Centi Franc by Centi Ltd
PROJECT OVERVIEW
Product: Centi Franc stablecoin
Company Name: Centi Ltd
Industry: Financial Services
Website URL & important links:
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Centi Franc Payment Token (CCHF) is the ideal digital payment product. It combines all of the advantages of cash with the convenience of electronic payments. The CCHF token is designed to facilitate micropayments, but best of all, it is 1:1 backed by a Swiss Bank Guarantee. Please see full terms here: https://centi.ch/centi-franc.
ABOUT THE ORGANIZATION
Centi is a pioneer in digital financial services operating products such as the Centi App, wich provides digital cash exchange services as well as global remittances services to consumers. Most services can also be provided to unbanked people.
Our business product range consists of an entire toolbox from API to fully web based cashiers and advanced promotion tools.
On the base layer the Centi Franc provides the transparent, fast, efficient, stable, and secure means to conduct business in a direct and peer to peer fashion.
INDUSTRY CONTEXT
Industry Problems & Challenges
Indirect payments and payments which need multiple parties to settle are expensive as all parties involved have a cost, compliance structure and drive for profit. The digitization in the web as well as in retail shifts all payments to such indirect payments (debit or credit).
Centi Franc provides a stable, secure and micropayments capable way to transact in a peer to peer fashion. This means that the advantages of digital currencies and the stability of the Swiss Franc are combined into a hyper scalable payment base layer.
Together with Centi's other financial services this enables valuable use cases and payments with over 500 merchants in Switzerland today.
Key regulations or compliance considerations in this industry
1. Anti-Money Laundering (AML) & Know Your Customer (KYC)
The token issuer (Centi Ltd) is required to conduct KYC and AML checks.
Users must complete identity verification before purchasing or redeeming CCHF tokens.
This is in line with Swiss financial regulations and international standards to prevent illicit use.
2. FINMA Classification
CCHF is classified as a payment token under Swiss law.
The document notes that CCHF is not a security, which exempts it from certain financial market regulations, such as those applying to securities offerings.
3. Swiss Law Compliance
The issuance and use of CCHF tokens comply with Swiss financial market infrastructure regulations.
Centi is required to operate under a regulatory framework for payment services and financial intermediaries, particularly in accordance with the Swiss Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA).
4. No Legal Tender
Although the token is pegged to the Swiss Franc (CHF), it is not legal tender and must not be presented as such.
Users are informed that CCHF is a digital representation and should not be confused with fiat currency issued by the Swiss National Bank.
5. Redemption and Transparency
CCHF tokens are fully backed by Swiss Franc deposits.
These deposits are held at regulated Swiss financial institutions, ensuring redeemability and transparency.
Regular audits or third-party verifications may be conducted to prove full reserve backing.
6. User Responsibility
Users must ensure compliance with their local laws when interacting with the token.
Centi disclaims responsibility for the legality of use outside Switzerland.
7. Restrictions and Limitations
Certain jurisdictions may be restricted from accessing or using CCHF tokens due to regulatory incompatibilities.
The terms include a warning against offering or distributing tokens in countries where such actions would require special authorization.
PROBLEM STATEMENT
Access to affordable, reliable, and regulated digital payment solutions remains limited—especially for unbanked populations, small merchants, and users in high-fee or unstable financial environments. Existing cryptocurrencies are too volatile for daily transactions, while many stablecoins lack transparency and regulatory oversight. Traditional payment systems are often expensive, slow, and inaccessible to those who need them most.
Limitations in the traditional approach or legacy system
1. High Fees for Transactions
Especially in cross-border payments and remittances, legacy systems often involve multiple intermediaries and high service fees.
This makes small-value transfers impractical and expensive.
2. Slow Settlement Times
Traditional banks and payment networks can take days to settle cross-border transactions, especially outside of regular banking hours or on weekends.
3. Limited Financial Inclusion
Millions remain unbanked or underbanked globally because legacy systems require formal identification, credit history, or access to physical branches.
Small merchants and informal vendors are often excluded due to costly onboarding processes and infrastructure limitations.
4. Lack of Transparency and Real-Time Verification
Users and merchants often have limited visibility into payment status, fees, or currency conversion rates until after a transaction is complete.
This opacity undermines trust and predictability.
5. Currency Volatility in Local Economies
In some regions, users face unstable local currencies, but traditional systems don’t offer easy access to stable, fiat-pegged alternatives for daily use.
6. Limited Programmability
Legacy systems don't support automated or programmable payments, making it hard to build modern, integrated financial applications or microservices.
7. Regulatory Friction Across Borders
Operating across multiple jurisdictions requires navigating complex compliance frameworks, which can delay innovation and restrict access to global users.
WHY BSV BLOCKCHAIN?
BSV's scalable, cost-efficient, and programmable infrastructure makes it an ideal backbone for Centi Franc (CCHF), enabling reliable, fast, and low-cost digital cash transactions that meet both commercial and regulatory needs.
1. Scalability
BSV handles high transaction volumes, which is essential for supporting mass adoption of CCHF in real-world commerce, including micro-payments and high-frequency retail activity.
This allows Centi to scale up without worrying about congestion or performance bottlenecks, even with large user bases or peak transaction times.
2. Reliability
BSV offers stable infrastructure and predictable performance, which is crucial for a financial product aiming to replace or complement cash and traditional payments.
Centi benefits from a consistent and secure settlement layer, ensuring transaction finality and user trust.
3. Low Transaction Fees
One of BSV’s standout features is its extremely low fees (fractions of a cent).
This aligns perfectly with Centi’s vision of enabling cost-effective micro-transactions, especially in emerging markets or small-scale retail environments.
4. Scripting Capabilities
BSV supports powerful on-chain scripting, allowing Centi to implement smart features like:
Time-locked or conditional payments
Multi-signature wallets for added security
Custom redemption rules
These scripting tools give Centi the flexibility to build trust-minimized, programmable finance tools within a fully regulated framework.
BSV features used
Smart contracts
Micropayments
Tokenization
UTXOs and their cash-like nature
Function of the BSV features used
Custom BSV script via Stas token. STAS tokens offer developers and token issuers enhanced tools for enterprise growth. These tokens are customizable through various templates, allowing users to input relevant data tailored to their specific use cases. This flexibility ensures that STAS tokens can be adapted for diverse applications within the ecosystem.
Centi then uses also DPP to enable payments with these STAS tokens.
SOLUTION ARCHITECTURE
(For full legal please see the Token Terms. The below description is not a full description and only the description in our whitepaper is legally binding)
The Centi Franc is a digital promissory note whereby each holder that is not Centi itself has a valid claim redeemable with Centi of one Swiss franc for each token. Centi has a bank guarantee for each of these issued tokens, such that the holder of the token has a claim against a Swiss bank guarantee, shall Centi not be able to fulfil its obligation to uphold the claim. These tokens are issued on the STAS token contract referenced in the whitepaper.
IMPLEMENTATION
Notable milestones, funding rounds, or partnerships
Partnership with STAS Tokens as well as the Swiss Bank (details in whitepaper)
RESULTS & IMPACT
Key quantitative results
Key qualitative benefits
We have demonstrated 1.2 million microtransactions within 24h with the Centi Franc and the internal cost for these transactions was 5 USD.
Testimonials & Recognition
CHALLENGES & LESSONS LEARNED
Biggest challenges in building and launching this project
Regulatory Clearance, Building Partner Trust, Swiss Bank Guarantee
Lessons learned
Persevere
FUTURE PLANS
We are eying other currencies like EUR, GBP, etc.
Plan to continue using or evolving with BSV blockchain
Will remain backbone of Centi Franc
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