This study is conducted by Advait on blockchain payment systems. This study is primitive in nature and has only attributed industry impact.

1. AIRFOX

Industry: Fintech, Trading

Location: Boston, Massachusetts

How it’s using blockchain in payments: Airfox is a decentralized platform that lets those in underbanked parts of the world make payments, receive small loans and send money all over the globe. The Ethereum-based platform uses the company’s AirToken to help facilitate peer-to-peer payments for utility bills, goods and services.

Industry Impact: Airfox struck a deal with Brazilian retail giant Via Varejo to deploy its digital banking and payment platform in its stores. Airfox plans to release an app in 2019 to bring its digital payment platform to Via Varejo’s 50 million customers.

Key Features:

1. Money is accessible through an easy-to-use mobile app and at physical retail locations.
2. Creditworthiness can be calculated for people using phone data and in-app activity.
3. Machine Learning generates alternative credit scores using data science.
4. Consumers and businesses are directly connected.

2. CIRCLE

Industry: Fintech, Cryptocurrency

Location: Boston, Massachusetts

How it’s using blockchain in payments: Circle Pay blockchain allows for the safe transfer of money between different individuals, currencies and countries. The Circle Pay function is available in 29 countries and in U.S. dollars, Euros and British Pounds. Each money transfer or payment is encrypted on a blockchain to ensure a safe transaction.

Industry Impact: The Circle Pay app acts as a group messaging app with a payment feature integrated within. In-between sending your friends selfies or memes, you can also transfer money cross-border and cross-currency without any fees.

Key Features:

1. The best platform to run an internet business using new standards for money powered by USD Coin(USSDC) the fastest growing regulated stablecoin. The stability of a dollar at the speed of a cryptocurrency.
2. APIs by developers for developers. Building the next generation of financial and internet commerce products with a comprehensive suite of stablecoin payments and wallets APIs.
3. Run your business on USDC for a more global,scalable, and efficient alternative to traditional banking rails with a Circle Business Account.

3. ZCASH

Industry: Fintech, Cryptocurrency

Location: Denver, Colorado

How it’s using blockchain in payments: Zcash is a cryptocurrency exchange platform using its own cryptocurrency (Zcash) to help people pay for goods and services. You can use the company’s crypto to buy a house, purchase electronics or even to donate to a nonprofit.

Industry Impact: Zcash already boasts a wide list of companies that accept the crypto. Companies accepting the digital currency as payment are in industries like apparel, web services, medical, restaurants/coffee shops and nonprofit.

Key Features:

1. ZCash is a privacy-protecting, digital currency built on strong science.
2. Privacy within your control. Shielded ZCash transactions are completely private.

4. RIPPLE

Industry: Fintech, Trading, Cryptocurrency

Location: San Francisco, California

How it’s using blockchain in payments: Ripple’s blockchain lets users send money and make payments across the globe. The company’s RippleNet platform facilitates the quick transaction of payments and requires lower capital amounts for cross-border payments. The company boasts a network of more than 175 banks and commercial platforms that use RippleNet for cross-border payments.

Industry Impact: Payment provider TransferGo announced it was using Ripple’s RippleNet payment platform to launch a remittance corridor to India. With Ripple’s platform, TransferGo is hoping to speed up its Europe-to-India payment processing from 2 to 3 days to just a few seconds.

Key Features:

1. RippleNet makes it easy for its diverse network of 300+ financial institutions worldwide to enable faser, lower-cost payments around the world.
2. Everywhere: Expand your reach by offering more places and ways to move money.
3. Reliable: Build trust by increasing visibility and eliminating payment failure.
4. Instant: Provide instant payments so money arrives when customers need it.
5. Low Cost: Capitalize on operational and cost efficiencies to further grow your business.

5. VEEM

Industry: Fintech, Cryptocurrency

Location: San Francisco, California

How it’s using blockchain in payments: Veem is a blockchain-backed payment platform for small businesses to send and receive money in local currency. The company’s ledger technology secures, tracks and reconciles payments, so small businesses have a transparent history of all incoming and outgoing payments.

