Premise was launched in 2012 with a goal to help everyone make more money and empower local communities and businesses to make better decisions through on-demand data. We built our technology for people to find a way to monetize their data and opinions and for businesses to reimagine the way data is sourced. Our vision is to help everyone take control of their financial future.
To that end, we’re always asking ourselves how we can help our Contributors make more money, what more we can do, and what tools we can provide to empower our Contributors to take control of their financial future. These are some ongoing and important questions we ask ourselves at Premise every day.
Contributors in developing countries rely on Premise to make a living and largely prefer crypto payouts
As Premise successfully expanded to more than 100 countries, we discovered that many Contributors in developing countries such as South Africa, the Philippines, and Colombia count on the income generated by performing Premise tasks to make a living. Unlike Contributors in the US and Europe who mostly use Premise to make some extra pocket money, Contributors in underserved areas rely heavily on us to support their lives and families. For example, one Filipino Contributor cashed out 58,000 PHP (nearly $1,000 USD) after performing 1,085 tasks over the course of a year, supplementing over 19% of the average annual family income in the Philippines (approximately 300,000 PHP).
In addition, we also learned that our Contributors in these developing countries largely prefer crypto over local fiat currency when cashing out. More than 80% of Contributors in Colombia choose bitcoin as their payment option. Our latest crypto study revealed that 73% of our Contributors are open to using crypto to purchase goods and services and over 20% believe Bitcoin is a good investment opportunity and a useful form of currency.
This data sends a compelling message from our Contributors: cryptocurrency is seen as a key tool for attaining a better financial future.
Why is cryptocurrency so important to our Contributors?
First, let’s unpack reality by looking at some eye-opening stats.
Only 13% of our planet’s population is born into the U.S. dollar, euro, Japanese yen, British pound, Australian dollar, Canadian dollar, or Swiss Franc. The other 87% are born into much less trustworthy currencies and weaker systems. As a result, over 1.6 billion people live under double- or triple-digit inflation every day and over 1.7 billion people are unbanked in the world. The unbanked have no access to saving accounts, credit cards, borrowing loans, financing, and many other financial tools we have the privilege to enjoy in the U.S.
If these stats are not enough, let’s hear some real life stories from our Contributors:
Imagine, you are a young, motivated person in Venezuela, ready to work hard for your future. You have worked very hard indeed over the past week, only to realize at the end of the week that your hard-earned wage is worth less than half of what it was worth a week ago.
Imagine again, growing up in Vietnam and saving money “under your pillow” by working hard, but you do not have a bank account due to a lack of credit history, cost, etc. What you end up doing instead of saving your money in your bank account is spending all your money because you do not have a bank account to save your money and you never know if your money is going to be worth half its value from one day to the next.
Imagine for the last time, you were born in the Philippines and came to the U.S. for work. You want to send money back to your family but they do not have a bank account to deposit into. You must instead resort to using a remittance service but they might charge high fees (e.g. the U.S. Postal Service charges an issuing fee of $49.65 plus a processing fee) and it usually takes a few days for the transaction to complete.
Cryptocurrency as a way out and the new hope
Mentioned above are real-life stories that happen each and every day in many underserved areas. To people living in underserved areas, the chance to invest in cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin or Ethereum may offer brighter prospects than holding on to their local currency (again, due to high inflation and the uncertainty inherent in a weaker financial system).
Our conclusion: Cryptocurrency is potentially a way out for many people who were born into underserved areas.
With the rapid adoption of mobile devices and financial platforms like Premise, people who were born into weaker financial systems will finally be able to take control of their financial future as they can now earn, buy, send, and manage crypto on their mobile devices—without high transaction costs, worrying about inflation, or depending on an untrustworthy financial system.
What’s next?
Crypto initiatives at Premise are our top priorities because of the potential positive impact such offerings can have on our global Contributor community.
Our crypto initiative/vision includes:
- Increasing accessibility to digital assets and cryptocurrencies and removing barriers of entry to accelerate the adoption of cryptocurrency.
- Educating our global network of Contributors and their communities on financial literacy and debunking myths and misconceptions about digital assets and cryptocurrencies.
- Exploring the intersection of web3 and data monetization —utilizing various blockchain technologies to employ gamification strategies.
Stay tuned to this blog for more exciting upcoming announcements as we transform this vision into action!