META, all-in-one messaging

Multipurpose Conversational Commerce, using privacy-preserving technologies and consent on all types of digital transactions.

People do not care about privacy, or rather, people don’t know enough about their digital privacy to care.

Often, a privacy-preserving identity is viewed as the missing link for digital interactions, however, the key for user adoption is a clear incentive and not the underlying technology. Facebook and its identity platform proved to us that an irreversible asymmetric shareholder incentive can lead to a successfully addictive “free” service by complete eliminating user privacy. Therefore, while user privacy must be the utmost importance, operational decisions enabling growth must be considered to avoid productizing users.  Our system is designed to leapfrog this problem and maintain a solution to deliberately solve privacy without sacrificing convenience.

META’s theory of change can be summarized that building a new payment layer where users get verified enables the framework to operate at a considerably lower transaction fee by cutting out middlemen.  Relying on strong identities the platform can subsidize the cost for privacy in exchange for user trust. Increased confidence is achieved through verification partners who also accelerates the speed of growth. The verified nature of transactions radically reduces fraud that enables META to open towards non-conventional markets and bring in populations known to be secluded from the current banking sector. This method of creating an open payment system brings us to organisations, who work directly with marginalized populations, who can then verify people and provide them with a privacy-preserving identity and a means to store wealth.

META is an end-to-end-encrypted communication platform with the capability of sharing private data to other agents based on an explicit consent mechanism, extended to services through APIs for deep integrations along with an open payment channel offered for all verified agents. 

META was established with a long-term goal to offer a new way of privately accessing services by using secure identities. At its core, the system is an encrypted chat that offers the simplest user experience to fulfil privacy requirements. Users, upon verification, receive a secured personal data hub to store and interact or consent their personal information. Services are offered a broad set of APIs to benefit from META’s privacy-conscious data management while able to directly interact with verified users. System-level trust is enhanced by verifying every agent in the system and instead of harnessing personal data it offers a payment channel for a sustainable business model.

META, as a bridge for digital interactions, uses QR codes, a machine-readable visual technology capable of data transfer even in offline environments. As the need for identity is not always aligned with the boundaries of connectivity META is outlined to operate under such circumstances. META is a combination of the need for privacy in an era of endless data, the inherent requirements for sustainable ecosystems and the use of open technologies. 

META is primarily derived from its business model, an alternative to advertisement using open-source software. An encrypted messaging with the capability of sharing private data to other agents based on an explicit consent mechanism, extended to services through APIs for deep integrations along with an open payment channel offered for all verified agents using QR codes.  

The first technical concept for META came from realizing the number of different challenges services has to overcome to offer privacy. We envisioned the system as a combination of a number of proven privacy-preserving technologies to create privacy by design platform that offers a clear and simple to implement a framework for these services. The technology used in the messaging is based on Signal Protocol, a favored E2EE protocol created by Moxie Marlinspike and currently used by projects like WhatsApp(Facebook), Allo (Google), Signal to name a few. This tested technology enables META to bypass the need for developing a new encrypted messaging system.

For identity, the system offers an implementation of Decentralized Identifiers (or DIDs) that is a new standard draft by World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) to enable users to prove ownership and store personal data in a self-sovereign way.

For the purpose of consenting and transferring data or proving verification, the system is also relying on the implementation of Signal Protocol. Furthermore, once the technology is available will offer Zero Knowledge Proof or similar technology (proof of digitally signed data without showing the data itself) to further strengthen the system’s privacy preserving capabilities.  

META’s back-end service offers a number of APIs for 3rd parties to interact with individual identities through the META framework. For digital identity transactions services receive capabilities to sign, read and update data once consented is received from the user. These APIs are designed with the goal of simplifying implementation, therefore lowering the resource requirements to use privacy by design framework.

Current identity’s, once in a digital format, can be imported into the user’s identity either by the user or by a service provider through a consented interaction. Using services to provide information to one’s identity is important as these data sets can already receive the first verification from the uploading service. This way, any type of identity-related data can be imported and attested from companies, NGOs or even governments once these services are verified. 

META was created as a messaging platform as this is most straight forward digital user interface. Other elements of the interface are designed to create a seamless experience with self-explanatory features and a preference for symbols over text. The use of QR codes in transactions also bolsters the aim of frictionless interactions. APIs around META’s core functionality enable 3rd parties to enhance it through localization and new tools developed for local requirements. 

For low bandwidth environments, META’s guardianship partners will be able to create a machine-readable representation of the ID.

META’s is designed with lasting interoperability in mind. The team has been a long-time member of the Decentralized Identity Foundation (the group initially developed the Decentralized Identifiers standard) and we intend the rely on this standard to enable users to export data accumulated in the system so it can be managed by other service providers or to import data from those. The ability to migrate data  will also supply our users the opportunity to access services that were built with other DID implementations and benefit from those ecosystems too. 

META is also being designed to fulfill the needs of these groups. Through a verification process, 3rd parties are authorized to establish identities for the people they are working with. Guardianship will enable anyone to receive a digital identity maintained by the guardian using the security and scale of META. Through APIs, these organizations have the ability to sign, add and update information on behalf of the users and link identities directly to their existing internal systems.

In low bandwidth environments, verifiable representation of the user's identity can be printed as QR codes protected with the authentication method of choice.

Initially the focus will be the number and size of transactions. Following an initial success, META will be in a position to redirect its focus on the longer-term. This is where our business model will be foundational. With the growth of our network we will have means to reach larger groups of people and as developing countries are also getting more digitized there will be a strong incentive to use digital services, creating a direct channel for our future growth.

META is the next project of the team behind Taqanu, a project that started as a banking for refugees

Taqanu is a member of the TENT Partnership and it also advised the World Economic Forum on digital identity. It is a member of the Smart Communities Coalition that focuses on 4 refugee camps across Africa to develop tools using technology to improve the livelihoods of refugees. Taqanu is also a contributing member of the Decentralized Identity Foundation the developer of the Decentralized Identifiers. 

While META is a new project on its own, it benefits from the recognition and network Taqanu has built over the last 3 years while it has been advocating in the humanitarian finance and identity space on a global level.
The team is a (currently) small group of experienced developers and entrepreneurs from Europe who learned to work together in a pragmatic method to deliver real value with experience in digital identity, e-voting and payments. 

META is a for-profit project with a clear goal towards incentivized growth and the capability to attract talent.

The main revenue for META will come from transaction fees sent through the system. Also, as META has a significantly different structure from current digital payment channels through the verifications attested to all of its users, it will be able to operate at a considerably lower price.  META is opting for an open payment approach where local payment services could implement the network and enable their customers to transfer money directly to META users to circumvent the high base pricing created by global payment networks.

Additional revenues will come from user and business verifications. It is a non-recurring revenue form; however, it enables us to defer costs for these processes while making our service unique in its category.

In the future, other revenues streams will be developed from SaaS offerings for businesses integrating into the framework with special requirements services by META. 

The Mission Billion challenge aligns with our internal agenda and the timing is perfect as we are preparing for next steps in terms of fundraising and acquiring early adopters for the project This application is the first public appearance of META and regardless of the outcome, we intend to learn from the comments and benefit from the interest from the companies following the competition.

Last but not least, in case of taking the first prize, the offered funds would go against achieving a readiness to onboard our first users. 

As META is a multipurpose service, our plan is to initially prove the project and test our assumptions weather privacy, lower costs and a new method for instant payments would trigger interest among users and services.

Not all selected technology is ready to implement (e.g. DIDs) that could cause unforeseen delays.

We are being honest with ourselves, the project will require significant investment before profitability as we aim to reform how we interact digitally.