Formosa Financial Multifunctional Treasury Management App: Alpha Release
May 3, 2019
After many months of hard work, the Formosa Financial team is ready to share details of the alpha release for the treasury management app with the community. In this article we will explain how this app and the underlying platform stand to provide enormous benefits to cryptoasset holders and the blockchain industry at large.
One overarching vision that has persisted since the beginning of the project is bringing simplicity to everyday transactions. Throughout multiple market cycles, adoption of cryptoassets is becoming more common as new and emerging use cases are explored and validated. Consequently, it is becoming increasingly important for transactions to be reliable, secure, and fast. With this in mind we are excited by the potential of what we have built as the app can mitigate some lingering pain points by streamlining some of the more challenging issues faced by businesses trying to operate in this industry:
- Multiple accounts across fragmented service providers: the pain and friction of doing wrangling multiple documents over and over again to go through corporate KYC is a major hassle, not to mention tracking of balances and keeping passwords secure once the account is open. Having one account that can provide the mission critical services is key.
- Access to fiat: Banks have long been wary of working with clients holding cryptoassets due to an uncertain regulatory environment and challenges in identifying the source of funds. By working with industry leaders and implementing our own strong AML controls we are able to seamlessly provide access to fiat through industry-leading US banks with our integrated custody and cash settlement solutions.
- Insured custody: By integrating the platform with qualified trust companies holding insurance on digital assets under custody you can have peace of mind that your funds are safe.
Providing a simple and easy-to-use product that hides these difficulties is the ultimate goal of Formosa Financial’s multi-functional treasury management app. To operate a competitive brokerage service it is critical to maintain connections to exchanges deep liquidity. Amongst the likes of Coinbase, Bitfinex, Bitstamp, Kraken, Gemini, and Bittrex over 90% of daily market crypto-to-fiat trading volume is accounted for. To deliver speedy cash settlement it is critical to have the right bank relationships in place so that funds can move seamlessly between accounts around the clock. By opening bank accounts at the same institution as the exchanges that we source trade liquidity from we have been able to do just that. Through our industry knowledge and compliance program we are able to maintain these relationships and offer continuous brokerage trades through our exchange integrations and settlement through our banking network. You just need to wait to receive the USD wire in your account (wire times vary based on receiving country and correspondent banks involved).
In order to properly set expectations, allow us to define what we mean by “alpha release”. Alpha by definition is “feature-complete” where the set of features implemented are not necessarily feature-rich, but feature-lean. There may be (some potentially serious) bugs such as crashes and data corruption.
This version currently only supports custody on the Bitcoin and Ethereum testnet blockchains, therefore there is no potential for loss of real funds. By partnering with BitGo — a qualified trust company for digital assets — we are able to put a solid layer of security on top of a multifunctional treasury management app. Implementing BitGo’s robust API properly requires a solid working knowledge of wallet management and keeping accounting databases in sync — whether they are centralized or decentralized! Essentially, while clients are doing transaction within the app, they can take advantage of the BitGo wallet functionality as a payment method. This version is intended to give you a taste of the treasury management app and its future capabilities, while helping the Formosa team gather feedback and resolve show-stopping technical issues before we roll out a beta version with live funds.
For those who are interested in trying this early version out, please submit this form — http://bit.ly/2J0BZXS. You will receive an email invitation (picture below) if you are selected to be an alpha tester. Please follow the instructions in the email to get your account set up and you’ll be ready to roll!
In Formosa Financial’s multifunctional treasury management app, sSecurity plays a critical role on the platform. By utilizing 2-Factor Authentication (2FA) the app has an extra layer of security that ensures only verified users with a registered device are able to withdraw funds. We highly suggest users to turn-on the 2-Factor Authentication function after setting up their account. In the future we may even require it!
As an additional layer of security, the app requires users to add addresses to a withdrawal whitelist in advance to avoid the potential for hacks and human errors. After deposit or withdrawal, a validation email about the transaction will be sent to your inbox. Users will need to click the ‘take action’ button to proceed with the transaction. The app also provides two varieties of account — individual and institution(company) account. The administration of the institute account will be able to give authority to whom are sharing the account with. This unique function can help to manage employees, vendors or monthly bills with ease.
The Formosa Financial team is thrilled to share with you all what we’ve been doing in the past few months. This release is the first phase to begin broader testing before we move into adding more exciting functionality in the beta such as brokerage of live funds. We welcome all kinds of feedback of the Alpha app and thank you all for your continuous support.
