Gold, lots of gold up for grabs! $50,000 worth of the good stuff. The Royal Canadian Mint has created the “MintChip Challenge” and they want developers “to create innovative digital payment applications.”
Now that the penny is officially retired, the Mint says this MintChip is the “evolution of currency” and want interested developers to build apps and demonstrate the possibilities of the MintChip. According to their promo video MintChip is “currency in a digital form” and will eventually allow users to securely load value onto a smartphone, USB device, tablet, cloud, or “maybe on some future device that doesn’t even exist yet.”
“MintChip brings all the benefits of cash into the digital age. Instant, private and secure, MintChip value can be stored and moved quickly and easily over email, software applications, or by physically tapping devices together.”
In the rules for the competition it states that there’s a limit of 500 registered participants and the end date for submission is on July 18th. Currently the Mint is looking for apps to be built for iOS, Android, BlackBerry, Windows Phone, desktop and mobile browsers. The judging panel will award the gold to the developers who best demonstrate the potential value and greatest potential impact of MintChip.
(Best Overall Application – Grand Prize is estimated to be worth $17,000, 10 oz of GOLD)
Check it out here at the Mint
