Samuel OskysIt was recently reported that Chinese online mutual aid platform Xiang Hu Bao has now added coronavirus to the illness eligible for a maximum one-time payout of $14,300 (100,000 yuan).
The company that is offering the payout is a blockchain-based collective claim-sharing platform that currently has 104 million users. Blockchain is used on the platform to prevent fraud and process claims faster.
Xiang Hu Bao is owned by Chinese finance giant Ant Financial, using its mobile payment processing AliPay to process the payout for coronavirus victims. The company commented:
Xiang Hu Bao has been able to process claims and make payouts to participants quicker, due to the decentralised, trust-free nature of blockchain technology. […] Claim applicants can submit their supporting documents as evidence while investigation firms can get immediate access to them on the blockchain. All parties involved can see the entire process.
This is not the only firm to use blockchain technology. Blue Cross Insurance owned by Bank of East Asia is helping to manage the bureaucratic impact of the coronavirus outbreak with a medical claims app. Patrick Wan, the insurance service’s managing director commented:
Our blockchain-backed claims service has played a key role during the outbreak of the coronavirus by totally eliminating the paper process and the need for back-and-forth documents delivery to clinics. […] This really helps to mitigate the risk of infection from face-to-face contact.
The platform states it is capable of handling over 1,000 transactions per second without human involvement. The app launched in April 2019 and has since seen a double-digit monthly policyholder user base growth. Patients who use the app can see the result of claims within one day after visiting the hospital.
While blockchain is being used in the process of managing coronavirus it has had a direct impact on the cryptocurrency industry. Multiple blockchain and tech events have been disrupted or cancelled due to concerns about the virus. One example is Amazon who pulled out of a major tech show due to Coronavirus concerns.
Image Source by IEEE Innovation at Work
