EBCoin Project Frequently Asked Questions
You can also see this FAQ on our website in other languages.
What is your official project name and token symbol?
EBCoin (EBC)
What is the main goal of your project?
The primary goal is to use Blockchain technology to solve the many inconveniences of the current tax refund process for international travelers using our EBCoin platform. Through our EBCoin Wallet app we will be providing customers an instant tax refund service, a currency exchange and a convenient payment method solution using our EBC token. Duty-free shopping will finally be hassle-free and rewarding for tourists and merchants alike.
How will EBCoin impact the average person?
The quality of your international travel experience will be significantly improved by using the convenient EBCoin tax refund system over the traditional systems that are in place. You can be assured of 100% of your refund with no need to wait in long lines at the airport and no need to hold on to paper receipts.
For added convenience, ATMs and Kiosks that support EBCoin will also be deployed at major airports around the world. EBCoin will soon be seen as the duty-free shopping currency of choice for international travelers.
What inconveniences do travelers face with existing tax refund systems?
First of all, travelers who spend money abroad have to deal with the major inconveniences associated with the current procedures to claim tourist tax refunds.
Secondly, excessive fees are charged by agencies who act as an intermediary to provide the so-called tax refund “service”. As a result, travelers have no way to receive the full tax refund they are entitled to.
Last, but not least, there is the excessive time and unreasonable fees required for exchanging foreign currency before their departure, since the tax refunds are usually issued in local paper currency.
How is EBCoin going to solve the problems of the current inconvenient tax refund process?
Firstly, the EBCoin project will directly connect travelers with local customs agencies. Therefore, unnecessary steps will be eliminated, such as having to wait in long lines at the refund counter with paper receipts in hand.
Secondly, we plan to decentralize the existing tax refund providers who have monopolized the tax refund industry and charge exorbitant fees. EBCoin will not deduct a brokerage fee, so travelers can get 100% of their tax refund. Further, with the deployment of ATMs and Kiosks optimized for EBCoin, travelers can instantly exchange their refund at any time to their preferred currency before their departure.
What differentiates you from other companies?
EBCoin is backed by KR Partners who have 10 years of experience in providing global Payment Gateway solutions under their brand name EximBay. They have been providing a wide range of services in many countries, including online/offline payments, dynamic currency conversion and messenger based payment services for apps and bar codes.
EximBay already has a vast network of merchants in their client base and with their established infrastructure, the EBCoin team can respond promptly to the needs of global travelers.
Which country is the main target market for EBCoin?
The EBCoin solution is not limited to any specific country, however the largest tourist consumer market is currently from China. Therefore, in our approach, priority will be given to the importance of the Chinese traveler in the tourism industry. Japan and Europe are also target markets we consider a high priority.
The regulatory climate toward cryptocurrency in China will have little effect on the value that EBCoin will offer. In this case our EBC tokens will be used only as a utility token to receive the value of the tax refund in the traveler’s EBCoin Wallet while traveling abroad. From there it can be converted easily into the required paper currency using our ATMs or a Foreign Exchange Kiosk before returning home.
Can EBCoin tokens be used as a global payment method? For example, can EBCoin from Inchon be used at duty-free shops in Singapore?
In short, yes. The versatility of the EBCoin as an ERC20 token enables it’s use as spendable currency itself. That means that EBC can be used as a payment method for purchases at participating merchants in any country, as the token will have a representative market value in FIAT currencies as well. (For more information, please see our white paper).
For that reason, we are working with all the duty-free shops who are currently part of our vast network to accept EBCoin as a method of payment at the point-of-sale. For example, if a customer received a tax refund in their EBC Wallet while visting Korea, at a later point while traveling in Singapore, they can now use EBC at the duty-free merchant in Changi airport to pay for their purchases. This highlights the valuable role that EBC tokens will play, both in exchanging cryptocurrency and FIAT currency.
Are partnerships with existing tax refund providers or other entities being discussed?
Firstly, we see no place for existing tax refund companies in the EBCoin ecosystem. Therefore, partnership discussions with them are unnecessary, as we will effectively be their main competitors. Customers will be free to choose either an existing tax refund method or to use our vastly superior EBC based tax refund system.
The focus of our future partnerships will be distribution companies who have an existing customer base for EBCoin, eg. travel agencies and telecommunication companies. We are also working hard to leverage existing partnerships that we have developed over the years as a leading global payment service provider.
How will you arrange space for ATMs and kiosks at the airport? Who will be responsible for that?
EBCoin will follow the same procedure as existing tax refund agencies who secured existing lease contracts with airport authorities. Securing and funding lease contracts and equipment for Kiosks and ATM locations will be underwritten by the stakeholders who stand to benefit from the EBCoin platform.
Other than the EBC Foundation itself, the other main beneficiaries would be government entities, such as airports, national tax administration agencies and tourism agencies, as well as operators of exchanges. We are engaging directly with each of these beneficiaries to engage them as stakeholders in our project to establish and secure the future of the EBCoin infrastructure.
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Specific benefits to each stakeholder will be:
- Airports: Wait times are greatly reduced, efficiency is increased, thereby improving airport utilization and customer satisfaction.
- Customs, National Tax Administration: Tax administration process becomes transparent. Overhead costs are reduced by using an automated, digitized system.
- Tourism Agency: Helps to revitalize tourism by improving the value offering of a destination for tourists. Tax refund programs are fully utilized by issuing full refunds to more travelers.
- Exchange Operators: Increased income opportunity with greater transaction volume as a result of EBCoin customers.
