receive and make payments, update systems and customers via webhooks – all on-demand through software.

“When people think about digital payments for businesses and the economy via ecommerce or other platforms they tend to think of card payment players like Checkout.com, Stripe, Braintree (part of PayPal) and then PayPal itself,” explains Adams. “Embedded payments is fundamentally different as it enables businesses to fully embed and control real-time money movements in and out of their businesses through software. The brands I mentioned, among many others, are third-party managed service providers that sit outside their clients’ business. They are focused on the checkout experience, but there’s a whole other area of business payments that has not been brought into the 21^stcentury.”

By bringing embedded payments into their platforms, companies can offer their customers custom experiences that align much more to today’s consumer expectations, who want immediate notifications and frictionless payments like Uber and Amazon. Those businesses also want certainty in their Treasury functions on how much money they actually have at any point in time – a real-time view of their cash position. “Modulr enables hundreds of enterprise customers and thousands of SMEs to process and reconcile large volumes of payments automatically and in real-time rather than using antiquated batch processes,” describes Adams. “It’s providing access to real-time payments for all sizes of every business, from enterprises through to SMEs, to simply plug in through the same API and get the same control and visibility. This instils trust in both buyers and sellers, because they can actually see what’s happening in a transaction, instantaneously.”

From a personal perspective, Adams now considers himself a “payments guy” who, having worked for large global payments businesses, has now transferred to a Scottish fintech scale-up. His advice for those thinking of making a similar move:

1. Don’t feel you have to be global from day one; payments is a globally fragmented industry and focusing on a country or region with harmonised payments regulation and processes makes sense. We’ve seen too many global-ambition payments startups fail due to over-stretch
2. Promote the exciting opportunities of working in fintech to the talent derived from Scotland’s more traditional financial services businesses
3. Be flexible with your teams, but spend as much time as you can together physically in the same space to create energy and move much more quickly.

Adams concludes, “What excited me about moving from a big corporate, to an early-stage scale-up was the ferocious speed and need to pivot constantly. It’s a very invigorating environment. Generally speaking, the people that are in it, I think are having great fun. I’d recommend this to anyone.”

How To Capitalise On The Crypto Boom? This New NFT-Funded Eco-Glamping Resort

If there was ever a time to Look seriously at digital currency, it’s now. Today’s crypto market is worth $1.21 trillion,* and Bitcoin has experienced an 85%** surge since this time last year. Meanwhile, NFTs are bringing the potential of profitability to the masses. Well, now “new wave thrill-seekers” can use NFT’s to gain exclusive access to a one-of-a-kind eco-glamping site featuring an Augmented Reality (AR) gaming experience just 20 minutes from Edinburgh.

Those who are interested in NFTs, but fancy something a little different from their investment, should discover Mythtopia – a unique travel experience only available to NFT holders. 

Mythtopia combines ecotourism with an AR gaming experience centred around Celtic mythology in stunning Scottish woodland. Guests can stay in one of the 150 low-carbon impact geometric domes and take part in Mythtopia Legends,’ an augmented reality video game following the tales of Celtic folklore. 

By owning a Myths NFT (Myths), investors can stay up to three nights per year at Mythtopia Resort alongside friends and family (up to 4 people per dome). Or, they can stake their NFTs and earn extra cash from their allocated nights.

Founder of Mythtopia, Oliver Pyle-Santini, said: “Our NFT’s enable us to build this amazing resort of Mythtopia! The AR game Legends’ is a unique activity, but totally optional. Come and enjoy a lovely weekend away by diving into our Celtic world; finding hidden treasures and adventuring in mythical quests. We intend on making the resort completely carbon neutral. Using carbon credits through OXEGEN (OXE) tokens will (I hope) help people to go greener, faster.”

The recent boom in crypto can often lead to an opportunity for NFTs. This isn’t the only reason to invest in Myths. Today, individuals are increasingly motivated to lower their carbon footprint and make more sustainable choices. According to a study*** conducted by Earth Day 2023, 78% of the public believe in the importance of individual action to fight climate change, and over a third (38%) say that a financial incentive would help them make more environmentally-friendly decisions.

In addition to the Myths, Mythtopia offers their own crypto currency called OXEGEN (OXE). Becoming an OXEGEN (OXE) token holder, investors can join Mythtopia’s mission of planting 120,000 trees and re-wilding the natural environment. The liquidity of the OXEGEN (OXE) cryptocurrency token will come from the carbon credits of these planted trees. Ideal for eco-conscious investors.

The Myths NFT launch will fund the necessary capital to build carbon-negative dwellings on the eco-glamping site, which will be entirely powered by solar and geothermal energy. Not only this, guests can also get involved in activities that help them re-explore nature, such as lake swimming, star gazing, yoga, and even planting trees themselves.

The first mint date is set to take place in Autumn 2023. The funds raised will be used to build the unique and first-of-its-kind Mythtopia resort, which will open nine months later (Spring 2024).

To learn more about how you can invest in Myths NFT’s and OXE tokens and become part of the Mythtopia story, visit the website here.