The EU’s biggest Research and Innovation programme, Horizon 2020, has announced that it granted funding of almost €2 million to Billon Group. Billon was awarded the grant on the basis that its technology can exploit the alternative payments market.

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The funding is meant to expand Billon’s blockchain solutions beyond instant corporate payments, into ecommerce and content monetization solutions.

Tadeusz Kuropatwinski, Managing Director, Digital Payments, saids: “We believe content monetization and eCommerce payments will be one of the main drivers behind the global demand for micropayments, especially in emerging markets. Today’s payment solutions include clumsy pre-paid vouchers and premium SMS, and Billon can transform this into a digital payment experience on a mobile phone, and with a full audit trail. Based on successful trials, Billon expects to launch merchant services for ecommerce and content monetization this autumn in Poland and in 2018 in the UK, and will then look to emerging markets.”

Robert Kaluza, co-founder and COO of Billon, added: “Billon’s DLT/Blockchain technology is the first cloud and mobile peer-to-peer solution for everyday currencies using DLT, where we provide PLN and GBP solutions in partnership with banks. Billon now moves beyond solutions to digitally pay people, to now enable participants to spend their funds online. Billon successfully completed proof-of-concept trials of its content monetization solution in 2016 in digitized PLN currency.”

Alicja Grzegorzek, founder of Zafiro Solutions which helped with the grant application, said: “The SME Instrument is a programme for the most innovative European companies. Billon had all the attributes needed to succeed: a disruptive project, clear strategy and a world class team. We hope the this grant supports and accelerates its growth.”