It's time to move the IBAN and banking infrastructure to the Blockchain and make it truly global.

What is an EBAN?

The EBAN is an electronic bank account number which is a global standard upgrade to the current IBAN system. The main features of the EBAN is that it is a global account and not tied down to one country or Bank. It is owned by the individual or company which allows for them to fully passport it.  

Attached to the EBAN standard is a container for additional messaging services which we call the service layer. 

The EBAN service Layer

The  B2B Pay services layer for the EBAN is a multi layered approach to solve real world problems during the technology transition from legacy banking systems to a blockchain based system and create standarisation which is critical for a unified payment system. 

The service layer is important for three reasons. 

• To bridge the gap between legacy banking systems and the EBAN protocol. This allows the EBAN to be useable from day 1 rather than a future concept which will take 20 years to implement and adopt.
• It allows for standardised protocols for core payment functions such as clearing funds, messaging service, and compliance and security protocols to meet regulatory requirements.
• Added value services for third parties like banks, foreign exchange providers, fintechs, credit card providers to provide value added service to their clients. 

Bridging Legacy Systems:

• Ability to connect your current bank accounts or IBANs to the EBAN.
• Ability to connect credit card processors, payment gateways, e-wallets
• Use existing banking and payments infrastructure such as wire transfers, credit card payment and mobile payments

Core standardised protocols

• Unlimited sub accounts for users specific needs for example business accounts vs private ledger, sub accounts per customer, individual account per business unit or supplier
• Sub ledgers for fiat and crypto currencies.
• Messaging protocol for sharing information between two counterparties. ( payment details, regulatory documents) 
• Instant reconciliation, payments clearance. 
• Multi-layered security to have different forms of authentication and verifications.

Added value services:

• Allows for financial institutions, Banks, payment and identity providers to connect the the EBAN protocol to their systems and offer their services on top in a standardised way
• APIs for integration with accounting systems and third parties. 
• Container for KYC and regulatory documents (To be shared with parties, banks payment providers)
• Integration with marketplaces, ecommerce, crowdfunding, etc

What is the problem?

We have four clear problems when it comes to banking:

1. We have 200 different banking systems in the world which are not connected. Compare making a local payment to your neighbour vs sending a payment across the world.  With modern technology there shouldn't be any difference but in reality the there are huge costs and delays involved.
2. The whole system is old and very slow and does not meet today's requirements for instant global payments and integration.
3. The banking system is very rigid and lacks information. Why can't I attach an invoice to a payment or share standardised compliance documentation or contracts over the same network. 
4. The bank account is tied down to one bank, which means you need multiple bank accounts across countries and with different banks. And you need to open and close accounts in order to switch providers. You don't own the bank account or the bank account number, the bank does. 

Fintech have been great at improving this but in most cases is merely patch work. Stripe made it easier for merchants to open accounts, Transferwise cut down on fees for p2p bank transfers, B2B Pay and Payoneer provided virtual bank accounts to give access to foreign banking systems. Mastercard/visa made it possible to go anywhere in the world and pay instantly with your card. But this is all patch work.

All these problems go away if we have one infrastructure which could replace bank accounts, bank transfers and the power of the credit card networks for instant payments and reconciliation.

Value proposition:

The value of the EBAN is to replace in the long run the current banking infrastructure with a decentralised system which is accessible to all from anywhere on the planet.

How is the protocol different than current projects like Ripple, Hyperledger, Earthport, SWIFT and local clearing houses.

Majority of the projects are looking to either replace SWIFT or creating a better messaging system between banks and financial institutions. These are all closed looped system requiring buy in from a large number of banks. Benefits to users of these projects i still debatable as it highly depends per bank.

The EBAN protocol is about decentralisation and a messaging protocol at its heart like bitcoin or email. It doesn't rely on the need for every institution and regulator to “buyin” to the idea and concept which would take decades to implement.