Horizon 2020, the European Union’s Research and Innovation programme, has granted funding of nearly EUR 2 million to Billon Group, a blockchain e-money services company.

The grant was made under the SME Instrument programme and is intended to help the startup expand its innovative distributed ledger technology (DLT) solutions beyond instant corporate payments, into eCommerce and content monetization solutions. Last year, Billon successfully completed proof-of-concept trials of its content monetization solution in digitized PLN currency.

“Billon’s DLT/Blockchain technology is the first cloud and mobile peer-to-peer solution for everyday currencies using DLT, where we provide PLN and GBP solutions in partnership with banks. Billon now moves beyond solutions to digitally pay people, to now enable participants to spend their funds online,” Robert Kaluza, Co-Founder and COO of Billon said.

“The SME Instrument is a programme for the most innovative European companies. Billon had all the attributes needed to succeed: a disruptive project, clear strategy and a world class team. We hope the this grant supports and accelerates its growth,” Alicja Grzegorzek founder of Zafiro Solutions said.

According to the WorldPay’s 2016 Payment report, the Alternative Payments market (which includes eWallets, Pre-paid cards, and vouchers) is projected to reach $1.4 trillion in 2020. Billon was awarded the grant on the basis that its DLT can exploit this market as it enables micropayments that were previously unprofitable to be executed instantly, without traditional intermediaries, and with zero underlying variable cost.

“We believe content monetization and eCommerce payments will be one of the main drivers behind the global demand for micropayments, especially in emerging markets. Today’s payment solutions include clumsy pre-paid vouchers and premium SMS, and Billon can transform this into a digital payment experience on a mobile phone, and with a full audit trail. Based on successful trials, Billon expects to launch merchant services for ecommerce and content monetization this autumn in Poland and in 2018 in the UK, and will then look to emerging markets,” Tadeusz Kuropatwinski, Managing Director, Digital Payments added.

In November 2016, Billon raised $2 million in a successful first round of funding. The startup was also included in the list of the first companies allowed to use blockchain technology for money transfer and banking services by the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

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