HOW IT WORKS
When everything is working well, the power is on and the network is working, Payala cards work like any other payment card technology - tap to make payments on any suitable phone with an app with the Payala technology built in.
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When the infrastructure is down, transactions are possible locally between two users just like with cash. Each user is verified by the tap of a user's smart card to an NFC enabled smartphone. The phone merely acts as a vehicle, which means that an individual user only needs to own a card.
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Payala has been thoroughly user tested in communities that have low rates of literacy, technical understanding and smartphone penetration and many features have been especially designed for these environments.
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Payala has three different modes. The first two work while online: enter a phone number and tap your card to send money remotely or go to a local shop and use the merchant's terminal like you would with other payment systems. If there is no internet connection, however, you can still give other users money, by using a novel triple-tap-mechanism essentially sending a transaction from one smart card to the other.
Quickly, reliably and safely.
SECURITY FIRST
Payala has been designed with security at its core. As we are handling money, this is essential to create the required confidence to become a method of payment that can be used in everyday life. Our team is composed of experts with decades of experience in all different disciplines of cyber security and the awareness for this runs deep within our software development process.
Everything, from the architecture, to the choice of cryptographic primitives to the use of the smart card, has been thoroughly designed, tested and peer reviewed. Further information on the security and threat model is available on request, as is the report of an independent security audit by one of the world's leading cyber security firms.
Secure: Exceeds strictest global security standards Cryptographically secured immutable ledgers captures real-time transactions and movement of funds
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Transparent: Cryptographically secured immutable ledgers captures real-time transactions and movement of funds
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Anti-Corruption: Real time fraud prevention & detection and reconciliation.
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Compliant: Local regulations, global KYC/AML/PII
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Data as a Service: Advanced machine learning algorithms for macro and micro economic analysis and fraud management