Industry Impact: Veem has seen its blockchain-based payment transactions double from a year earlier. They now account for more than 62% of the company’s total transactions.

Key Features:

1. Simple: Running a business is complicated. Payments shouldn’t be. With Veem, set up your account in minutes to pay and get paid in a few clicks.
2. Transparent: Never worry about where your money is, or when it will arrive. Get notified and follow your money with Veem’s real-time payment tracker.
3. Secure: Have you ever lost a payment? Veem’s robust encryption, fraud prevention, and bank compliance keeps your business safe.
4. Affordable: Hidden fees blindside small businesses and decrease cash flow. Enjoy low costs and the best foreign exchange rates on payments.

6. VY

Industry: Fintech

Location: Beverly Hills, California

How it’s using blockchain in payments: Ivy is a blockchain-based technology for international crypto business payments that need verification. Businesses use the IVY token to facilitate the transfer of digital assets and access 74 identifiable know-your-customer (KYC) data points, which lets them receive transparent payments from carefully-vetted sources on the blockchain.

Industry Impact: Ivy recently announced a partnership with Goldfields Money, an Australian digital bank, to commercialize and spread the use of Ivy’s blockchain payment system to an international community. Ivy is currently under complete rebranding and repositioning exercise as of June, 2020.

7. GLUWA

Industry: Fintech, Trading

Location: San Francisco, California

How it’s using blockchain in payments: Gluwa uses blockchain for their borderless financial platform. The company combines a payment function with a digital wallet to help users manage and easily transfer money to people all over the world.

Industry Impact: Gluwa users can trade the company’s Gluwacoin for fiat currency at a 1:1 fixed rate. The stablecoin acts as a bridge between the crypto and fiat worlds due to its compatibility with real-world currencies.

Key Features:

1. Borderless Financial Infrastructure: Gluwa encapsulates useful blockchain technologies as a web layer, so you can easily take advantage of the borderless economy.
2. Service Components: a. Wallet b. Payment c. Micro-Lending d. Exchange e. Credit Payment

8. STELLAR

Industry: Fintech, Trading

Location: San Francisco, California

How it’s using blockchain in payments: Stellar’s blockchain payment platform fights poverty by connecting people and low-cost financial institutions. The Stellar network features lower remittance costs, mobile banking, real-time settlements (in 2-5 seconds) and an automatic currency exchange.

Industry Impact: Consulting giant Deloitte uses Stellar to test out different payment methods for banking clients outside North America.

Key Features:

1. Stellar is an open network for storing and moving money.
2. Stellar makes it possible to create, send, and trade digital representations of all forms of money: dollars, pesos, bitcoin, pretty much anything. It’s designed so all the world’s financial systems can work together on a single network.
3. Stellar’s API and SDKs are ready to help you transform the world of finance, and the network’s currency connections could give even a small company the power and reach of an international bank.
4. Global Payments App:Leverage the many currency-backed tokens already on the Stellar network.
5. Asset Exchanges:Use Stellar’s built-in decentralized exchange for crypto, forex, or securities. Users can swap between tokens using simple functions built into the protocol.
6. Micropayment Services:Power payments of any size with Stellar’s low, flat fees and fast transactions.
7. Designed for Developers: Stellar has the documentation, tooling, and support to help you get your project up quickly.

9. ABRA

Industry: Fintech, Cryptocurrency, Trading

Location: Mountain View, California

How it’s using blockchain in payments: Abra’s peer-to-peer platform lets users transfer digital currencies to other users using blockchain. Abra users can fund their digital wallets with 50 different fiat currencies or more than 30 different cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Litecoin, Zcash, Augur and Stellar.

Industry Impact: Residents in the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA), as well as European Union nations, can now transfer euros or other national currencies into their digital wallets on Abra.

