THE BORING STUFF
But first just a few points on some boring stuff before we get to the fun bit.
Legal Environment
Regulations or requirements are few and this makes entry to the invoice financing industry easier than for other industries. However, all invoice financing companies still need to meet the few regulatory requirements there exists.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the Asset Based Finance Association (ABFA) and HM Treasury regulates the invoice financing market in the UK. Invoice sellers and buyers can easily participate in the factoring and discounting market because it is a well-establish industry. Legal requirements are minimal and these include the compulsory issuance of invoices for goods or services, invoice sellers must have more than one customer and in some cases a signed guarantee must be obtained from the directors of the company. - Populous Business Plan
Populous have met the regulatory requirements and have also ensured legal opinions were given prior to moving forward.
Two invoices were successfully sold and there have not been any cease and desist order issued. What Populous are doing now is in accordance to regulatory requirements so they are doing things right.
Provision of Liquidity
It can be seen that the bar to entry in terms of regulations is low. However the bar to entry in terms of financial requirement is high. You will need sufficient funds to help meet SME’s short term liquidity needs and that is what invoice financing is all about.
Populous easily meets this requirement having built up a financial war chest or Liquidity Pool. This LP consists of funds that are made available to SMEs to meet their short term liquidity needs. The larger the LP, the more invoices that can be funded.
The funds in the LP are from wealthy individuals or families, banks or other institutions and without the LP, Populous is just a game.
Legal Documents
With each and every invoice placed on the IF marketplace comes a set of legal document. Bidders can download these documents and review them if they want. These legal documents covers the requirement that seller must meet to sell invoices on the IF Platform.
The agreement is made between the invoice seller and the invoice buyer to which each party will need to agree to by signing. Populous signs as the buyer.
NOW LET THE FUN BEGIN
The Populous Invoice Financing platform has a certain game play element built into the platform. Invoices are placed in the invoice marketplace and bids are placed to try win the invoice. The invoice marketplace is essentially an “auction bidding game”.
Different Game Roles
There are three “official” actors involved in the game and these each play different roles within the Populous IF Platform.
Administrator – approves/manages client’s accounts and action.
Invoice Seller – the company selling invoices.
Invoice Buyer – the buyer of the invoices.
However there is one other “non-official” player in this game and he is known collectively as PPT hodler and his purpose is to allocate Pokens to fund the invoices.
Although not officially recognised as an actor on the platform the PPT hodler is the key player in this game.
Playing The Game
The objective of the game is to win invoices and you, PPT hodler, take the role of the buyer. You must compete with other buyers to win an invoice.
To start you exchange PPT tokens for Pokens to play the game and the fun starts when an invoice is released by the Administrator.
The first stage of the game is the active part of the game. In this stage you the Invoice Buyer (1) decide which invoice you want to win (2) bid as an individually and/or as part of a bid group (3) place your bid as soon and as fast as you can.
The total amount of the bid you can place is limited by the number of Pokens you have starting the game. The more Pokens you have the higher the bid amount or the more bids you can place.
The first stage ends when the invoice goal sale amount is reached, or when the 24 hours game period expires. The winner is only declared when the Invoice Buyer’s bid placed meets the goal sale price of the Invoice Seller or when the Invoice Seller accepts the best bid.
The second stage of the game is passive and requires action from the Invoice Seller and the Platform only. You, the Invoice Buyer just sit back and watch the Pokens roll in. The Pokens are automatically disbursed to all the actors in the game including you the Invoice Buyer.
Think of Pokens received at this stage of the game as the reward for playing the game.
To add complexity, more than one invoice can be released and the invoice buyers tries to win as many invoices as they can. The more invoices won mean the higher the Pokens rewarded. Pokens are akin to game points!
The auction game is on the edge of your seat stuff, exciting to watch, cliff hanging, very fast and very furious!
IN CONCLUSION
Now, do you see why Populous is sort of immuned to crypto regulations and crypto regulatory changes!
In short, Populous is a traditional invoice financing company but set up on the blockchain. Populous can leverage the efficiencies inherent in Blockchain technology a major plus over its competitors.
As to PPT hodlers, you basically Live Action Role Play (LARP) at being an invoice buyer on the IF Platform. PPT hodlers allocates funds to Invoice Sellers on behalf of Populous and do not buy invoices. If you are the Invoice Buyer then you will need to enter into an agreement with the Invoice Seller – BUT YOU DON’T!
Since PPT hodlers are not required to sign any agreement they do not have legal standing in the purchase of invoices. The agreement is signed by Populous and the Invoice Seller making the contractual agreement clear cut.
Pokens can also be considered as “vouchers”, you get vouchers in return for PPT, assign these vouchers to the Invoice Seller, the Invoice Seller redeems the vouchers with Populous for fiat. When the invoice Seller makes repayment, the Invoice Seller deposits fiat and Populous disburses vouchers to PPT hodlers for playing the game. PPT hodlers then redeem the vouchers to exchange them back for their PPT and to withdraw them as fiat from the game
On the one hand Populous is a traditional invoice financing company meeting all regulatory requirements and on the other hand Populous is an auction bidding game that pays you when you LARP. The Populous IF Platform is an auction bidding game where you are rewarded for role playing.
Other Populous Posts
My most recent Populous posts can be read by clicking the links below.
Populous – Moving with the Times!
https://steemit.com/populous/@marcusxman/populous-moving-with-the-timesPopulous – You Say! I Say!
https://steemit.com/populous/@marcusxman/populous-you-say-i-say
Populous – Here We Come!
https://steemit.com/populous/@marcusxman/populous-here-we-come
Populous – PXP, The Best Intel on the Market?
https://steemit.com/populous/@marcusxman/populous-pxp-the-best-intel-on-the-market
Populous – History Made!
https://steemit.com/populous/@marcusxman/populous-history-made
A number of issues raised in the article was covered in preceding Populous articles which you can find [here[(https://steemit.com/@marcusxman). Many of these articles were written a long time ago and Populous being a start-up and an industry trailblazer pioneering a new way of doing things will mean that some of the assumptions made have changed.
Nevertheless, the principles outlined in these articles still applies so read them to help you formulate questions you can ask to help you understand.
Should you have any questions concerning Populous you can ask Populous through Slack, Bitcointalk forum, Populous Official Telegram or their Twitter Account for answers and clarifications.
However, do bear in mind that Populous are not financial advisers and cannot respond to questions that are of a financial nature. The onus is on you to make that determination and what it means for you as a PPT holder.
This is NOT Financial Advice
The contents in this article are for educational purpose only and should not be construed as financial advice. As usual do not invest more than you can afford to lose as these investments can go to zero and always do your own due diligence. If you need financial advice then speak to a licensed financial advisor.
Feel free to comment as you see fit below.