Etch, a UK startup developing a blockchain-based payroll platform for the construction industry, has selected Big Four consulting firm KPMG to advice on the best business practice for its ongoing initial coin offering (ICO). KPMG will help Etch build its operations in a compliant way and provide advising on key elements such as valuations, tax implications, risk framework, governance and controls.
The Etch platform promises to enable real-time employee remittances and allow employers to pay their staff “second by second.” It will focus on the construction industry where payment systems are often too complex and prone to late payments.
“Etch is a superb initiative because it provides guaranteed payments in real-time for all work completed, something that no other platform is currently known to achieve,” said Chris Mills, the head of Blockchain for KPMG UK. “There are clear and immediate benefits, particularly for low and average income workers, who make up the clear majority of the population.”
According to Mills, Etch stands out as it leverages blockchain, mobile and digital technologies to provide intuitive apps that deliver “exactly what’s needed in a simple and neat format for those most in need of cash flow.”
Euros Evans, the founder and CEO of Etch and a London-based technology entrepreneur, said:
“Billions of the world’s population live paycheque to paycheque, a situation that can lead to mounting debt, stress and poor health. The Etch solution enables employers to pay their employees in real time.
“When people are being paid as soon as they’ve earned it, we can reduce the need for payday loans and other such instruments to plug spending gaps, as well as improving employees’ peace of mind.”
Etch will use the Ethereum blockchain to unify payroll and remittance services, and allow businesses to save time and money.
The Etch system will have its own token called the Etch Token (ETCH). Employers would purchase ETCH to pay for the onboarding of their employees to the platform as well as other services.
Employees would create personal accounts and provide details of their employment contracts through the dashboard. This would create a smart contract of when, and how much, to be paid out. Additional information would be added such as national insurance, and tax records. Employees will be given a payment card usable at payment terminals around the world including ATMs and linked to a digital wallet.
Etch is currently running an ICO that will end on October 18. The startup is looking to raise £5million to develop the platform.
Etch’s decentralized app (dapp) is developed with the support of the London-based Construction Blockchain Consortium, a group of leading UK firms that are applying blockchain technology to transform the building environment.