Key Features:

1. Simple to Use: Abra’s 5-star app is simple to use, making cryptocurrency investing accessible for everyone.
2. Unprecedented access: Buy, sell, or exchange over 100 cryptocurrencies from a single app, including new stablecoin deposit and withdrawal options.
3. Start Investing instantly: Start building a right-sized portfolio today. Investing is now affordable for everyone.
4. Crypto your way: The Abra app allows users to exchange any asset with any other in-app asset, anytime, anywhere.

10. SALT LENDING

Industry: Fintech, Lending

Location: Denver, Colorado

What it does: SALT’s platform allows users to leverage their cryptocurrency for cash loans. Borrowers can lock into cash loans, from 1-36 months, by leveraging cryptos like Bitcoin, Ether or even Dogecoin. The company’s platform is available in a majority of US states and multiple countries and loans start at $5,000.

Key Features:

1. The Crypto-Backed Loan
2. SALT’s offer comprehensive insurance coverage over users collateral. a. Crime Insurance b. Cyber Liability Insurance
3. Monitor User Loan Health

11. GEMINI

Industry: Fintech, Cryptocurrency, Trading

Location: New York, New York

What it does: Gemini is a digital asset exchange that allows users to buy, sell and trade cryptocurrencies. The company’s platform, using blockchain for both trading and cybersecurity purposes, allows individuals and institutional investors to trade everything from Bitcoin, to Litecoin and Ether.

Key Features:

1. Gemini is a simple, elegant, and secure way to build your bitcoin and crypto portfolio. Buying, selling, and storing your cryptocurrency has never been easier.
2. A digital marketplace to buy, sell, and store digital art and collectibles, or “nifties” (non-fungible tokens).
3. Whether you’re an experienced trader or just getting started, Gemini has the tools for you.
4. Gemini has the largest insurance coverage limit of any crypto custodian in the world.

12. CELSIUS NETWORK

Industry: Fintech, Lending

Location: New York, New York

What it does: Like SALT, Celsius Network also allows users to leverage their crypto for cash loans. Instead of relying on traditional credit scores to determine interest rates, the company’s Loan-to-Value (LTV) Ratio reviews how much collateral a customer can offer and bases interest rates off of that number. Since June 2018, Celsius Network has done over $600 million in coin loans and has funded the largest single loan of $5 million.

Key Features:

1. Celsius Network lets you earn interest on your crypto and instantly borrow against it. No fees ever.
2. Borrow dollars while they still exist at the lowest interest rates on the market.
3. Celsius Network shares at least 80% of its revenues with the Celsius community in the form of weekly interest payments. All users earn up to 10%*.
4. Instantly send Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies like never before – no wallet required.

13. COINBASE

Industry: Fintech

Location: San Francisco, California

What it does: Coinbase is a digital portfolio that lets users buy and sell cryptocurrency. The company’s technology makes buying and managing cryptos easy with features like recurring buys and vault protection. Since 2012, Coinbase has seen over $150 billion exchanged by more than 20 million people.

Key Features:

1. Buy and sell popular digital currencies, keep track of them in one place.
2. Invest in cryptocurrency slowly over time by scheduling buys daily, weekly, or monthly.
3. For added security, store your funds in a vault with time delayed withdrawals.
4. Coinbase stores the vast majority of the digital assets in secure offline storage.
5. Cryptocurrency stored on Coinbase’s servers is covered by our insurance policy.
6. Coinbase supports a variety of the most popular digital currencies.

14. TRADOVE

Industry: Social Media, E-commerce

Location: Palo Alto, California

What it does: TraDove is a B2B social network connecting buyers and sellers. The company’s blockchain platform introduces the correct buyers to the correct sellers for their products, manages supply chain and acts as a communication tool for potential customers. Amazon, John Deere, Lowes and IKEA are just some of the global brands using TraDove to find the right buyers and sellers.

