In the last engineering update, CTO James Seibel informed the community that the microloan platform was nearly ready to be rolled out to users of the Airfox app. Later in Telegram, James teased that the release would be during the month of July (read a transcript of the AMA on the AirToken subreddit), and he kept his promise!
Airfox users in Brazil are applying for and receiving microloans in the app! This new loan functionality allows users to apply for loans up to R$ 100 (that’s approximately $27 USD equivalent at today’s exchange rate). This is a huge step towards providing access to empowering financial services for the underbanked in emerging markets.
Over the past few months, we had a private beta and we learned a great deal from that environment. This enabled us to streamline the application process to be easier and more intuitive than previous iterations.
How to qualify for a microloan in the Airfox app
Airfox is employing gamification techniques to help users understand the process to apply for and receive a loan as well as improving their credit worthiness. To apply, users must submit an official document to verify their identity. Once this has been completed and their identity verified, “Leaf” level is unlocked. Over time, as a person deposits, makes payments, transfers money, and repays loans using the Airfox app, their level will increase. As their level increases, they will be able to borrow larger amounts of capital at better rates.
Note: For this initial release, a R$ 100 loan is available at “Leaf” level. This may not always be the case. All features and functionalities within this beta are highly subject to change.
The first steps to open peer-to-peer lending
This is a critical step in the development of the peer-to-peer lending platform that we intend to build. Our algorithms will be refined as we open the ecosystem to more people. Currently, we are only allowing approximately 20% of our user base to apply for loans, but we will be increasing that number in the near future. We have to scale the platform in a safe manner, so this will require testing, adjusting the algorithm, more testing, and more adjustments (and so on and so forth…) as time goes forward. Once we identify and fix any potential weaknesses in our infrastructure, we will increase exposure.
Thank you for being a part of the journey
As always, we would like to thank our community for all of the support we have received in our various public channels, especially concerning the development of our long-anticipated lending platform. Our engineers have been working tirelessly to bring this update to not only the community, but to the people of Brazil. This is only the first stop. Stay tuned for more information in the coming weeks.
We’re growing!
Recently, our community has grown tremendously. Join us on Telegram as we look to increase financial inclusion using blockchain.
