By
Maria Konash
November 8th, 2018
Deloitte has decided to store warranties on a blockchain and allow users to buy insurance for items even after they have been purchased using Facebook Messenger API.
Deloitte has recently announced the minimum viable product (MVP) that can serve as a bridge between blockchain and the Internet of Things without users having to download any new applications.
MVP allows users to add information regarding their purchases and associated warranty information on the blockchain, by using a Facebook Messenger Chatbot.
The Facebook Messenger Chatbot functionality was released on April 12th, 2016. It allows companies to program an ‘automated service robot’ that is able to help customers without human intervention, allowing them to receive service instantly.
“We’re using a Facebook Messenger for our service because of another important reason: people are becoming ‘app tired’. From the 60+ apps people have installed, they only use a select set of five on average. By offering our service through an existing channel, we are taking away a huge hurdle in engaging new users. Design for existing channels, don’t make force people to come to yours. Now this finally becomes feasible,” says the company’s blogpost.
User receives a receipt that includes a uniquely generated QR-code that holds all information of the purchased product (item, serial number, date- & timestamp, etc.). Besides, a user receives instructions of how to find the ‘warranty bot’ on Facebook Messenger. He/she sends a picture of the receipt to the warranty bot via an instant message. Then the system unwraps the QR-code and stores all product information on the blockchain.
“We’re using a QR-code so that the retailer doesn’t have to change anything to its Point of Sale infrastructure, other than generating a unique code after payment, printed on the receipt. He’s also not required to fill out any contact details (name, email address or telephone): Facebook is used as the unique identifier.”
Receipt is safely stored in the blockchain ledger: it cannot be tampered with, nobody can delete or alter its contents, without having the private key. User can safely throw away a paper receipt and still be assured of an honest warranty claim handling when necessary.
According to Deloitte, MVP could disrupt the way people track and handle warranty and insurance claims, sell products secondhand and buy additional insurance for brand new products (this product can be anything, from an electronic device to a car).
