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Payments

To promote token adoption, all transactions on the 3air platform will be through 3air tokens. With our aim of fast coverage of Africa’s cities and the demand for broadband connectivity, we will position the token to achieve mass adoption. We are also open to adoption and inclusion by third parties.

Ease-of-use is another factor to consider in achieving mass adoption. Forcing an unknown payment system on inexperienced blockchain users might be detrimental to platform adoption. Therefore, we will aim to include other means of payment and integrate backend token conversion into 3air tokens. The additional fees from these conversions will disincentivize payment in other currencies while motivating them to use 3air tokens.

To ensure steady incomes for the ISPs, 3air will not enforce setting prices in 3air tokens. Instead, it will recommend that prices be set in local currencies. The currency selection will be limited to 3air integrated currencies, but the final selection will be up to the ISP. At first, 3air will allow them to set prices in local fiat currencies, select stablecoins, and 3air tokens, but we will continue to expand the ecosystem through future integrations.

Fiat onboarding will be integrated into the platform and offered as an additional service to ISPs. SKALE chain, which we will build on, offers such a service in cooperation with one of the biggest fiat onboard and offload companies in the cryptocurrency space, Wyre.

Clients can use those on-ramps to pay for services with these methods directly. Although this process will be seamless, in essence, the user will facilitate the payment processor to exchange fiat into crypto and then use crypto to pay through the 3air platform. With Wyre natively supporting the SKALE chain, we will ensure the integration of 3air tokens into Wyre. However, if direct conversion is unavailable, the 3air platform may provide the exchange rate to a more widely adopted cryptocurrency. Any fees incurred by 3air may need to be included in the exchange rate for the transactions.

3air payments workflow

Figure 12 3air payments workflow

Let’s look at two different case studies for a user from Nigeria that wants to pay for services with a credit card.

Case 1:

  • Prices are set in Nigerian naira.
  • Payment processor accepts Nigerian naira.
  • Payment processor exchanges to 3air tokens directly.

In this case, the user will see the price in Nigerian naira. The 3air platform will feed the payment processor a price in Nigerian naira. At this point, the payment processor shows the final payment price that could potentially include additional third-party fees. The client then pays with their credit card, and the payment processor processes it and returns 3air tokens to the client. These tokens are then used to pay for the services via the 3air platform.

Case 2:

  • Prices are set in EUR.
  • Payment processor accepts USD.
  • Payment processor exchanges to USDT.

In this case, the user sees the price in EUR and can choose to see the live exchange rate of the Nigerian naira. The 3air platform would use its internal exchange rate and feed the price to the payment processor in USDT. The payment processor then displays the final price in USD, calculated with its exchange rate and adding additional fees if it applies. If the user has Nigerian naira as the primary currency on their credit card, their bank will be in charge of the conversion from Nigerian naira to USD. The payment processor would process the payment and return USDT. The user would then use USDT to pay for services on the 3air platform.

As you can see, there are multiple steps involved in these two use cases.

Once made, the payment will be sent to a smart contract that will:

  1. Enable the service the user paid for.
  2. Exchange the payment tokens for 3air tokens using a third-party exchange if it is not 3air.
  3. Send the processing fee to the 3air wallet address.
  4. Send the remaining amount to the ISP’s wallet address.

Any additional fees incurred by 3air, including but not limited to exchange fees, transfer fees, or payment processor fees, may be included in the internal exchange rate or added as a surcharge and transparently presented to the user.

In cases where the ISPs don’t want to deal with crypto payments, 3air might partner with third parties offering fiat exchange services to ISPs if regulators permit such a service. This service comes at an additional cost.

The above are just examples. Once a payment provider is integrated, these details might change to accommodate their requirements.