What is KONPAY ($KON)?

Published in

The Poloniex blog

5 min readMar 1, 2023

TL;DR

KONPAY is a blockchain-based payment platform. Think Web3 PayPal. With a current focus on Asia, the project is building a system that can cut down on costs and time for buyers and merchants alike. It uses its own blockchain and is secured using a Proof of Authority consensus mechanism.

Introduction

The subject of this article is KONPAY, a blockchain-based, multi-digital asset payment platform. In this article, we will focus on how this project improves upon the current payment systems we use everyday. If you have ever shopped online, used a service such as PayPal or Venmo, or have used a newer payment terminal like those offered by companies such as Square, you have used the sort of system that KONPAY aims to improve upon with blockchain technology. We may think about this present system very little, but it is something that affects us every day.

Problems in our current system

To start, let’s talk about security. Think about how many times you use payment platforms for your purchases, and think of how often you get a notification of a data breach.

In recent years, it has become an all too common occurrence for sensitive user data to be accessed by hackers. And what is especially illustrative of the gravity of this phenomenon is that these breaches happen on platforms that have been around long enough that they were deemed safe. Payment solutions such as PayPal and Square have been some of the higher profile targets for their customer data recently. These breaches have not only caused financial losses for individuals but also damage to the reputation of the affected companies.

To consider why this might happen so often, one should look at how the systems behind these platforms are organized. Even with beefed up security- many data breaches happen to companies with sufficient firepower to build the best security they can- these more traditional platforms are in a sort of security arms race with hackers.

To put it simply, every time a company builds a better lock, a hacker builds a better lock pick.

On the front of functionality, using legacy platforms means putting up with high settlement times. From the time that a user pays for a product or service from a business to the time that payment appears in a services bank account can cause cash flow problems and make it quite difficult, especially for smaller businesses, to manage their finances. The current payment systems that merchants use also tend to charge substantial fees, making it hard for businesses that are just starting out to gain a financial foothold.

What is KONPAY?

KONPAY is a blockchain-based payment platform that aims to leverage the inherent security, cost efficiency, and fast settlement time advantages of blockchain tech in order to alleviate these problems. By utilizing smart contracts, KONPAY is able to build out an application for both buyers and merchants that can be used for e-commerce as well as through payment terminals.

It should be noted that KONPAY isn’t only for e-commerce. This solution can also help with remittances, which refers to the non-commercial sending of money by someone to their family in another country.

For the end user, this all comes in the form of a mobile app, available for download on the Google Play and Apple App Store. All you need to do is download and create a wallet within the app, and you’re good to go! KONPAY can be used both for online purchases and for offline purchases through a payment terminal.

How does KONPAY work?

KONPAY has its own blockchain and uses a Proof of Authority consensus mechanism. Proof of Authority (PoA) makes use of a smaller number of validators than a Proof of Stake system, relying on their reputation. The smaller number of pre-approved validators makes for a faster system. For KONPAY specifically, its network is able to achieve a variable throughput of 1000TPS. The high throughput of the network helps solve the problem of slow settlement times. And because of the decentralized nature of KONPAY, it resists certain security flaws. For instance, traditional systems tend to be centralized, so that their data is stored in one place. This makes it easier for data breaches to occur. With a distributed system that KONPAY uses makes it much harder to attack.

Within the platform, users can pay with $KON, $BTC and $ETH. The platform also provides functionality for P2P (person-to-person), allowing for its users to use it much like they would use a DEX, meaning no intermediaries.

According to the project, the transaction settlement speed is 3x faster than existing payment structures because of the solution’s use of smart contracts. For the part of KONPAY’s solution to high fees, the platform collects 0.4% of every transaction, with the remaining 99.6% going towards the payee. The network collects 0.5% in fees when users use its remittance function. In this case, however, the recipient of the remittance gets 100% of the payment.

KONPAY has also built a sort of management system on its platform so affiliate stores can keep track of transaction history and settlements without additional costs. So far, KONPAY is working with KSNET+, an e-commerce infrastructure provider, and plans to supply storefronts with their own integrated payment solutions so they can more readily take advantage without the burden of learning and handling the blockchain infrastructure that is built into the background of the KONPAY platform.

The KONPAY token ($KON)

$KON is the platform’s native cryptocurrency, and has various utilities. For instance, when users pay with $KON, they receive a basic discount of 5%. It is also used to pay fees on the platform as well as reward validators on the network.

What’s on the horizon?

Right now, KONPAY is putting its efforts towards the Asian market, with a current focus on Korea and Vietnam as well as operations in the Philippines on the horizon.

The project is also currently collaborating with the Vietnam Tourism organization in Korea to help Korean and Vietnamese users more easily conduct transactions without having to exchange their own currencies.

In terms of the traditional systems it is striving to improve upon, KONPAY’s team sees a future in coexistence. According to the project, traditional payment platforms have very needed expertise in the financial industry and some of their models can be applied to blockchain-based analogs. And going the other way, blockchain tech can integrate with and empower existing solutions.