In an interview with Perianne Boring, CEO of Digital Chamber, Raj Brahmbhatt, CEO of Web3 payments platform Zeebu, shares how Web3 payments can revolutionize the telecom industry.
A technologist and visionary, Zeebu was incubated because of his vision to transform the telecom industry with the help of Web3.
“Let us say you are in the US and traveling to Dubai. It goes without saying that you would need money to use in Dubai. Now, you would use banks or OTC exchanges which will charge a huge conversion fee,” Raj explained. Now imagine the magnitude with which the businesses would lose money just in the transaction fees”.
With Zeebu, we are doing exactly that. We are enabling telecom carriers to do near-instantaneous transactions. We also have our token which makes it easy to partner with top exchanges and have low transaction fees.
Raj and his team at Zeebu are revolutionizing telecom payments globally. We use blockchain to cut down fees and speed up transactions, building a transparent and frictionless financial network for international business.
The interview is a part of our Crypto Couch series where we invite the leaders of the blockchain industry to discuss the future of DeFi, crypto and everything blockchain.
This interview has been lightly edited for clarity.
Raj: So, let’s start with you, Perianne. Can you tell us a bit about yourself?
Perianne Boring: Thanks for having me, Raj. I'm Perianne Boring. I'm the founder and the CEO of the Digital Chamber. We're a non-profit trade association advocating for the digital asset community. We're headquartered in Washington, D.C. We advocate for smart public policy around crypto and blockchain.
Raj: Awesome. I’m the Founder and CEO of Zeebu. We are a Web3-based payments platform catering to telecom carriers. We saw that the telecom carriers have to shell out a lot of money for doing cross border transactions. Plus, there’s a time lag in sending and receiving the payments. For example, if you are doing international transactions from the US, it’ll take at least three days for the receiver to receive the payments.
With Zeebu we’re solving exactly this challenge. We’re offering a blockchain-enabled platform that helps telecom carriers to settle their invoice instantaneously and a fraction of the cost of the transaction fees deducted by banks and other centralized payment systems. We’re also building our liquidity protocol which will help us scale our efforts.
Perianne Boring: That’s awesome! You were initially building a stablecoin and now you have a token. Can you share what led to this change?
Raj: The Zeebu platform utilizes a stabilizer model, where USDT serves as the reserve asset for value storage and settlement. However, Zeebu's native token facilitates the actual value transfer. This two-pronged approach offers significant advantages. Firstly, it enables near-frictionless transactions with minimal costs. Traditional cryptocurrencies like USDT, USDC, or Bitcoin often incur significant fees during the procurement process, making them unsuitable for our cost-sensitive environment. Secondly, the Zeebu token structure allows for tailored tokenomics, enabling us to incentivize platform users and create a more engaged ecosystem.
Periannae Boring: How do you think Web3 payments are going to disrupt the telecom industry?
Raj: Currently, telecom operators rely on local switches for processing voice, SMS, and data traffic. We’ll help telecom carriers to migrate these Web 2 transactions to a Web 3 environment and store all relevant data on a secure, widely accessible permanent ledger.
This approach offers significant benefits for billing and dispute resolution. Traditional methods between operators are often complex and time-consuming. However, by leveraging a permanent ledger with transparent records of usage and data, dispute resolution can be streamlined and potentially automated.
Perianne Boring: Since the crypto industry is always at risk of phishing attacks and SIM swapping, what are your views on the security issues? How can we better manage the security in the crypto industry?
Raj: The immutability and transparency offered by open ledger technology, exemplified by Bitcoin's permanent transaction record, provides a valuable solution for the telecom industry. Consider a recent incident in Africa where an operator suffered a three-day service blackout due to a centralized data storage failure. By leveraging a distributed ledger system built on blockchain technology, telecom operators can eliminate such single points of failure and ensure service continuity for their customers.
So, to conclude, Perianne, what are your key takeaways from Token2049?
Perianne Boring: It's great to be back in Dubai for Token 2049! The crypto industry has exploded since my last visit, and I think a big reason is that regulators here are taking a proactive approach. They're setting clear rules that give businesses room to grow.
But what surprised me was the attitude here. Dubai seems to genuinely respect the people who are building and innovating in blockchain. It's amazing to see this focus on creators and the value they bring. As an American, it's a bit jarring to experience this kind of respect firsthand.
This whole experience is making me rethink things. It reminds me of the importance of advocating for our rights, especially when it comes to open-source technologies. I'll never stop fighting for that.
Raj: I’m with you on this. We have offices in the US and Dubai. We have always received a great response in Dubai, and I would love to get the same response in the US too.
Perianne Boring: I’m with you on this.
Raj: Thank you for joining the conversation with us, Perianne. It was lovely talking to you.
Perianne Boring: Thank you for having me, Raj.
To tune in to the full interview, click here. Follow us on social media and bookmark our blog too never miss a beat on Zeebu. #SettleNow