Blockchain for Refugees

Blockchain technologies like Bitcoin have demonstrated how value can be transmitted from person to person without the need for financial and corporate middlemen. Now, this revolutionary technology is being used to assist asylum seekers as they struggle to become established in a new country.

Many of us have no idea what it’s like to be uprooted from our home, with no money and no official identification. Governments willing to help have found that distributing cash is expensive, inefficient and not secure. But a program launched by an online payments startup has successfully addressed these challenges in Finland.

A Moni account operates just like a bank account, enabling people to make purchases, pay bills and receive deposits. But instead of being tied to a bank, all transactions are recorded in a public, decentralized network. Although the service is available to anyone, for individuals who have no bank – and no authenticated identity that will allow them to get one – the card can be a lifesaver. Allowances are distributed in the form of a prepaid Mastercard, which can be used like a debit card to pay for goods and services at retail terminals or online. And as with all blockchains, transactions are stored and verified in a virtually incorruptible database. In two years, the program has grown to several thousand users, and the company hopes to soon be offering the service to refugees throughout Europe.