As the world becomes increasingly interconnected, buyers and sellers everywhere are becoming more inclined to trade across borders, through online marketplaces and on a peer-to-peer basis. However, while information and goods can flow more freely now than ever before, the payments systems that we rely upon are still characterized by high costs and low approval rates.

To unlock the full potential of global commerce, buyers and sellers need access to a new kind of payments system — one that is fast, easy-to-use, scalable, cost-effective, reliable and transparent. One that eliminates friction and increases the willingness of parties to transact with one another.

The COTI team was formed to build this next-generation payments system. Its development efforts are guided by 7 core principles:

1. Solving the payments challenges of today rather than developing complex technology that won’t deliver practical benefits to society.

2. Combining the best of traditional payments systems with the best of digital currencies rather than being constrained to one way of thinking.

3. Personalizing the payments experience based on each individual user’s behavior rather than classifying users according to business verticals or locations.

4. Pursuing decentralization and transparency rather than centralization and secrecy.

5. Delivering ease-of-use and universal appeal rather than complexity and utility that is limited to a narrow, tech-savvy audience.

6. Protecting user privacy rather than serving as a conduit for illegal activity.

7. Shaping, and securing, appropriate regulatory authorizations rather than avoiding compliance with the rules and regulations of sovereign states.

***

These are the core principles that guide the COTI team’s development efforts. Join our community and help COTI — Currency of the Internet — set the standard for how payments should work in the digital currency era. Help us create a future in which payments are faster, easier, more cost-effective and more reliable for buyers and sellers everywhere.