The BABB ICO is set to start soon, a brand new crypto bank hoping to bring crypto based banking to the masses.

What is BABB?

BABB stands for Bank Account Based Blockchain. They're hoping to bring together the benefits of blockchain technology with traditional banking.
The new bank will be UK based and will allow users to use both fiat and cryptocurrency. With so many people still without a bank account they hope to target these aswell as current users of traditional bank accounts.

Problems with banking

Even in todays modern world there's still 2 billion people (30% of the population) without a bank account, these 'unbanked' people have no access to financial services and have to rely on cash. This gives them problems, they're unable to send money any great distance and ofcourse are generally unable to gain access to loans. It can also make it much harder for them to save.
The unbanked population is estimated to be worth $380 billion. However with this figure being split between 2 billion people most banks believe that it's not profitable to target them due to their infrastructure and high marketing costs making it too expensive to serve them.

The BABB Solution

They're planning a blockchain based solution that has access to crowdsourced financial services. By using this technology they should be able to massively cut costs over traditional banks and target the 2 billion people still without a bank account profitably.
They state in their whitepaper that they believe their decentralized platform also offers many other benefits such as being less susceptible to shocks by decentralizing their decision making.

Products

• Smartphone app: Recently mobile banking has taken over, they plan to design a high quality mobile app to make banking simple for their customers.

• UK based bank account: The company is already based in the UK and regulated by the FCA as an authorized payment institution. They also plan to apply for a banking license in the UK. The sign up process will still remain simple for users.

• P2P Financial services: The platform will run on smart contracts and will facilitate P2P lending, with investors being connected to entrepreneurs.

• Payment card: The new card will be linked to the app with no data stored on the card itself. This will then allow users to purchase goods with any retailer who has an account with the platform.
  The new card will work without the need for VISA or Mastercard and therefore allow retailers to accept payments without high fees or a long processing time.

How will it work

• The new bank will use the blockchain and smart contracts to make the platform a decentralized P2P network.

• They plan to use biometrics to make it possible for people without ID documents to open a bank account, this will be done by using face scans and geolocation technology.

• They plan to have a 'social KYC' system where fully verified members of the community are able to recommend people for an account.
  They also plan to target employers and hope to have them signed up for their payroll system.

BAX Token

The new BAX token will run on the Ethreum blockchain.
The new token will be used as payment for licensing fees and service fees on the platform, meaning that any user of the platform will need to hold the token.

ICO Details

• Hard cap: $50 million
• Total supply: 1 billion.
• 60% available to ICO participants, 20% for the team, 18% for the reserve fund and 2% for bounty.
• For details of the sale dates will be released soon, sign up on their website to get notified: https://getbabb.com

Key team members

• Rushd Averroes, CEO& Founder: A financial inclusion specialist with an MA in microfinance and Inclusion from the University of Greenwich. He previously managed wowpaymobi, an Authorized Payment Institution.
• Jorge Pereira, CTO: He previously founded Seegno in 2008 where he's still an advisor. In 2014 he joined Uphold as CTO and was responsible for the design and architecture.
• Adam Haeems, COO: He will be responsible for the daily operations of the project. He has Master of Finance from Cambridge University.
• Paul Johnson, CIO: He's previously worked as a CIO and COO for Aldermore Bank and LLoyds Bank.

Conclusion

The team behind the project have already been working on it for over a year and must of already committed a lot of their own funds. They've already filed 5 different patents in the UK and are already regulated by the FCA as an Authorized Payment Institution.
The team looks solid with experience with more traditional banks and payment providers.
If they can get close to their funding goal during the ICO and stick to the roadmap then they should have a bright future in 2018.
Website: https://getbabb.com
Whitepaper: https://getbabb.com/babb-whitepaper.pdf
ANN Thread: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=2349340.0