Key Features:

1. TraDove targets and eliminates the pain points for business Buyers and Sellers
2. Connect and collaborate with the best-suited buyers and sellers worldwide using our AI technology.
3. Receive alerts when relevant Buyers post their supply or purchasing needs. You can also search for leads worldwide.
4. Post your supply needs and TraDove will notify the best-suited sellers worldwide, which gives you an opportunity to receive multiple proposals and get the best deal.
5. Share your product information to over 250,000 users and learn what’s new in the procurement world.
6. Learn from business professionals in your industry and share your ideas on specific topics by joining group discussions.
7. Read reviews and endorse fellow users, products & services, and more. TraDove authenticates all users through its own proprietary authentication protocols.
8. Trade using our Blockchain Payment Solution and eliminate the payment complexity associated with international transactions.

15. ROBINHOOD

Industry: Fintech

Location: Menlo Park, California

What it does: Robinhood is a stock brokerage app that lets users buy and sell stocks, ETFs and cryptocurrency. The fintech giant recently entered the blockchain realm by letting customers invest in everything from Bitcoin to Litecoin. With more than $500 million in funding, Robinhood is one of the major financial players currently embracing blockchain.

Key Features:

1. Robinhood, a pioneer of commission-free investing, gives you more ways to make your money work harder.
2. Robinood’s goal is to make investing in financial markets more affordable, more intuitive, and more fun, no matter how much experience you have (or don’t have).
3. Set up customized news and notifications to stay on top of your assets as casually or as relentlessly as you like. Controlling the flow of info is up to you
4. Keep your portfolio in your pocket. Everything you need to manage your assets is available in a single app.

16. BLOCKSTACK

Industry: Internet of Things, Open Source, Developer Platform

Location: New York, New York

What it does: Blockstack is an internet for decentralized apps. The Blockstack platform helps engineers build blockchain-based apps that lets developers own their own encrypted data without the need for a server. Users can join the company’s community and safely discover hundreds of blockchain apps.

Key Features:

1. Blockstack apps give users direct ownership of their internet assets and protect user privacy.
2. Secure your data with Blockstack apps and get a universal login
3. Build blockchain-powered apps in as little as an hour

17. TOKKEN

Industry: Fintech, Cannatech

Location: Denver

What it does: Tokken gives online banking privileges to previously cash-intensive industries like cannabis. The company’s infusion of blockchain and online banking allows such industries to grow in a safe and traceable way. The technology helps cut down on money laundering and creates a completely transparent data ledger.

18. FILECOIN

Industry: Fintech

Location: San Francisco

What it does: Filecoin incentivizes individuals for using the company’s mining software on the unused cloud storage space of personal computers, hard drives and even data centers. Because data mining takes up so much storage, the company is giving miners their own Filecoins, which can be traded for US dollars, Bitcoin and Ether. By making cloud storage a commodity, Filecoin is turning blockchain technology into a competitive storage market.

Key Features:

1. Put your unused storage to work by becoming a Filecoin miner. Use the Filecoin mining software to get paid for fulfilling storage requests and hosting files on the global Filecoin market.
2. Filecoin will be traded on a number of exchanges and supported by multiple cryptocurrency wallets, allowing you to easily exchange Filecoin for other currencies like US Dollars, Bitcoin and Ether.
3. Clients can tune their storage strategy to suit their needs in redundancy, speed of retrieval and cost. Filecoin storage and retrieval markets make miners compete to give you flexible options at the best prices.
4. The Filecoin network achieves staggering economies of scale by allowing anyone worldwide to participate as storage providers.

19. TRUSTTOKEN

Industry: Fintech

Location: San Francisco, California

What it does: TrustToken lets users create asset-backed tokens that can easily be bought and sold. The company’s blockchain infrastructure allows an asset to issue its own coin. For example, TrustToken permits everything from rental properties to commodities to release their own coin, resulting in fractional control and ownership over the asset.

