Dash Text, the Venezuelan platform that allows consumers to send and receive Dash via SMS text has now incorporated a simplified POS integrated send feature to make it easier to send Dash from a non-smartphone to a merchant’s wallet.
https://twitter.com/StayDashy/status/1062720453725179904
In the video, Lorenzo, CTO of Dash Text, demonstrated how the new upgrade functions by making a purchase from a local paper copy shop. The cashier was able to type in the purchase amount in their POS and display the Dash Text purchase command at the bottom of the screen, “Compra 75605”, which means “Purchase” in Spanish. The consumer texts this purchase command to the Dash Text number and receives a text back to confirm the amount, which after confirmation is then deposited in the merchant’s wallet.
Alejandro told DFN how Dash Text is similar to MyDashWallet in that a wallet is created for users on their initial use of Dash Text, which the user can then move funds into and out of as they wish. Alejandro also highlighted how it is possible to send a Dash Text user Dash, from a regular smartphone wallet as long as the smartphone user gets “the public address from the Dash Text user, so the DT user sends his/her address to the remitent and then the remitent copies the address and sends the money”. Dash Text then “use[s] blockcypher’s APIs to broadcast transactions to the network, every single Dash Text transaction is a real Tx stored on the blockchain, and no private keys are stored on our servers, all the data is wiped after a couple miliseconds”. Lorenzo discussed the technical details further in-depth in a previous Dash podcast appearance.
Making cryptocurrencies accessible to more individuals
As stated in the tweet, 60% of Venezuelans do not own smartphones, which has historically been the primary and portable way to transact with cryptocurrencies. Thus, for cryptocurrencies to truly help impoverished individuals in countries that have relatively low smartphone penetration, SMS text solutions were necessary. Dash Text provides this solution in Venezuela and currently has plans to develop “whatsapp and telegram integration so anyone anywhere in the world can use it and send money just by typing a phone number, this will be an incredible tool for remittances.”
CoinText is pursuing a similar goal by operating a similar platform in other countries for Bitcoin Cash and Dash and recently integrated with the AnyPay POS platform. CoinText employs a simple text feature, as well, to make it easy to send and receive funds on non-smartphones. Dash Text and CoinText are two solutions that make it easier for consumers to spend Dash even if they do not own a smartphone, which is a key step towards wider cryptocurrency adoption.
Dash adoption spreading throughout Venezuela
Dash is already accepted at over 2,200 merchants in Venezuela as consumers and merchants are adopting Dash en masse. Dash has been able to accomplish this because of its ability to fund community outreach to educate consumers about Dash and how it can help improve their lives. Alejandro, Lorenzo, and their team not only provide support to Dash Text users, but also provide general assistance with Dash Help to troubleshoot any problems that consumers experience with Dash. Their Dash Merchant program and Dash Venezuela and their affiliates also continue to sign up new merchants around the country. Then Dash’s partnership with Kripto Mobile helps provide affordable smartphones preloaded with Dash and cryptocurrency features as another on-boarding option for Venezuelans.
These efforts have enabled a diverse ecosystem of Dash acceptance around the country, which begins to create network effects of adoption. As more consumers began to accept Dash and use POS solutions, it made sense to expand to consumers that did not have a smartphone, but still needed to escape the rapid inflation of the bolivar. Dash Text did just that by making it very easier to incorporate the Dash Text feature into existing systems without creating disruption for merchants or consumers.
