BANKEX has developed the first NFC-based platform using blockchain technology. In the article below we will describe the first case of BANKEX NFC platform implementation, which centers around providing fresh drinking water to the people in arid and drought-prone regions.

What is NFC

Let’s start from the beginning. What the heck is NFC? The abbreviation NFC stands for Near-Field Communication. Near-Field Communication technology utilizes a set of communication protocols that enable two electronic devices, where one of which is generally a plastic card or smartphone, to establish communication by bringing them within 4cm (or less) of each other.

NFC devices create a low-speed connection with a simple structure, which allows them to connect to much more complicated wireless networks. The utilization of NFC technology is increasing in many different industries, such as contactless payment systems, public transport, and customer identification. BANKEX has taken this emerging technological solution, linked it to the blockchain, and directed it towards a growing global catastrophe: getting fresh, potable water to those who have insufficient or nonexistent access.

The Technical Side of BANKEX NFC-devices

Here’s how it works. To provide any given person with clean drinking water, we give them a smart-card containing an NFC chip.

This card doesn’t have an address, or even ETH or fiat money on it.

What it does have, is an ID, unique to each user. Besides the ID, each smart-card is governed by an Ethereum smart-contract, based on the ERC-20 token standard. This stores the ID number and the amount of water available to the owner of the smart-card. When the user needs water, he goes to a vending machine located somewhere in the settlement. The user then presses his smart card to the vending machine card reader. When the NFC chip communicates with the vending machine card reader, the Ethereum smart-contract launches the transaction and the cardholder receives a certain amount of water.

This same operation could be managed with the usage of QR-code. However, QR-code verification has two important disadvantages when compared with NFC smart cards. First, to complete QR-code verification, the system participant must have a mobile device, which is much more expensive than the 5 cent NFC smart cards. Secondly, the information in QR-code can be easily copied, corrupted, or stolen.

Why Blockchain?

The charity drinking water program is currently implemented in the traditional way. UN or philanthropic organisations provide funds to the country’s government, then these funds are transferred through subordinate authorities down to community leaders who generally control the supply and distribution of water. Therefore, a significant share of the provided funds are stripped at each level of dissemination.

Thus financial transparency is one of the main advantages of blockchain technology and will solve this problem. A distributed financial ledger is fully visible that describes the transactions of those who control the water supply. Blockchain technology provides a comprehensive and transparent record of who, when and where water was received. The current centralized system may provide similar information, but the transaction data is stored in a single server and can be changed by any interested person. The new blockchain decentralized system however, is always transparent, open to auditing, and impossible to replicate, corrupt, or destroy.

BANKEX has implemented the first NFC-decision, based on blockchain technology. The simple and secure structure provides easy access to different services and enables full transparency to supervisory organizations. The BANKEX NFC technology may be helpful in many industries that require transparency and public auditing.