20.LEMONADE

Industry: Artificial Intelligence, Fintech, Insurance

Location: San Francisco, California

What it does: Lemonade combines artificial intelligence and blockchain to help users receive renters and homeowners insurance at reasonable rates. The company uses AI to create the optimal flat-fee rate for an insurance-seeker, then it’s blockchain-based smart contracts help to lock a user into a payment agreement. By using blockchain, Lemonade is able to approve insurance claims and payouts within minutes, rather than days.

Key Features:

1. The first regulated stablecoin fully backed by the US Dollar.
2. Use a stablecoin with the longest proven track record of liquidity and redeemability.
3. Attract more global users and trading volume through international fiat markets with TrueCurrencies.
4. Make our stablecoins work harder for you by taking advantage of our TrueCurrencies partnerships.

21. OMEGA GRID

Industry: Fintech, Cleantech

Location: Chicago

What it does: Chicago-based Omega Grid’s blockchain technology lets energy businesses, as well as individuals, manage peer-to-peer energy sales. Founded in 2017, the company is using blockchain to turn energy into a managed, profitable asset.

Key Features:

1. Earn rewards for using clean, local energy

Funding and donations

The problem: Many people question whether donations are making it to their intended beneficiaries.

1. Atix Labs

Founded: 2011

Mission: Helping small social good enterprises gain access to (transparent) funding

Cred: UNICEF’s Innovation Fund invested time and money in this Singapore/Argentina-based company.

2. Binance Charity Foundation

Launched: 2018

Mission: Bringing accountability to charitable donations

Cred: Its platform features only a small handful of charity projects, but one funded 20 beneficiaries affected by a landslide in Uganda’s Bududa District.

3. BitGive Foundation

Founded: 2013

Mission: Letting donors follow their bitcoin donations step-by-step

Cred: Its early partners included nonprofits like Save the Children and the Water Project, and the organization has worked with others across the globe ever since.

4. Blockchain4Humanity

Founded: 2017

Mission: Acting as an accelerator for blockchain projects that aim to affect social change

Cred: The organization has given out two rounds of awards in which they’ve helped facilitate funding for 41 blockchain social good platforms, including BitGive.

5. Disberse

Founded: 2016

Mission: Making it more efficient to send and receive funds between donors and aid organizations around the world

Cred: Disberse has enacted pilot programs in Albania, Rwanda, and Ukraine and counts partners such as Oxfam, The Netherlands Red Cross, and Start Network.

6. Fidelity Charitable

Started accepting cryptocurrency: 2015

Mission: Letting people make charitable donations using bitcoin

Cred: Fidelity is one of the world’s largest asset managers, managing more than $2,459 billion worth of assets as of March 2018.

7. GiftCoin

ICO started: March 2018

Mission: Letting charitable donors track how and when their money is spent

Cred: GiftCoin is running two pilot programs, one with established charity payment processor Network For Good, another with an forthcoming platform called Charity Checkout. It’s been tested out by small charities like Ourmala, which offers yoga classes to refugees.

8. Giveth

Founded: 2016

Mission: Removing intermediaries from charitable giving

Cred: The Giveth decentralized app is currently live in beta and is running six campaigns, which have cumulatively received more than 644 ETH (more than $67,100 at time of writing).

9. Pineapple Fund

Founded: 2017 (though it’s now defunct)

Mission: Using bitcoin to fund multiple charitable organizations

Cred: When live, the Pineapple Fund raised $55,750,000 across 60 charities listed on the project’s website. Charities spanned all sectors, including environmental conservation, The Internet Archive, the ACLU, and drug information website Erowid.

10. Ripple for Good

Founded: 2018

Mission: Supporting organizations that increase global financial inclusion

Cred: It’s backed by Ripple, which has ample financial resources and a robust team, and is partnered with DonorsChoose.org, an initiative that helps public schools.

11. The Giving Block

Founded: 2018

Mission: Helping nonprofits receive cryptocurrency donations/working with blockchain-related nonprofits

Cred: The Giving Block has worked directly with a number of nonprofits to help them set up cryptocurrency donations, including the Lupus Foundation.