I couldn’t be more excited to announce the formal launch of the Interledger Foundation, which represents the next phase in the development of Interledger, an open protocol technology that allows the frictionless movement of payments and micropayments across different ledgers. By advancing open payment standards and technologies that keep people connected, our vision is to have a more equitable and creative global society where anyone can seamlessly earn, share, buy, sell and trade with anyone else in the world. We encourage organizations interested in the Interledger Foundation’s financial inclusion mission to join us.

Here is why the Foundation was formed and ways to get involved: 

Building More Equitable and Creative Opportunities on the Web

The idea for the Interledger Protocol was born in 2015 when Stefan Thomas and Evan Schwartz, its co-creators, realized how difficult it was to make cross border payments. Stefan tells a story about an Airbnb host, who by the time they received their payment, it had gone through numerous third parties and been subject to a variety of fees, leaving the host with almost nothing. He saw the system as being very flawed, inefficient and clunky. Having worked in accounting and finance for years, I noticed many of the same issues myself.

By moving currency as seamlessly as the internet moves information, payments and micropayments sent using the Interledger network are secure, fast, and can be sent across borders in any currency. In this way, the protocol, as utilized by Mojaloop, helps to advance financial inclusion by including and integrating people who have historically been left out of the digital financial system.

Advancing Innovation

Aided by the Interledger Foundation’s Grant for the Web program, innovations in Web Monetization are opening up an entire financial ecosystem for everyone from app and game developers to artists, musicians, and podcasters, to journalists and freelancers. Grant for the Web is funding individuals, projects and global communities that incorporate or build upon the Web Monetization standard and protocols. As new content, video or gaming platforms are created on the web, they create ways to financially support their artists. Two great examples of web monetization at work are Puma Browser and a video platform which integrate monetization as a native function of the web. In fact, the Grant for the Web’s site and community space is web monetized, and the micropayments generated on the website and community space are directed to non-profit organizations that support a healthy internet – including the program’s grantees – on a rotating basis.

Once again, we are thrilled to see the Interledger Foundation moving ahead, and we look forward to the impact that we can have on financial inclusion and Web Monetization. There are many ways that you can help Interledger Foundation achieve its mission of connecting our global society. Learn more about how you can get involved, watch this space for additional information, sign up for news and updates, and follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn to stay up to date.