Korean Article Covering Icon's U-Coin Project - "The government hoped that the spread of the U-Coin (ICX), a currency coin, would reduce the cost of real money and the cost of building infrastructure."
(( google translated ))
Vending machines that can buy goods with virtual money in Korea?
A vending machine that can buy goods with a password chain based on a block chain was first introduced in Korea. It is expected to be the first case to use the cryptographic currency (virtual currency), which was considered only as a speculative means, as an electronic commerce payment means. The first vending machine is piloted at Sogang University.
According to the financial industry and IT industry on November 25, Ministry of Science and Technology, Ministry of Information Industry Promotion (NIA), and Daily Intelligence started "U-Coin Demonstration Service based on Block Chain" do.
The company has commercialized a smart bending machine that can buy goods in virtual currency, and plans to expand it nationwide. The No. 1 smart bending machine was installed at Sogang University. We will expand and apply it to POSTECH integrated virtual currency demonstration project soon.
This business, named as Yukoin Service, is characterized by the commercialization of block-based cipher services available at online and offline merchants centered on universities. The goal is to enter the society without cash.
The government selected Daily Intelligence as a private operator and built a platform for purchasing vending machines and mobile applications (apps) as part of its national policy. Daily intelligence is based on the block chain engine and has all the necessary systems for service operation such as issuing, inquiring, and settlement of passwords.
How to use is simple. After installing the cryptographic service app on the mobile, the user turns the real money into a cryptogram with a smart bending machine. The user installs the app and buys the goods in the vending machine with a password.
The Ministry of Finance and Economy (MIC) and the NIA are considering plans to expand their long-term and long-term prospects, including the supply of bank cipher services based on bank block chains.
"We will expand the scale of the consortium after the trial service," a business official said. "We will expand the franchise so that students can use virtual money to buy things at a number of universities."
The Ministry of Information and Communication (MIC) started a pilot project for college students with high acceptance of new technology. We also plan to use local currency in consultation with local governments. It is a strategy to spread the pilot projects step by step by linking universities and local governments nationwide. In order to flexibly respond to the payment environment, we will continue to develop technologies based on the Internet (IoT) environment as well as smartphones and smart bending machines.
The government hoped that the spread of the U-Coin, a currency coin, would reduce the cost of real money and the cost of building infrastructure. The goal is to upgrade the cipher money to social public service for quick entry into 'cashless society'.
http://www.etnews.com/20171222000304