From startup challenger bank to blockchain innovation and an offline payments and ‘economics of value’ that could pave the way for a future model of consumer data ownership. Anna Milne meets Chris Gledhill of Secco Aura
Chris Gledhill, founder of Secco Bank has since pivoted, turned his back on the constraints of chasing a banking licence and evolved his offering into something rather more niche. And he is specifically targeting 16-19 year olds.
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Secco Aura aims to enable people to own their personal data, hence the term data brokers. Gledhill talks about turning the existing model of marketing and advertising on its head such that the consumer is in control and can choose whether or not to sell their own data to a supplier of goods.
Having come from a banking background as well as having started a challenger bank, Gledhill found the constraints of pursuing a banking licence too restrictive. And ultimately, found he did not need to pursue one, given what it was he was trying to achieve. Not chasing a licence gives Gledhill more freedom to innovate without certain constraints that apply to the challenger banks.
Secco aura presents what Gledhill sees as the future of value exchange. And he sees the number being up for traditional banks in a matter of 50 years.
Secco aura currently targets so-called fashionistas because its aim is to create a “reputational economics” system, as Gledhill calls it.
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By GlobalData“Fashion people care a lot about their reputation, they already broadcast a personal interface, which is what they are wearing and the causes they are passionate about. They have already got additional cues like wristbands and jewellery, badges, etc that all mean something, they are very brand aware, they are very adept at dealing with non-monetary units, vouchers and discounts, etc. They understand the value of reputation.”
Secco aura enables people to create a digital persona, a digitally augmented version of themselves in a Pokemon Go style broadcast. This broadcast spans 100 yards around them and that interface is their basic profile along with several APIs that the broadcaster has programmed.
An example of one such API could be to rate an outfit someone is wearing with the option of rating it with a medal, which could extend to the benefactor a voucher to buy it at a discount- the wearer gets a like for their outfit, thereby increasing their reputational value and the retailer gets a new sales channel.
“All of those interactions are through non-monetary value tokens via Bluetooth or personal wifi hotspots.
“At the moment social networking is an online activity- we are taking it offline. To walk into a conference about banking and be able to scan 350 people to find out how many investors are in the room or how many data scientists,” Gledhill explains.
One person can create a piece of value, for example a beer token, and send it to another’s phone. It is cryptographically stamped so the recipient knows for certain whom the sender is. It is non-refutable and can then be redeemed. It is also an untraceable transaction.
“We are a platform and underlying technology but essentially a platform where you can create a wallet on your phone; create or store data or monetary assets; be able to create your own value tokens based on that and then broadcast to other people – that can apply to so many different use cases, we are going specifically for fashion to start off with because it works very well with fashion people, that’s why we are based in Soho, surrounded by fashion houses,” Gledhill explains.
This sounds good, but how profitable is it, and is it sustainable as a business model? Gledhill thinks so:
“We're not replacing anything. Secco Aura is in a category of its own. Right now states and corporates create currencies but people don't, we're filling that space. Right now social interactions are online or offline, we're merging the two. The vision we have with secco would create positive social change, so whether Secco or someone else implements our vision, everyone is a winner!”
“There are plenty of use cases for offline or anonymous transactions. Or if you have an allergy you need to broadcast to a medical professional who comes to see you there’s no point having that on an NHS database, you need it with you, offline, instantly verified and if you have a list of medication you’re on that also needs to be verified, signed by someone else- need to turn the internet around it’s like having this client server model where we serve ourselves with our own data. It seems an obvious model we should get to,” Gledhill continues.
Amid the ongoing banking argument of whether banks should target a younger audience who, let’s agree, aren’t as profitable as their silver-haired counterparts, Gledhill cuts through by presenting an economic model of the future, in which he suggests tokens and data ‘brokerage’ are the new commodities for exchanging value.
“You need a licence if you hold and process people’s money but because they hold it themselves, it’s not real money, it’s what they’ve created so technically we don’t need a licence- it’s like creating leather wallets, we’re just the container- the people create their own vouchers and discount tokens. This gives us more freedom to innovate without certain constraints that apply to the challenger banks,” Gledhill states.
The common thread between financial services and the platform for creation of value tokens is, as Gledhill explains, anonymity.
Gledhill, with his background in computer science is developing blocktree- this is a blockchain-based network which accommodates anonymity. At some point he wants to patent this, which will require a peer review paper, which in turn is a full time occupation. At this point it is more about acquiring funding.
For all blockchain’s benefits, anonymity is not one of them. With blocktree, Gledhill draws the analogy that it is the equivalent of issuing a digital cheque, thereby empowering the customer. The platform enables customers to make offline transactions, via Bluetooth or personal wifi hotspot, hence the anonymity. The ‘cryptographic stamp’ is what verifies it, thus a customer can create and send a beer token, for example. He calls it a “client server model, where we serve ourselves with our own data. It seems an obvious model we should get to.”
In the same way, traditional marketing is turned on its head as well. The customer becomes custodian of their own data. Via secco aura, they broadcast their personality, their digital profile, transmitting as much or as little as they like and, on the same platform, companies can approach them to ask to buy their email address, for example, and email them details of goods they may be interested in. Any transactions that take longer or have a series of verifications or multiple transactions can be taken online to complete.
Secco aura is certainly a novel concept. And it is not the first time a fintech has said that traditional banks have their days numbered and indeed possibly have only 50 years left. It is difficult to imagine this being the future. But it would also have been difficult to imagine things as they are now twenty years ago, let alone fifty years ago.
