Rate3 Prototype [Testnet LIVE!]: A Step-by-Step Explanation
Tags: Ethereum, Rate3, Bitcoin, Stellar, How To

Using RateX: Fiat-Fiat exchange

Our flagship product RateX is a browser extension to help consumers save on FX charges when we shop online. Essentially, when you pay for overseas cross-border changes, you pay additional (and often hidden) charges in two ways:

Credit card processing fees

Dynamic currency conversion fees (from buyer’s domestic currency to merchant’s accepted currency)

This often adds up to 3–10% on a transaction. In short, consumers pay more for a transaction and merchants receive less from a transaction.

We created RateX to solve this fiat-conversion issue and allow consumers to check-out seamlessly with a beautiful user experience.

How does RateX work?

A few simple steps:

Step 1: Install the browser extension from Google

Step 2: Shop normally on our supported merchants.

Step 3: On check-out, the RateX payment extension automatically appears and consumers can choose to pay by credit/debit card, Rate wallet or bank transfer.

At the Check-Out page for our supported merchants:

The RateX extension appears seamlessly during check-out.

A Closer Look at What’s Happening:

For Amazon (US) where merchants receive and settle in USD, we allow consumers to pay in SGD and TWD (our currently supported fiat pairs).

The savings (in FX conversion and processing) from using RateX are very clearly displayed too. We also display the prices you would pay if you use Amazon, and other banks’ credit cards for you to compare:

RateX for Amazon (US). Source: Rate.

Now, let’s take a look at another very popular merchant: Taobao from China. Here, consumers can pay in SGD or TWD, while merchants receive in RMB.

RateX for Taobao (China). Source: Rate.

How Consumers Pay:

Consumers can choose to pay by credit/debit cards or bank transfer, without incurring any of the additional credit card processing/exchange rate charges.

One of the payment methods: Debit/Credit card

What fiat currency-pairs do RateX support now?

Good, but not greaaaat.

Creating different valid currency pairs is tough. Right now, consumers can choose to pay in SGD or TWD for our supported merchants who can receiv only in USD, RMB and YEN.

Introducing… the Future: MetaMask for Payments.

Rate3: MetaMask for Payments. But Better.

RateX is wildly popular because it is easy to use, looks good and it works. Likewise, MetaMask is popular for Ethereum because it is easy to use, looks good and works seamlessly.

Imagine the MetaMask for E-Commerce Payments.

RateX as the first dApp to process payments

Using RateX as the first dApp, consumers can pay in their debit/credit card or any cryptocurrency (that are supported on the Stellar Network).

In this example, we use 1 specific case of payment through RTE tokens. In terms of list of supported currencies that consumers and merchants can receive, please read below. This transaction is live on the Stellar testnet.

Transactions are almost instant: 3–5 seconds.

Successful Transaction on the Stellar Testnet

Tracking your test transaction on Stellar testnet. Live!

After trying out the transaction, you can see the transaction hash and log on the Stellar testnet itself.

You see the transaction fees too — as borne by the merchant, due to our Cross-Border Payment Protocol.

What currency pairs can Rate3 support in the near future?

Consumers can choose to pay in any supported fiat currencies (either through their credit/debit cards, bank transfers) or supported cryptocurrencies (through any native crypto-wallets).

Currency flows in the future

For the detailed list of all currency and assets that Stellar currently supports, please refer to the offiical Stellar directory and StellarTerm.

Essentially, RateX allows one to do fiat-fiat exchanges.

Rate3 allows you to do much more. You can accomplish: