We often hear it said that blockchain technology finally allows us to take back control. Take back control of our data, our assets, our identities - and our money. Atidium (ATD) builds upon this ethos with the introduction of their dApp, which they themselves describe as "a payments and budget management decentralized application for individuals and businesses". Now, what does this mean?
In short, it means that via their dApp (and forthcoming payment card) you will be able to control ALL your payments and expenses through one simple crypto based application. But not just that, as thanks to the "artificial intelligence engine" at the heart of their dApp, it will grow with you. It will "analyse" your spending patterns and work with you. Developing as you develop and allowing you to refine your payment expenditure accordingly. This will be especially important for business. Imagine a scenario where a business has 100 employees each of whom have their own expenditure limits. Through integration of the dApp and subsequent cards the finance department will be able to analyse expenditure patterns and make economies accordingly. A simple example could be where internal departments are purchasing their own stationery independent of each other. By simple analysis, this expenditure could be aggregated and integrated via one simple purchasing "channel", thereby benefiting from a reduction of overall costs through "economies of scale".
Now this may sound deceptively simple, yet "simplicity" is far from straight-forward when it comes to blockchain technology and the holy grail of "mass adoption" for the layman. And it is precisely this which Atidium is looking to address. In short, Atidium are looking to an "open source global money management tool" that is simple and easy for anybody to use. Another way to look at this would be how software programmes today allow us to build websites and blogs without the need for understanding HTML or CSS (Cascading Style Sheets). In the early days of the internet this was a necessary requirement, but now no more - unless, of course, you choose otherwise.
Nobody needs to know the mechanics of the internal combustion engine in order to drive a car. And if we think of ATD as the "bridge" between our expenses and spending patterns then we can see how it starts to make sense. Utilising the latest technologies to aid us in our real world experiences without having to dig down into the details to achieve this aim. As a child I recall a famous advertising campaign for a credit card. Their marketing strapline was that they were your "flexible friend". If you think the same - but with blockchain technology where YOU retain control - you are some way forward in understanding what ATD are looking to achieve. It is like the duck that glides gracefully on the surface of the water while underneath it is paddling like crazy.
And of course, because this is built on blockchain technology and the decentralization which thereby entails, ATD in effect allows you to be your own bank and bank manager without need of third party (institutional) support.
So there we have it. Atidium is a blockchain based solution to aid us in taking control of our expenditure in a way that helps us understand not just our spending patterns but to make real-world savings in a way that requires little understanding of the mechanics behind the scene. A crypto-based payment option with so much behind it and under the hood that the possibilities are endless. In terms of the "details", that will require a further article which breaks down EXACTLY how you keep complete control and can adapt how you work with ATD for your real-life experiences regarding spending and budgets. And believe you me, once you realise what ATD can enable you to do, you will be impressed.