Blockchain project provides the homeless with a digital identity

A new app uses blockchain technology to connect the homeless New Yorkers with the services they need.

Technology company Blockchain for Change has launched its own app named Fummi to connect the homeless with services they require by helping them create a digital identity. Fummi is an android app that uses blockchain-based SmartID to transform services for the underserved and underprivileged. Its three key features are the Digital ID – Change Pass, safe store of money in the SmartWallet, and acting as a marketplace for service providers and beneficiaries.

Around 3,000 homeless people in New York will receive a smartphone as part of the rollout, beginning the process of creating a digital identity for them. Fummi is preloaded on to each phone, which is provided by Life Wireless. The company started by distributing phones in the Bronx. The service groups create the blockchain identities for the homeless and once on the system, they can then open an account, receive money, and track activity. Fummi shows when someone has checked into a shelter, how much they paid for showers, haircuts, and clothes, their available balance, and so on. It is hoped that the platform will help give the homeless the boost they need to create the lives they desire.

The prominence of blockchain technology being integrated into different industries is apparent in a number of new innovations being recently unveiled, such as a gamified offering being built on the Ethereum network, and a platform to tackle extremist views. How could blockchain have an impact on your company’s operations?