Aussie Startup @Pay Aims to Bridge DeFi and E-commerce

Australian startup @Pay is leveraging blockchain technology to bridge the DeFi space with e-commerce by creating innovative payment solutions for shoppers, merchants and marketplaces worldwide. 

Bringing Innovative Solutions for the E-commerce Industry

@Pay wants to tackle the BNPL (Buy Now, Pay Later) industry by introducing several payments solutions with a blockchain-integrated cryptocurrency alongside fiat, saving significant costs to the industry.

According to BNPL provider Splitit, the single biggest challenge for e-commerce retailers is overcoming approximately 70 percent cart abandonment by shoppers. This translates into US$4.6 trillion in lost e-commerce sales each year.

@Pay whitepaper

The BNPL market is expected to reach US$33.64 billion by 2027. It isn’t as heavily regulated in Australia as other credit or financial services, as BNPL providers are considered not to be regulated under the country’s National Credit Act. However, they are subject to ASIC’s product intervention law.

How it Works

The platform is powered by the @Pay token, which uses Ethereum’s ERC-20 standard. The token is multi-functional; it can be used to make payments, receive incentives, and to win rights to vote in the protocol’s governance system.

Through blockchain and smart contracts, the protocol is targeting people of all ages in the e-commerce world, providing an appealing experience for customers.

DeFi in Australia

The DeFi sector in Australia has been growing, but decentralised autonomous organisations are construed as partnerships or unincorporated associations. The Australian regulatory framework -which has been heavily criticised over time – remains unclear for most investors.

However, the Digital Law Association and international law firm Herbert Smith Freehills have proposed changing the national environment, suggesting Australia should create a new legal entity to recognise DAOs as legal companies.

The DeFi space offers innovative solutions that otherwise wouldn’t be achieved by traditional banks, and it has been put to the test in Australia. As Crypto News Australia reported in February, a software engineer paid off his mortgage to the Commonwealth Bank of Australia and refinanced it through fixed-rate lending protocols.