What is the profit model of EBC?
The tax refund process itself will not be a source of revenue for EBCoin, as no brokerage or processing fees will be charged to customers for these transactions. Instead, revenue will be generated when payments and exchanges are made between EBC and FIAT currencies, as well as other cryptocurrencies. Resulting profits will be invested in technology development, infrastructure investment and marketing.
As the value of EBC usage increases, demand will increase and the market value of EBC will increase simultaneously. EBC Foundation will continue to fund operations through crowd sale fundraising and the periodic, controlled sale of the remaining reserve of EBC tokens on the open market. If a greater revenue stream is required in the future to continue funding the EBC ecosystem, the introduction of fractional transaction fees can be considered.
What is the primary role of the EBC Foundation?
The primary role of EBC Foundation is to facilitate the implementation and expansion of the EBCoin tax refund service to the global market. This includes engaging and negotiating with government agencies and airport authorities around the world.
We will also select operators of foreign currency exchanges to be part of our network to expand the convenience of our service offering. This will also provide an increased transaction volume and revenue stream for these operators by offering an EBC to FIAT exchange service. We will further support FOREX operators by assisting them to expand their operations by opening additional kiosks in airports around the world.
EBC Foundation will also focus on expanding their merchant network and implement promotional programs for their customers when using EBC as their preferred payment method.
From the merchant’s point of view, what are the benefits of using EBC?
For merchants, the time consuming and complex settlement process of existing tax refund systems will be fully automated. Processing fees for duty-free transactions will also be greatly reduced, making it more affordable for merchants to introduce tax free shopping, which in turn attracts more tourists.
The more customers request EBC as an option, the more likely merchants will be to offer the refund service using EBC. However, it will be necessary to provide promotional incentives to merchants in order to expand the initial market base.
What Factors Will Contribute to the Increased Demand for EBCoin as a Token and a Cryptocurrency?
Tax-free shopping by international travelers is a supplier-oriented market. Currently the global duty-free market nets over $60 billion each year. Since it is challenging to accurately quantify the global market, consider a market segments that illustrate the potential demand for EBCoin.
In 2016 the Korean tourism industry topped out at $20 billion. At a 10% tax rate, that amount equates to $2 billion in taxes collected that would have potentially been refunded using the EBCoin platform. If we apply the same calculation to the global market of Chinese tourists, in 2016 that would have represented $24 billion in EBCoin tax refunds. (10% of $240 billion)
We are aggressively forging ahead with global partnerships to extend the reach of the EBCoin market. As our network continues to include more countries, naturally the demand for EBCoin will increase exponentially as well. Further, as the supply of EBCoin tokens is fixed, with no additional coins being mined, this will enable scarcity economics to come into play as more and more travelers adopt our platform and maintain an EBC balance.
Last, but not least, our target market is the global tourism industry, which currently comprises 1.2 billion tourists every year. We will be working hard in the upcoming months and years to get as many of those travelers as possible to join our platform.
What is the Revenue Model for All Stakeholders in the EBCoin Ecosystem?
1. EBC Foundation: Securing investment resources by creating additional demand by the introduction of tax refunds in more countries and increasing demand for EBCoin. Furthermore, EBC Foundation will look to secure additional resources in time by introducing transaction fees. *
2. EBCoin Currency Exchange Partners: Supporting EBCoin transactions will lead to an increased customer base and will further create a new revenue stream by collecting fees for exchanging EBCoin for other crypto and fiat currencies.
3. Local Infrastructure Investment: Backed by EBC Foundation, we will utilize investment and revenue from EBCoin exchange fees collected to invest in Airport infrastructure to improve our product offering.
* Transaction fees will be imposed on currency conversion transactions that need to be processed by a third party exchange. If the cost of transaction fees exceeds the network transfer fee, we will introduce our own blockchain to operate more efficiently.
Q:What is the plan for listing EBCoin on exchanges
The EBCoin team plans to operate their own exchange and expand partnerships with the major exchanges in each country. KRPEX, the own exchange of EBC Foundation is scheduled to open in the first quarter of 2018. (Read more in this press release here: EBCoin Announces Future Listings and Launch of Cryptocurrency Exchange KRPEX)
Additionally, we plan to pursue the listing of EBCoin (Symbol:EBC) on the world’s major cryptocurrency exchanges such as Bitfinex (Hong Kong), Bittrex, Poloniex (U.S.), HitBTC (Europe), Bitflyer (Japan) and Bithumb (South Korea) in the second quarter of the year.
However, the ultimate goal is not only listing EBCoin on exchanges, but also using those listings to enable securing business partners around the world. Moreover, EBCoin will be able to draw attention to its technical value, utility value, security and stability through the successful listing on major exchanges in each country. This is a process that must be done to enter the major cryptocurrency system and put EBCoin to practical use. Ultimately, we want to expand the range of tax refund, exchange and payment services by raising the transaction volume and market cap of EBCoin to the point of being considered a major cryptocurrency.
Not to be forgotten, is that cryptocurrency exchanges play a very important role in the EBCoin ecosystem. In addition to providing EBC liquidity to endable tax refunds to merchants, it also allows travelers who received tax refunds to exchange EBC back to their local currencies.
For more information, you can visit
Website: www.ebcoin.io
Telegram: https://t.me/EBCoinGlobal
Twitter : https://twitter.com/EBCoinGlobal
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ebcoinglobal
Facebook : https://fb.me/EBCoinGlobal
