2022 has been a year of tremendous growth for Bankey LLC. Before 2022, Bankey had been bootstrapped and built a mobile wallet app, participated in a Village Capital accelerator and raised funding from an Angel Investor.

In 2022, Bankey LLC , rebranded their mobile wallet and called it Empowch. This was a long process of name selection and logo design, which culminated in the launch of Empowch, an mobile money payments platform focused on Empowering Peoples’ Pockets. Bankey registered with Fintrac in Canada and in May of 2022, Empowch had a soft launch of their Empowch App for use in the USA only. In 3 months, we acquired over 300 users who were able to test the app with free peer-to-peer payments within the USA. This also allowed us to engage with new users, helped us identify weaknesses within our system to strengthen Empowch App.

In July of 2022 Bankey migrated to the Stellar Blockchain and collaborated with Wyre Payments, Circle and MoneyGram to build a first of a kind blockchain, allowing for cash remittance to be made conducted, cross border and near instantly. Empowch are digitizing the 12 Trillion U$D informal cash economy and working toward financial inclusion for over 1 Billion unbanked adults around the world. With this integration, Empowch can accept on ramping of funds via ACH, Apple Pay, Google Pay, card, crypto and cash and can off ramp via the same procedure. All peer-to-peer payments up to U$D 300 are for free and any amount over that limit is charged at 1% of the transaction value.

In August 2022, we had a soft launch of the international segment of Empowch. This International integration allows for any payments to be conducted, near instant, cross border in the USA, EU, UK and Australia.

In November 2022, Empowch were nominated to take part in The Stellar Foundation’s Stellar Community Fund #11 (SCF11). SCF11 is an open grant where participants have to engage with the Stellar community to win their requested grant. As part of this experience, Empowch was also invited to take part in a Bootcamp organized in conjunction with Stellar and DFS Labs. This 5 day intensive bootcamp is designed to conceptualize a problem, and develop a working prototype within 5 days. We call this rapid prototyping . After an exhaustive and exciting month, winners were announced, and Empowch won their requested grant as well as 3 mini competitions within the bootcamp. The experience allowed our entire team to come together and brainstorm the development of Empowch 2.0.

Empowch also started working with their first B2B clients. The first client is a freelance platform in the MENA region that required a payments solution, that included being able to get their freelancers who are unbanked, paid. Our second client is a online procurement specialist who works with freelancers who also require a payments solution that is inexpensive and near instant. Our first project is nearing completion and will be launched some time in the first quarter of 2023.

In December of 2022, Empowch where we were able to test an international cash payment from the USA to Lithuania in the EU where U$D 10.00 was sent to a tester who cashed the amount out via Money Gram. This is the first time this has ever been done. The cost to send the cash remittance was free, thanks to Money Gram not charging for their service yet. The transaction was near instant and the tester was able to go to a Money Gram location in Lithuania and cash out physical cash. 

Empowch have nearly completed their version 2.0 which will include a sovereign digital wallet with many enhanced features, including integration into exchanges such as Binance.

As we enter 2023, Empowch are in the process of developing their first campaign to attract 100 early adopters to help conduct a series of tests on the functionality of the new version 2.0 and to help in the design and development of the app itself. The early 100 adopters will take part in a fun challenge to add value, send value, transfer value and cash value out and they will be financially rewarded and they stand a chance to win U$D 1000.00. More than that, these 100 testers will be helping us design functionality and utility to help unbanked people around the world get paid near instantly and for free.

Join us in 2023 as we start our final leg in the process of launching Empowch 2.0 into the global market, where we will disrupt the traditional cross border payments ecosphere with our unique, one of a kind KashKeys ™ or “human ATM’s” who will allow Empowch to do near instant cash remittance in any part of the world, including in hard to reach rural environments. This version will bring true financial inclusion to the over 1 billion adults globally who do not have access to traditional financial services